Synthetic Drug Committee Meets Again (Page 69)

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State Rep. Erik Simonson (right) at a recent rally for nurses in Duluth with fellow Rep. Jason Metsa (left).

Minnesota lawmakers met at the Capitol on Tuesday to discuss ways to combat the spread of synthetic drug abuse that his hit Duluth, Hibbing, and other places spread wide across the state.  The newly-formed “Select Committee on Controlled Substances and Synthetic Drugs” created by House Speaker Paul Thissen and headed by Duluth State Representative Erik Simonson is charged with holding hearings across the state and reporting back to the legislature by February 25th with recommendations.

Unlike traditionally banned drugs, manufacturers of synthetic drugs, often referred to as “bath salts,” are continually creating different drug formulas in a response to the banning of chemicals used to make the synthetic substances, which effectively replaces banned chemicals with new ones.  Manufacturers are staying one step ahead of law enforcement officers.

MNA nurses see the damage done by synthetic drugs firsthand, and they’ve been speaking up about the increase in this type of drug use,.  They report patients admitted with physical symptoms such as vomiting, seizures and escalated blood pressure as well as psychiatric symptoms such as paranoia, hallucinations, and violent psychosis.  The devastation to the health of the user and their families, as well as the violence and crime related to the drug usage continues to destroy the social structures in these hard hit communities.  Additionally, the increase in violence coming from patients under the influence of synthetic drugs continues to endanger other patients and those who care for them.  The Minnesota Nurses Association is very supportive of the charge of this committee and is committed to helping find a solution that will prevent further damage to these patients and communities.

In Hibbing, Fairview Range University Medical Center-Mesabi’s psychiatric unit has seen a dramatic increase in admissions related to synthetic drugs and related violence on the unit.  Hospitals in Duluth, Winona and other cities have identified similar increases in patient numbers and the violent behavior associated with synthetic drugs.

Tuesday’s hearing focused primarily on testimony from experts on the subject of synthetic drugs including Cody Wiberg, Executive Director of the MN Board of Pharmacy, Violet Stephens, Foresnic Scientist with the BCA, and Brian Marquart, the Statewide Coordinator for the Law Enforcement Task Forces.

After hearing extensive testimony from the expert panel, the committee discussed options for moving forward including the idea of a “controlled substances omnibus bill” that would look at multiple approaches to fixing the problem.  Possible solutions discussed were outlawing paraphernalia commonly used to take the synthetic substance, broadening the authority of the MN Board of Pharmacy to adopt an emergency rule declaring certain substances to be synthetic drugs, and heightening the ability of the Minnesota Attorney General deal with synthetic drugs on a broader scale.

The committee will continue to meet over the legislative break, with the next meeting convening in Brainerd at Central Lakes Community College on Thursday, August 22 starting at 5:30 PM.  A September meeting of the taskforce is also being planned.

The committee is actively seeking input from the public on suggestions for related topics to discuss or focus on at the next meeting.  If you have specific issues, information, or evidence related to synthetic drugs that you would like addressed, please contact committee chair, Representative Erik Simonson at rep.erik.simonson@house.mn.

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In: Minnesota Nurses Association, Politics

Minnesota lawmakers met at the Capitol on Tuesday to discuss ways to combat the spread of synthetic drug abuse that his hit Duluth, Hibbing, and other places spread wide across the state.  The newly-formed “Select Committee on Controlled Substances and Synthetic Drugs” created by House Speaker Paul Thissen and headed by Duluth State Representative Erik Simonson is charged with holding hearings across the state and reporting back to the legislature by February 25th with recommendations.

Unlike traditionally banned drugs, manufacturers of synthetic drugs, often referred to as “bath salts,” are continually creating different drug formulas in a response to the banning of chemicals used to make the synthetic substances, which effectively replaces banned chemicals with new ones. 
… Read more about: Synthetic Drug Committee Meets Again  »

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In: Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

HEALTH CARE NEWS

How Consistent Hospital Error is Having a Deadly Effect on the Health Care System    “Medical harm is probably one of the three leading causes of death in the U.S., but the government doesn’t adequately track it as it does deaths from automobiles, plane crashes, and cancer. It’s appalling,” he told the magazine.

The 9 Things You MUST Check Before Choosing a Hospital    7. Check the Nurse-to-Patient Ratio – Ideally, a nurse should have only four to six patients under his or her care at a time (and less if it’s critical or intensive care).
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, July 8, 2013: Hospital error rate “appalling;” Is 68 the new 65?  »

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In: Affordable Care Act, Healthcare

Minnesota’s own UnitedHealth just made headlines by announcing that it is dropping out of the pool of private companies that would offer individual policies in California.  Aetna has also dropped out of the California market.  Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-unitedhealth-insure-calif-20130702,0,4370321.story

It’s not a tragedy for Californians.  Both of those companies only had a combined 58,000 customers who can now seek new coverage in one of 13 Covered California providers.  What’s apparent, however, is that private companies are dropping out of even lucrative markets such as California where they can’t create policies that keep their costs down and rates up.  It’s the equivalent of taking their ball and going home, which in UnitedHealth’s case is employer-offered plans.
… Read more about: If big insurers drop out, who steps in?  »

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In: Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety

NOTES ON NURSING

sisters-of-mercy-painting_420Union Army’s Top Nurses Were Nuns   This insight honors the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.    The Daughters of Charity at their provincial house in Emmitsburg, Md., could hear the cannons of Pickett’s Charge 10 miles off. They helped their chaplain pack a wagon with medical supplies and, when the cannons were silenced, a dozen sisters rode with him to tend to the wounded.

HEALTH CARE NEWS

Hospitals Reward CEOs for Profit Over Quality    Across the nation, boards at nonprofit hospitals such as Valley are often paying bosses much more for boosting volume rather than delivering value, according to interviews with compensation consultants and an examination of CEOs’ employment contracts and bonus packages.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, July 1, 2013: Nuns as nurses in Civil War; How bogus are patient satisfaction scores  »

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In: Bargaining, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Organizing

By Linda HamiltonLinda-Hamilton_1

Nurses share a common theme:  they are totally committed to their co-workers, the communities they serve and to delivering safe patient care.  That’s what NNU Co-President Jean Ross, Board Director Mary Turner, and I saw in Ely, Virginia, International Falls, and Hibbing.

What a great road trip we had as nurses shared with us their stories of the joys and struggles of working in some of our Greater Minnesota hospitals.  Some of them bravely work in critical access hospitals such as, International Falls and Ely, and some are dedicated care-givers in larger facilities, such as Hibbing and Virginia.
… Read more about: Greater Minnesota nurses are committed to care  »

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In: Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Unsafe Staffing

While more than 900 nurses came to San Francisco for the 2013 Staff Nurse Assembly, here the world came to them.  Minnesota nurses met colleagues from Ireland, Australia, Korea, and Brazil as well as from across the US.  They learned that staffing issues and budget cuts are affecting their job quality and their patients’ safety everywhere.

“We’re not alone in our struggles,” said Katie Skipton, “where we’re from, Bemidji, we can sometimes feel it’s just our problem-with staffing especially.  It’s a big deal.  We’re finding out that we’re not the only ones that are dealing with us, and we’re not the only ones who are fighting. 
… Read more about: It’s a small world after all.  »

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In: Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Nurses, Nursing

NOTES ON NURSING

Approaching Death    A nurse goes from the ER to a hospice, and changes the way she thinks about life and its end.

AACN Issues Practice Alert on Alarm Management   A new practice alert from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses outlines evidence-based protocols to reduce false or non-actionable alarms and improve the effective use of these monitoring aids.

LABOR UPDATES

Supreme Court Weakens Chances of Workers Winning Employment Discrimination Cases   By restricting who counts as a supervisor, the Court has handed employers a victory.

HEALTH CARE NEWS

Health of U.S.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, June 24, 2013: Nurses and Hospice care; SCOTUS weakens workers’  »

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In: Bargaining, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Unsafe Staffing

Operating Room Nurses at First Light Health System in Mora started turning up in red lipstick while other nurses wore red scrubs to show support as negotiations began on a new contract.   Some nurses who couldn’t wear red expressed their solidarity with the bargaining leaders by dressing up their scrubs with a little red flair.

Negotiations began two weeks ago with nurses asking for more seniority rights, addressing scheduling issues, improvements in on-call pay and on-call process, and the use of remaining sick and vacation pay to be used to pay for continuing health coverage for retirees.

Bargaining Chair Margie Odendahl said they’re working to get more first choice shifts for senior nurses and for a percentage of on-call time to count towards seniority.
… Read more about: Pucker up to support Mora Nurses  »