Nurses fight for safer staffing as adverse health events, workplace violence incidences continue to rise at Hennepin County Medical Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hospital has the highest adverse health events in Minnesota, recently fined for workplace violence prevention violation 

(St. Paul) – June 22, 2024 – Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) are fighting for safer staffing at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) as the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reports the hospital had the highest number of adverse health events in the state last year. The hospital was also recently fined by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s Occupational Safety and Health Division (MNOSHD) for failing to provide an effective workplace violence program to protect employees.

“Hospital management and the Hennepin Healthcare System (HHS) Board of Directors refuse to recognize that we have a serious patient and staff safety problem at our hospital,” said Janell Johnson Thiele, RN and MNA Co-Chair at HCMC. “We have repeatedly brought these issues to their attention, and there has been no meaningful response to this crisis that is making patients unsafe and driving healthcare workers from the bedside.”

MDH reported that adverse events in Minnesota hospitals – including preventable falls, bedsores, medication or surgical errors, and patient deaths – increased again this past year. HCMC had the highest number in the state with 59 preventable medical errors, including 13 that resulted in serious injury, from Oct. 7, 2022, to Oct. 6, 2023.

HCMC also recently received a serious violation citation and was fined $9,800 by MNOSHD for not providing an effective workplace violence prevention program to protect employees. The hospital was in violation of Minn. Stat. 182.653 subd. 2, that states: the employer did not furnish to each employee conditions of employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that caused or were likely to cause death or serious injury to employees.

“We will continue to fight for our profession and our patients,” said Jeremy Olson-Ehlert, RN and MNA Co-Chair at HCMC. “But something has to give. We cannot continue working under these dangerous conditions without any help from hospital management or county officials.”

Despite repeated attempts by nurses to communicate through email actions, direct conversations, public comment at Hennepin County Commissioner meetings, a petition of no confidence in CEO Jennifer DeCubellis, and meeting with HHS board members, there has been no appropriate response from hospital management.

Nurses also tried to address these issues during this past legislative session by supporting legislation that would have given the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, who have statutory responsibility to oversee the tax dollars of Hennepin County residents, more authority over the HCMC budget. Unfortunately, not only did this legislation fail to pass, but HCMC executives and lobbyists continued to dismiss concerns and ignore calls for change from nurses, other workers, and patients.

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