MNA Daily NewsScan, June 12, 2012: American exceptionalism? Not when it comes to HC; Sutter RNs strike update (Page 103)

Stories we’re scanning:

HEALTH CARE

Health Care Costs Causing More Americans to Go Without Needed Care  Health care costs are weighing on Americans’ minds — and sapping their budgets, according to a new survey that shows that within the last year, more than half of people needing medical care didn’t get it because of the expense.

U.S. Lags In Bettering Value of Health Care   While the U.S. health system has the highest per capita cost of the 12 nations studied — spending 17.6% of its gross domestic product on healthcare — it ranked at the bottom in terms of readiness to implement a value-based care system. The fragmented nature of the healthcare system has severely limited the collection and use of national health-outcome data.

LABOR

Sutter RNs Ready to Strike  Sutter Seeks Huge Cuts Despite $4.19 Billion in Profits Since 2005

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In: Uncategorized

Stories we’re scanning:

HEALTH CARE

Health Care Costs Causing More Americans to Go Without Needed Care  Health care costs are weighing on Americans’ minds — and sapping their budgets, according to a new survey that shows that within the last year, more than half of people needing medical care didn’t get it because of the expense.

U.S. Lags In Bettering Value of Health Care   While the U.S. health system has the highest per capita cost of the 12 nations studied — spending 17.6% of its gross domestic product on healthcare — it ranked at the bottom in terms of readiness to implement a value-based care system.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, June 12, 2012: American exceptionalism? Not when it comes to HC; Sutter RNs strike update  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

What is this? The MNA Daily NewsScan rounds up the day’s biggest nursing, health care and organized labor stories.  As news unfolds in real-time, we update the NewsScan with new links and info, so check back often!

Stories we’re scanning:

Nursing

  • Listen Up, CEOs: Story cites Nurses as key to making or breaking future margins.

Labor

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

What is this? The MNA Daily NewsScan rounds up the day’s biggest nursing, health care and organized labor stories.  As news unfolds in real-time, we update the NewsScan with new links and info, so check back often!

Stories we’re scanning:

Health Care

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

NOTES ON NURSING

Massachusetts Nurses Derail Proposed Law Allowing Unlicensed Personnel to Give Meds  The amendment that would have allowed unlicensed personnel to administer medications was withdrawn from the payment reform bill

LABOR UPDATES

State Unions Reach Tentative Agreement Covering 21,000 Workers   AFSCME and MAPE have reached a tentative deal on a two-year collective bargaining agreement with the State of Minnesota.

AFL-CIO – Olympic Medal Producer Tarnishes Spirit of the Games   Summer Olympic Games medal supplier, Rio Tinto—a union-busting global mining conglomerate with a track record of worker and environmental abuse—should be kept off the podium in London, says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, June 7, 2012: MA RNs defeat unlicensed personnel measure; Olympic gold may be tarnished  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

What is this? The MNA Daily NewsScan rounds up the day’s biggest nursing, health care and organized labor stories.  As news unfolds in real-time, we update the NewsScan with new links and info, so check back often!

Stories we’re scanning:

Health Care

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In: Uncategorized

NOTES ON NURSING

Can Patient Photos Help Reduce Error?  Putting children’s photos in their electronic hospital charts could help reduce one type of medical error, a study published Monday suggests.

HEALTH CARE

DeMoro:  Maybe We Can Get It Right   If President Obama is now confiding to Democratic donors that he may have to “revisit” health care in a second term if the Supreme Court throws out his first attempt, as Bloomberg News reported June 1, maybe this time we can get it right.

Hospitals Add Palliative Care Programs at a Feverish Pace   The field has expanded so rapidly that a majority of American hospitals now have palliative programs, to the delight of patients who say they’ve finally found relief and a sympathetic ear.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, June 5, 2012: Another chance to get health care right? Labor woes at Belmont  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

What is this? The MNA Daily NewsScan rounds up the day’s biggest nursing, health care and organized labor stories.  As news unfolds in real-time, we update the NewsScan with new links and info, so check back often!

Stories we’re scanning:

Nursing News

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In: Activism, Labor Unions, Politics

[youtube=http://youtu.be/93gzm9ppmEo]

 

Colleen Espinosa is a float pool nurse at North Memorial Hospital, and she’s a perfect example of why we need a Main Street Contract For America and a Robin Hood Tax – two causes championed by National Nurses United and MNA.

Here’s her story, as told by her son Nick:

My mother Colleen Mckee Espinosa is a single parent of three who is facing foreclosure after CitiBank refused to accept payment on her mortage, having moved up the due date for her payment without her knowledge. They then added thousands of dollars in attorney fees because the home went into foreclosure, making it impossible for her to catch up.
… Read more about: Support MNA RN Colleen Espinosa as she fights to keep her home!  »

On:
In: Activism, Healthcare, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

What is this? The MNA Daily NewsScan is a round up the day’s biggest nursing, health care and organized labor stories.  As news unfolds in real-time, we update the NewsScan with new links and info, so check back often!

Stories we’re scanning:

Health Care

On:
In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

NURSES

Nurses, Patients Voice Concerns Over Avoidable Hospital Staffing Crisis    The whole system seems to be “missing something” when it reaps massive profits but can’t keep hospitals properly staffed. But the crisis can’t be explained simply by an overall “shortage” of nurses. The real cause of the staffing squeeze might be the tight fists of hospital CEOs, who don’t want to invest in maintaining an adequate, qualified workforce.

HEALTH CARE

Tax-Exempt Hospitals Eyed Amid State Budget Gaps  Following through on a promise, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced more than two months ago that the state would resume denying tax exemptions to hospitals that operate more like businesses than charities.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan – May 31, 2012: RNs Say Hospital Staffing Crisis Avoidable with Ratios; Listen to Frontline Staff  »