HCMC nurses want answers to questions about potential layoffs (Page 48)

By:

Mathew Keller, RN JD
Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist

It’s no secret that Hennepin County Medical Center has been contemplating layoffs—they announced as much at the beginning of December, and received Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approval for such layoffs this past week. Not so clear, however, is why they think layoffs are necessary. As the rate of health insurance coverage reaches historical highs, is our local county hospital really facing difficult financial times?

HCMC CEO Jon Pryor seems to be hinting at as much.  In a December 9 communication to HCMC employees, he stated, “If you’ve been paying attention to the media, you know that HCMC is not the only healthcare organization facing a financial challenge right now.”

But MNA nurses have been paying attention to the media, and this is what they’ve found: hospital profits in this state are running at an all-time high. The costs of charity care and bad debt from patients have plunged as health insurance coverage rates have increased, saving hospitals across the state 16.7 percent in uncompensated care costs since 2013. Hospitals’ financial positions have never been stronger — in 2014, our state’s largest healthcare systems saw an increase of 38 percent in operating income.

HCMC, as the state’s largest provider of charitable care, has not been exempt from this windfall. In 2014, its costs for charitable care declined by a whopping 40 percent, for a savings of $10.7 million. In fact, according to their annual financial disclosures, HCMC has made a total net profit of $19.5 million over the last four years for which disclosures are available.

So again, why the need to cut hard working front-line healthcare staff? Could it have anything to do with HCMC’s glitzy, new $224.6 million specialty center? Is it because of the money HCMC will need to change its name, as it is in the process of doing? Is HCMC actually in difficult financial shape after seeing its charitable care costs decline by 40 percent, and assuredly even more, over the past several years? The answers are not clear.

That’s why MNA nurses are calling on Dr. Pryor to make a commitment and pledge to transparency.  HCMC nurses want to know:

  • Are these layoffs truly necessary?
  • Do the accountants in HCMC’s “Analytics Center of Excellence” understand patient care, and are they familiar with how cutting bedside staff leads to poor quality of care, medical errors, decreased patient satisfaction, and adverse patient events (i.e. falls, pressure ulcers, even death)?
  • Why did HCMC announce this in the press before talking to its employees?
  • When will HCMC tell its employees the full plan?
  • Why hasn’t HCMC released its 2015 financial reports?

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It’s no secret that Hennepin County Medical Center has been contemplating layoffs—they announced as much at the beginning of December, and received Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approval for such layoffs this past week. Not so clear, however, is why they think layoffs are necessary. As the rate of health insurance coverage reaches historical highs, is our local county hospital really facing difficult financial times?

HCMC CEO Jon Pryor seems to be hinting at as much.  In a December 9 communication to HCMC employees, he stated, “If you’ve been paying attention to the media, you know that HCMC is not the only healthcare organization facing a financial challenge right now.”

But MNA nurses have been paying attention to the media, and this is what they’ve found: hospital profits in this state are running at an all-time high.
… Read more about: HCMC nurses want answers to questions about potential layoffs  »

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In: Board of Nursing, Home, Nurse licensure, Nurses, Substance Abuse

By Eileen Gavin

MNA Political Organizer

 

Atlanta drug rehab defines substance use disorder (SUD), also known as drug use disorder, as a condition in which the use of one or more substances leads to a clinically significant impairment or distress. Substance use disorders occur when the recurrent use of alcohol and/or drugs causes clinically significant impairment, including health problems, disability, and failure to meet major responsibilities at work, school, or home.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) In 2014, about 21.5 million Americans (8.1%) were classified with a substance use disorder in the past year.
… Read more about: Nurses Helping Nurses  »

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In: Healthcare, Home, Hospitals, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Patient Safety, Politics

by Jon Tollefson

MNA Government Relations Specialist

A lot of people saw what was happening and which way the election was going, but they felt the political elite didn’t listen to them. And they were probably right. People tend to get into their own bubbles and stay there, echo chambers of agreement. That makes it hard to see and understand one another.

 

Minnesota’s nurses are diverse in terms of race, age, and certainly political beliefs. Many nurses likely continue to feel outrage and deep sadness at the results of the election while others celebrated a victory and a sense that, finally, they’ve been heard.
… Read more about: What an election  »

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In: Elections, Home, Nurse licensure, Nurses, Nurses Strike

By Laura Sayles

MNA Government Affairs Specialist

 

Seems like it’s a tradition that around Thanksgiving everyone writes about what they are thankful for. To mix holiday metaphors, the Grinch in me can’t find much to be thankful for right now. Regardless of who you voted for, there is no doubt that this election season was brutal: to people’s mailboxes and televisions, to relationships with family and friends, to a culture of civil dialogue, to candidates who lost, to candidates who won and now have to govern highly polarized electorates.

And in all honestly, I’ve mostly succumbed to the pessimism all this brings.
… Read more about: The tradition of feeling thankful – even this year  »

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In: Allina, Home

By Mathew Keller, RN JD
Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist 

In a famous 1863 lawsuit involving landlord rights, Graves v. Berdan, a New York landlord sued a tenant for failing to pay his rent— for leased space in a building that had burned down. Surprisingly enough, the legal precedent at that time required tenants to continue paying rent even after the space being leased ceased to exist.

Such is the power of landlords. They grant their tenants certain rights and uses of property through the provisions of a lease. However, leases also create obligations for tenants – for example, an obligation to pay rent, an obligation to mow the lawn, an obligation to not destroy the premises; or, in the case of the tenant of Unity Hospital, Allina Health, an obligation to “operate a hospital for the benefit of, and open to, all residents of the community upon equal terms” and to “use the leased premises for a public hospital,” according to the terms of its lease with the North Suburban Hospital District Board.
… Read more about: A Hospital for $1?  »

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In: Allina, Home, Press Releases, Uncategorized

Nurses Will be Off ‘Strike Status’ by Sunday Morning

For Immediate Release

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

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

 

(St. Paul) – October 13, 2016 – A majority of the striking nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association have voted in favor of the tentative agreement with Allina Health reached on October 11.

Nurses from Abbott Northwestern, Mercy, Phillips Eye Institute, United, and Unity hospitals voted to ratify the contract today.

“This contract represents compromise and strength by the nurses,” said MNA Executive Director Rose Roach.
… Read more about: Press Release: Nurses Ratify Contract with Allina Health  »

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In: Allina, Home, Press Releases

Unfair Labor Practice Strike Will End Today

For Immediate Release

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

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

(St. Paul) – October 11, 2016 – After a 17 hour negotiating session beginning at 11:00am on Monday, October 10, 2016, the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) and Allina Health announced that they have reached a tentative agreement on all outstanding contract issues. The two groups came together with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to negotiate at the Governor’s Residence, at the request of Governor Dayton and Lt.
… Read more about: Press Release: Nurses Come to a Contract Agreement with Allina Health  »

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In: Allina, Home

By Mathew Keller, RN JD
Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist 

If a recent demand letter from Piper Jaffray’s attorneys to the Minnesota

Nurses Association is any indication, it’s safe to say that our campaign to agitate, educate, and advocate against the overzealous pursuit of profits in non-profit healthcare, the questionable business dealings between Allina and members of its board, and the relentless march toward the corporatization of healthcare have all been a smashing success. Make no mistake, this is a David versus Goliath fight that’s barely just begun — and one corporate Goliath is already bemoaning the audacity of nurse David to throw stones at it, the venerable Piper Jaffray.
… Read more about: High-Powered Piper Jaffray Attorneys Seek to Quiet the Voice of Nurses: Nurses Refuse to be Silenced  »

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In: Allina, Home, Press Releases

Contact:  Rick Fuentes

(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662

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

 

(Minneapolis) – September 19, 2016 –  Two dozen Minnesota legislators showed up to support striking Allina nurses and walk the picket line today.Speaking at a news conference outside Abbott Northwestern Hospital, legislators from districts served by Allina Health hospitals called on Allina to negotiate a fair contract with  nurses and signed a letter supporting MNA nurses.

“It is time to settle this contract,” said Rep. Erin Murphy, also a registered nurse. “By keeping nurses out on the picket line, they are driving costs up, and those dollars they are spending are community dollars.”

“What we’re fighting for today, and what’s brought out so many of us to stand beside you, is that we want a state where people should be valued not just for their value to the marketplace but for their value to other human beings, which you can’t put a dollar value on,” Rep.
… Read more about: Press Release: Legislators to Allina: Negotiate a Fair Contract with Nurses  »

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In: Allina, Home, Press Releases

Resolution Would Abolish Community Oversight Board

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

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

(Fridley) – September 13, 2016 – The North Suburban Hospital Board will be abolished and cede control of operations to Allina Health if a resolution passes Wednesday night. The motion comes just as there’s an election for three new citizens to sit on the board, including three healthcare workers.”The North Suburban Hospital Board provides the public with a voice in Unity,” said MNA Executive Director Rose Roach. “If the board begins the process of dissolving, there will be no accountability to the taxpayers who fund the hospital and rely on it for their healthcare needs.”

The hospital board overseeing Unity Hospital operations and administration collects fees and borrows money to maintain the facility. 
… Read more about: Allina Health Seeks Sole Control of Unity Hospital    »