Brain Drain (Page 48)

By Juli Uzlik, RN

Juli Uzlik

MNA Member

It’s amazing how just the smallest change can have the biggest effects on registered nurses and their patients.  At my hospital, Fairview Southdale in Edina, a temporary nursing consultant came in and decreased the staffing in the Heart Center by one nurse per shift. The hospital has taken away one charge nurse where there have been two since the inception of the unit.

Not a big deal, right?  Still have a charge nurse.  Not really.  The Heart Center is laid out in two separate sections with literally a wall and a hallway between the two sections.  One charge nurse can’t see both sides at the same time.  One section is the CSC (Cardiac Special Care) with less acute patients and the other is CCU (Cardiac Care Unit) with more acute patients.  In addition, the 35 cardiac monitors are now being “watched” by the health unit coordinators (HUCs) who have no medical training. We were told that there was no money in the budget for cardiac monitor techs.  Most of the experienced charge nurses have refused to be in charge of such an unsafe situation and many have stepped down from the role.  As a result, the hospital is now choosing to break our contract and employ “traveling nurses” as charge nurses.  These nurses were given a one-day orientation to the unit, and were apprised of general topics like common side effects of Cymbalta, heart disease, etc, and a one-day orientation to the charge nurse role.

This is an unsafe situation and one of the hospital’s own making.  Many of our experienced cardiac nurses have left the Heart Center due to the lack of management’s response to detailed reports of unsafe situations.  These are also the nurses who respond to “Code Blues” or cardiac/respiratory arrests throughout the hospital.

The nurses who are still working in the Heart Center are making the maximum effort to ensure that patients and their families don’t notice the staffing shortages.  That’s what we do, but how long can we go on?

The sad part is that the patient care we give is changing due to the decrease in registered nurses.  The decrease of just one nurse is all it takes to create an unsafe situation in a unit where all patients are on cardiac monitors.  Due to the lack of a qualified RN watching these monitors, a subtle changed may not be noticed until the situation becomes much more urgent.

If you or a loved one has been in the hospital recently, you know it is the nurses who are on duty 24/7 and it is the nurses who are expected to pick up subtle changes in their patients and notify the MD.  Nurses save patients lives!

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In: Home, Hospitals, Member Blog, Patient Safety, Standards of Care

By Juli Uzlik, RN

MNA Member

It’s amazing how just the smallest change can have the biggest effects on registered nurses and their patients.  At my hospital, Fairview Southdale in Edina, a temporary nursing consultant came in and decreased the staffing in the Heart Center by one nurse per shift. The hospital has taken away one charge nurse where there have been two since the inception of the unit.

Not a big deal, right?  Still have a charge nurse.  Not really.  The Heart Center is laid out in two separate sections with literally a wall and a hallway between the two sections. 
… Read more about: Brain Drain  »

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In: Home, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Barb Brady
(office) 651-414-2849
(cell) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

Rick Fuentes
(office) 651-414-2863
(cell) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

(Rochester) –   August 10, 2017 – Minnesota Nurses Association members are standing with Albert Lea residents fighting Mayo Health System’s efforts to move most inpatient services more than 20 miles away from Albert Lea to Austin.

Nurses joined residents on buses to travel from Albert Lea to Mayo’s corporate headquarters in Rochester on August 10.

More than 200 protestors filled the streets around the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to show Mayo they want to keep care for local patients at their local hospital.
… Read more about: Press Release: MNA Nurses Stand With Albert Lea Residents Fighting To Keep Local Hospital  »

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In: Action, Elections, Home

By Jackie O’Shea

MNA Political Organizer

In a recent MNA staff meeting, Executive Director Rose Roach told us “every election cycle, we say this is the most important election ever, but that’s because every election is important.” I couldn’t agree more. In the almost 10 years I’ve worked in the labor movement, there has never been an upcoming election in which the results wouldn’t have had an impact on workers and families. Whether the top issue is education, healthcare reform, union rights, or a balanced budget, there is always something on the line.  The open race for Minnesota Governor in 2018 is no different, with current Governor Mark Dayton not running for re-election, and a plethora of candidates who have announced they are seeking the office.
… Read more about: Who Should MNA Endorse?  »

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In: Home, Hospitals, Press Releases

$900 million given to insurance companies gone

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) – July 31, 2017 – The newly announced insurance rates for the 2018 individual market show that the current healthcare system continues to be volatile and can only be temporarily stabilized with an infusion of taxpayer dollars.  As a result, Minnesotans are still wondering whether they will pay more or less in 2018 versus 2017, even though the Minnesota Legislature and Governor Dayton pushed through a 25 percent discount in 2017 and propped up insurance companies with a new program, called “reinsurance.”

“Reinsurance appears to be a tourniquet for the individual market. 
… Read more about: Press Release: Minnesotans Still Not Getting Relief from Rising Insurance Rates  »

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In: Home, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Barb Brady
(office) 651-414-2849
(cell) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

Rick Fuentes
(office) 651-414-2863
(cell) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

(Buffalo) –   August 3, 2017 – MNA nurses at Buffalo Hospital voted for a new contract with Allina Health on August 2, after standing firm in opposition to proposals from Allina Health that would have interfered with nurses’ ability to safely care for patients.

“We negotiated a contract that recognizes the important work nurses do,” said MNA Buffalo Chair Debra Kosciolek, RN. “Nurses signed petitions, marched in a rainy Buffalo Days parade, and were prepared to hold an informational picket to fight for a fair contract.”

The new three-year contract does not contain a proposed scheduling system that would have harmed the hospital’s ability to recruit and retain nurses and disrupted RNs’ scheduled time off.
… Read more about: Press Release: Buffalo Hospital nurses ratify tentative agreement  »

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In: Education, Home, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association

By Barb Brady

MNA Communications Specialist

The excitement is building for MNA’s 2017 Convention and House of Delegates Oct. 15-17 in Rochester.

MNA nurses from throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Iowa will gather for three days of inspiration, learning, planning MNA’s future – and fun!

This year’s theme is “Organize. Agitate. Educate.”

The schedule is packed with activities to empower delegates to return home with the skills and knowledge to organize, agitate, and educate your colleagues for the challenges we face in the next year.

Nurses will be treated to a special presentation of a play by Michael Milligan on Oct.
… Read more about: Organize. Agitate. Educate.  »

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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

(Bismarck, N.D.) – August 1, 2017 – Registered nurses at CHI St. Alexius Health are one step closer to having a union voice in their workplace to speak up for patient care and issues that affect staff.

On July 31, nurses filed for an election for nurses to vote to be represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association. RNs filed authorization cards signed by an overwhelming majority of nurses with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
… Read more about: Press Release: St. Alexius Nurses File For Union Representation  »

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In: Home, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Barb Brady
(office) 651-414-2849
(cell) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

Rick Fuentes
(office) 651-414-2863
(cell) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

 

(Buffalo) –   July 28, 2017 – MNA nurses at Buffalo Hospital reached a tentative agreement with Allina Health on July 27, averting the need for a planned informational picket.

“Allina Health saw that nurses were united in opposition to a proposed scheduling system, and agreed to changes,” said MNA Buffalo Chair Debra Kosciolek, RN. “Nurses negotiated a fair contract that allows us to continue providing patients with the care they need and expect.”

Now that a tentative contract agreement has been reached, nurses are canceling the informational picket scheduled for Aug.
… Read more about: Press Release: MNA nurses at Buffalo Hospital reach tentative agreement; informational picket canceled  »

CentraCare

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In: CentraCare, Essentia, Fairview, Healthcare, HMO, Home, Hospitals, Insurance, Issues

By Tara Fugate

MNA Strategic Researcher

Hospital and health system consolidation is a rapidly expanding trend across the country, and Minnesota is no exception. Many large and mid-sized health systems have been looking to privatize the state’s dwindling number of public hospitals, combine smaller non-profit systems, and also incorporate physicians’ groups and outpatient services into hospital systems. The driving arguments to lobby for these mergers are that larger entities can provide more integrated care and have the ability to make bigger financial investments to improve the quality of care via new tools, such as electronic health records systems. Many studies, however, have shown that price, cost and quality of care are not improved by mergers (see below for links).
… Read more about: Why Minnesotans Should Pay Attention to Hospital Consolidation  »

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Barb Brady
(office) 651-414-2849
(cell) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.orgRick Fuentes
(office) 651-414-2863
(cell) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

(Buffalo) –   July 22, 2017 – MNA nurses at Buffalo Hospital are planning an August 2 informational picket to draw the public’s attention to Allina Health’s failure to bargain a fair contract with them.

“Nurses are asking Allina Health to negotiate a fair contract that works for both parties,” said Debra Kosciolek, RN. “Allina is attempting to impose a new scheduling system that would harm the hospital’s ability to recruit and retain nurses.
… Read more about: Media Advisory: MNA nurses at Buffalo Hospital set Aug. 2 informational picket  »