Nurses to display empty hospital bed to show impact of understaffing, lack of patient care as sit-in continues at State Capitol

(St. Paul) – May 9, 2023 – Tomorrow, Wednesday May 10, 2023, nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association will continue their sit-in at the State Capitol to tell Governor Tim Walz and legislative leaders that nurses have their backs as they stand up to corporate bullies. Tomorrow, nurses will set up an empty hospital bed in the State Capitol hallway to show the consequences for patient care when hospital executives fail to staff and retain enough nurses.

Nurses began their sit-in today, and will continue until safe staffing legislation is secured in Minnesota. Nurses are taking this drastic step following the revelation late last week that corporate health executives at Mayo Clinic Health Systems have attempted to overrule democracy with their threat to withdraw billions in investments if their “blackmail” demands are not met to kill legislation to retain nurses and improve staffing to protect patient care.

The bipartisan Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act is a comprehensive, compromise approach to nurse staffing and retention that would establish committees of direct care workers and management at Minnesota hospitals to discuss what works best for staffing for their patients on a hospital-by-hospital, unit-by-unit level. The bill also includes additional nurse recruitment and retention solutions including workplace violence prevention and loan forgiveness programs. Someday, all of us and our loved ones will need care in a hospital. When that day comes, we deserve to know our hospital will be staffed with highly skilled healthcare professionals able to provide the quality care we need and deserve.

Throughout the open and transparent legislative process, the bill has been revised in compromise with state legislators, nurse advocates and hospital administrators – including representatives from the Minnesota Hospital Association and from Avera Health Marshall, CentraCare, HealthPartners Methodist, Maple Grove Hospital, Essentia, Winona Health, and Riverwood hospitals. The bill passed both bodies of the Minnesota Legislature with robust public debate. But at the eleventh hour, Mayo Clinic executives presented an ultimatum behind closed doors, threatening Governor Walz and legislative leaders in an attempt to undermine the democratic process with their corporate power.

Details on nurses’ sit-in are included below.

CAPITOL SIT-IN TO PROTECT DEMOCRACY AND SAFE PATIENT CARE FROM CORPORATE ATTACK

• When: Wednesday, May 10, 2023; 8:00 a.m. through 8:00 p.m. daily until safe staffing legislation is secured in Minnesota
• Where: First Floor West Wing Hallway, Minnesota State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Saint Paul, MN 55155
• Who: Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association
• What: State Capitol sit-in with empty hospital bed to show impact of understaffing on patient care
• Why: To protect democracy and safe patient care from corporate attack