Be a Winner at the MNA Awards (Page 34)

By Deb Meyer, RN

Deb Meyer, RN
Practice and Education Commissioner

Practice and Education Commissioner
Nurses are doing great things every day, and we need to recognize these nurses, which we do annually at the the Minnesota Nurses Association Honors and Awards banquet during the annual convention in October.  Every MNA member is eligible, and there are even awards for friends of MNA too.  All you have to do is nominate them.
 As you work side by side with your co-workers in the next few months, keep these awards in mind.  The President’s award is selected by the MNA President, but the remainder of the awards can be nominated by members.  The rest of the awards are:
  1. The Distinguished Service Award: honors the nurse who displays substantial contributions to the health and well-being of the community within which they live and work.
  2. The Creative Nursing Award: honors the nurse who recognized a specific healthcare need and developed a new and/or creative approach that improves the quality of healthcare for an identified population.
  3. Audrey Logsdon/Geraldine Wedel Award:  honors the nurse or nurses who have contributed significantly to nurses and/or nursing practice through collective bargaining activities.
  4. Ruth L. Hass Excellence in Practice Award:  honors the nurse involved in direct nursing care who has demonstrated expert knowledge and practice in a selected clinical area of nursing and is recognized by her/his peers as a role model of sustained, consistent high quality nursing practice.
  5. Nurse Educator Award:  honors the nurse involved in nursing education who has demonstrated expertise in the teaching of nursing and is recognized by their peers as a role model of sustained, consistent, high quality teaching.
  6. Public Official Award:  honors a local or state public official who, through involvement in policy making at the local or state level, has placed a high priority on influencing policy, which assists MNA in reaching its goals.
  7. Sarah Tarleton Colvin Political Activist Award:  honors a nurse or group of nurses who serve as a role model for nurses because of activities, above and beyond those of the general nursing community, to further the political presence of nursing, and/or to accomplish change in public policy that is positive for the nursing profession.
  8. Nurse Researcher Award:  honors the nurse or nurses who made a significant impact on nursing practice through the use of research.
  9. Mentorship in Nursing Award:  honors the nurse or nurses who have demonstrated this through sustained and significant leadership to nurses/nursing students by modeling values, attitudes, and behaviors consistent with those of the profession.
  10. Elizabeth Shogren Health and Safety Award:  honors the nurse or nurses who have made sustained and substantial contributions to the health, safety, and well-being of the nursing community in which they work.
  11. Paul and Sheila Wellstone Social Justice Award:  honors the nurse, elected official, or community leader who demonstrates a lifetime achievement of working to better the lives of others by increasing their access to quality healthcare.

It is not too early to start thinking about this.  The deadline for nominations is July 1st.  I have nominated someone each of the past two years, and it is an easy online process.  Click here to find the nomination form.

Good luck to all nominated, and thank you to all nurses for what you do.

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In: Home, Member Blog

By Deb Meyer, RN
… Read more about: Be a Winner at the MNA Awards  »

Practice and Education Commissioner

Nurses are doing great things every day, and we need to recognize these nurses, which we do annually at the the Minnesota Nurses Association Honors and Awards banquet during the annual convention in October.  Every MNA member is eligible, and there are even awards for friends of MNA too.  All you have to do is nominate them.

 As you work side by side with your co-workers in the next few months, keep these awards in mind.  The President’s award is selected by the MNA President, but the remainder of the awards can be nominated by members. 

On:
In: Home, Nurses, Women, Workplace violence prevention

By Becky Nelson, RN, CCRN, CPAN

Chair, Health and Safety Committee

 

Back injuries. Needlesticks. Workplace violence. Chronic fatigue related to shift work. Building security. Bullying. PPE failures. Ergonomic problems. Environmental allergies. There isn’t a part of your professional life that the Health and Safety Committee at MNA wouldn’t address at some point.

 

The Health and Safety committee is currently working on tabulating and analyzing injury reports from represented facilities across the state and more, and are looking to fill out our membership roster with passionate, dedicated nurses from the Metro area and Greater Minnesota.
… Read more about: Health and Safety are Vital to Our Strength  »

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In: Bernie Sanders, Health Care Reform, Home, Single Payer

By Geri Katz

MNA Healthcare Reform Specialist

These are exciting times for those of us who believe healthcare is a basic need for every person, and no one should go bankrupt because they had the bad luck to get sick.

Healthcare was the number one issue for voters in November. Candidates across the country ran and won on a platform of Medicare for All. Prospective 2020 presidential candidates are signaling their support. Public opinion polls consistently show a majority of Americans – including a majority of Republicans, according to this poll – support Medicare for All.

MNA nurses and many of your fellow front-line healthcare professionals have long supported moving to a system that:

  • guarantees healthcare (not insurance) for every American, including prescriptions, dental and vision;
  • costs far less for Americans than they’re currently paying in premiums, deductibles, and co-pays;
  • makes the system simpler for patients and providers and lets people focus on their health instead of their bills.

    • … Read more about: Medicare for All Bill Lives Again!  »

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In: Elections, Home, Politics, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Contact:  Barbara Brady
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) –   January 16, 2019 –  The Board of Directors of the Minnesota Nurses Association has endorsed Stu Lourey for the vacant Minnesota Senate seat of District 11 to represent Carlton, Pine, St. Louis, and Kanabec counties.  Nurse leaders made the decision after he submitted to a screening and questionnaire that detailed his commitment to expanding access to healthcare for more Minnesotans.

“We’re proud to work for Stu Lourey,” said MNA President Mary C.
… Read more about: Press Release: Minnesota Nurses Endorse Stu Lourey for Minnesota Senate District 11  »

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In: Action, Activism, Home

By Katie Gjertson

MNA Political Coordinator

 

Nurses are active in their communities and members of lots of different organizations, faith groups, and non-profits. Two MNA partners groups, the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) and ISAIAH are powerfully working to fight back against the racism, Islamophobia, and the rise of hate groups in Minnesota.

Late last year, ISAIAH and CAIR-MN released a report titled “Minnesota’s Anti-Muslim Propaganda Mill.” The research project exposes the complex network of relationships behind the financing, production and distribution of hate and fear-mongering propaganda–specifically anti-Muslim propaganda in Minnesota. The report also details the policy agenda of those affiliated with these groups, notably an anti-union agenda.
… Read more about: We Are Greater Than Fear  »

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In: Allina, Home

By Mercy Hospital MNA Chairs Sara Wahto and LouAnn Uhr; Unity Hospital MNA Chairs Robin Larson and Gail Olson; and United Hospital MNA Chairs Bunny Engeldorf, Emily Sippola, and Brittany Livaccari

 

We all wring our hands over mandatory low needing. It’s a major problem at hospitals everywhere and can affect the quality of care we can provide our patients. However, nurses in union facilities have the power to address the issue through the grievance process and make a difference.

Here’s how MNA nurses at Allina Mercy, United, and Unity hospitals won a major victory to stop a faulty low needing process at our hospitals:
Incorrect mandatory low need assignments have been a long-standing problem at our hospitals.
… Read more about: MNA nurses at three Allina hospitals win major grievance over mandatory low needing  »

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In: Home, Member Blog, Politics

By Kathy Malecki, RN

Government Affairs Commissioner

 

In an effort of capturing and sustaining the energy and engagement achieved during the 2018 election cycle, the 22 groups compromising Our Minnesota Future (OMF) met to strategize on next steps. How do we understand people-centered governance, also known as co-governance? If we allow ourselves to “dream big,” what do we envision? Do we really need technocrats, think-tanks, and corporations to write policy and rules that affect us without really having all of us–the stakeholders–in the discussion?

If we believe, as OMF does, that “the people impacted by a problem should make the decisions, not those who profit from it,” we will need to dream big, to prepare ourselves with decision-making skills and tools, and to build for the long-term sustainability of this work which will affect generations to come. 
… Read more about: People-Centered Governance Conference with Our MN Future  »

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In: Activism, Bargaining, Day On the Hill, Home, Legislative Policy, Politics

By Jackie O’Shea

MNA Political Organizer

 

Change isn’t something that happens in a vacuum. As a labor union, we know continued education, organizing, and mobilizing are key.  We must stand together as workers, united in one voice, if we want to create the change we desire. This is how we beat back profit-driven employers that would dismantle our rights to collectively advocate for change to better our working conditions and our patients. Politics is no different.

 

As with our contracts, we know singular wins don’t translate to lasting power in our workplaces. Just like with employers, we need to hold politicians accountable at the ballot box and at the Capitol.
… Read more about: If You Want Change, Tell Your Story  »

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In: HCMC, Home

By Sarah Simons, RN; and Kathy Everson, RN,  Janell Johnson Thiele,  MNA HCMC Tri-Chairs

When you know something is wrong, it’s worth a fight. Earlier this year, we saw that management was violating the contract in calculating annual wage increases and decided to correct that wrong.

The hospital was basing the calculations on a rolling 365-day year instead of a calendar year as required by the contract.

Our visiting nurses, who became part of MNA in 2016 and were directly affected,  first noticed the discrepancy in their paychecks and alerted us.

When we pointed out the issue and told management that the contract clearly called for basing the increases on the calendar year, HCMC claimed nurses agreed to the rolling 365 days in the past.
… Read more about: Nurse tenacity results in HCMC agreeing to correct faulty wage increase process  »

Allina big debt

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In: Home, Insurance, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses

By Rick Fuentes

MNA Communications Specialist

 

Ok, check-ups aren’t fun.  Not because of what they might find but because what they might ask.  Who wants to admit they thought mac and cheese was a food group?  Still, they keep us healthy, even financially.

 

MNA members receive free counsel with Dorval and Chorne Financial Advisors.  This is not a small benefit or something to take for granted.  Most financial planners charge about $200 an hour for their advice, or, if they invest on your behalf, they take 1 percent of your proceeds as compensation. 
… Read more about: Get a Check-Up! A Financial One!  »