MNA Supports Mandatory Mask Policy to Protect Public Health (Page 32)

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Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org
Amber Smigiel
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – July 2, 2020 – The Minnesota Nurses Association firmly supports policies of mandatory masks and face coverings as a necessary measure to protect the public and stave off a resurgence of the vicious COVID-19 virus that has ravaged this state.  The Board of Directors voted to support this policy and urge lawmakers at every level to enact mandatory mask orders and ordinances statewide.

Nurses support policies requiring the use of cloth face coverings, in the context of a broader public health response, for the following reasons:

  • When used in the context of a broader public health response, policies requiring the use of cloth face coverings may help slow the transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19.
  • Asymptomatic transmission is a significant concern in how rapidly and easily this virus can cause COVID-19. Mandatory use for those who can wear cloth face coverings, rather than only requiring symptomatic individuals to wear masks, may reduce asymptomatic transmission.

Nurses also acknowledge that cloth face coverings are not a substitute for other protective measures. A cloth face covering may protect others from the wearer’s respiratory secretions, but it does not protect the wearer. At most, wearing face masks may provide a small additional protection to others by reducing the release of infectious particles into the air when the wearer speaks, coughs, or sneezes. Cloth face coverings, in contrast with the N95 filtering facepiece (or respirator) commonly used by health care workers, have neither the particle filtration mechanism nor the airtight face seal design to filter at least 95 percent of infectious particles.

MNA nurses stress that policies requiring the use of cloth face coverings in public are not a replacement for physical distancing policies and that cloth face coverings should not be used in healthcare settings. Other measures are necessary to protect the public, including, workplace protections for nurses and other essential workers and paid sick leave and family leave policies to enable workers to stay home if they feel sick or have tested positive for COVID-19.  Nurses will continue to support physical distancing policies, including stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders, as the most effective method for reducing the spread of infection.

The decisions to protect the public must be made based on the ability to provide needed care, not to achieve profits or cost-savings.

The full statement of support by the MNA Board can be found here:  https://mnnurses.org/resources/coronavirus/nurses-support-mandatory-cloth-face-covering-policies-as-one-measure-among-many-to-protect-public-health/

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In: Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
​
Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Amber Smigiel
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – July 2, 2020 – The Minnesota Nurses Association firmly supports policies of mandatory masks and face coverings as a necessary measure to protect the public and stave off a resurgence of the vicious COVID-19 virus that has ravaged this state.  The Board of Directors voted to support this policy and urge lawmakers at every level to enact mandatory mask orders and ordinances statewide.

Nurses support policies requiring the use of cloth face coverings, in the context of a broader public health response, for the following reasons:

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In: Press Releases

Media Advisory

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Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Amber Smigiel
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org

(Bismarck) – June 12, 2020 – St. Alexius MNA nurses will be holding an informational picket on Thursday, June 25, in accordance with the 10-day notice filed with CHI St. Alexius Health Bismarck Hospital. After more than 20 bargaining sessions with hospital management, nurse members are still asking for solutions to short staffing, recruitment, and retention to assure Bismarck patients get the care they deserve.
… Read more about: Bismarck Nurses Will Picket CHI St. Alexius Health Hospital Over Staffing and Patient Care Issues  »

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Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Amber Smigiel
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org

The Minnesota Nurses Association joins the Minnesota AFL-CIO in calling for the resignation of Minneapolis Police Union President Bob Kroll and an end to the systemic racism that continues to permeate the Minneapolis Police Department. The murder of George Floyd and the response by Kroll once again demonstrate that racism is endemic to the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minneapolis Police union. It is evident that racism and white supremacy begin at the very top of the Minneapolis Police union by the words and actions of its very own President.
… Read more about: MNA Calls for Kroll’s Resignation and End to Systemic Racism in MPD  »

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In: Press Releases

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Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Amber Smigiel
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org
​

“As nurses, we see the horrific effects of racism in our hospitals and community every day. We cannot remain silent as yet another black man has died at the hands of police. Last night, George Floyd, a black Minnesotan, was pinned to the ground as he repeatedly told the white police officer he could not breathe. Even after Mr. Floyd’s body went limp, the police officer continued to use his knee and full body weight to pin him down until a stretcher was brought to take him away.
… Read more about: MNA Nurses respond to the killing of a black Minnesotan by Minneapolis Police  »

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In: Press Releases

Media Advisory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Amber Smigiel
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org
​

(St. Paul) – May 18, 2020 – The Minnesota Nurses Association will be holding an informational picket on Wednesday, in accordance with the 10-day notice filed with United Hospital. Nurse members are asking for a say in worker protections, increased PPE resources with higher safety standards, and an end to retaliation against workers who have tried to protect themselves from the COVID-19 virus.
… Read more about: Nurses Will Picket United Hospital and March to State Capitol  »

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In: Press Releases

Media Advisory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Amber Smigiel
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org
​

(St. Paul) – May 18, 2020 – Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association will be testifying on their actual experiences inside the hospitals during a hearing to be held by the Minnesota House Select Committee on Minnesota’s Pandemic Response and Rebuilding. Nurses will alert state representatives on the state of supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), haphazard and rapidly changing safety procedures, mandatory use of outdated or insufficient PPE, effects on healthcare workers’ families, and retaliation against workers for attempting to protect themselves and their patients.
… Read more about: Nurses Will Testify at House Hearing on Hospital Safety During Pandemic  »

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In: Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Amber Smigiel
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org
​

“With the lapse in the ‘Stay at Home’ order and the move to a less restrictive ‘Stay Safe’ order, the Minnesota Nurses Association urges state officials, hospital administrators, and all Minnesotans to protect healthcare workers and each other by increasing our supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), dramatically expanding capacity for COVID-19 virus testing, and continuing to social distance. Failure to protect each other will result in a dramatic spike in positive cases, overload hospitals, and cause the very caregivers we need to succumb to the virus themselves.
… Read more about: MNA Response to Opening Up Minnesota’s Stay at Home Order  »

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In: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Member Blog, Nurses

by Ann Foisy, RN
MNA Member

 

Hello, my name is Ann. I’m a nurse on the 8th floor at Fairview Southdale Hospital. We are a Med-Surg specialty unit for Oncology and Urology, but we’re known to kind of “catch-all.” We’re the floor that ends up with and Heart Center patients when those two units are full.

I love my floor, I love my coworkers, and I love my patients. I came to nursing later than some, graduating at 31 in 2008. It’s hard, it makes me think, it makes me sad, it makes me so happy and fulfilled, and I can’t see myself ever doing anything else.
… Read more about: Making Sacrifices to Keep My Family Safe  »

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By Todd Trigg, CRNA

MNA Steward

A few days ago, I was out to do my bi-weekly run for essentials. I had my lists, my route planned, my homemade cloth mask, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes to wipe things down. I was ready. I started by going to my local membership warehouse. Once there, I notice a majority of people wearing cloth masks and practicing good social distancing. I saw a few with N95 masks on, and I wondered where they got them and why they choose to wear this mask since it has become such a sacred, very limited, and treasured item to healthcare providers.
… Read more about: Save the N95s for Those Who Need Them  »

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Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Amber Smigiel
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
amber.smigiel@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – May 9, 2020 – Faced with a continued lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), rising COVID-19 patient levels, and resumption of elective surgeries, nurse members of the Minnesota Nurses Association have announced an intention to march in St. Paul on May 20, 2020. MNA members will demand equipment, training, staffing, and transparency from United Hospital and other hospitals as well as for the Minnesota Department of Health to enforce the highest standards of safety and protection for patients and healthcare workers.
… Read more about: MNA Nurses Announce March in Response to Continued Lack of PPE, Scrubs during Pandemic  »