MNA NewsScan, April 3, 2013: RIP Harry Kelber; CAH Mortality Skyrockets (Page 82)

LABOR UPDATES

Harry Kelber:   1914 – 2013     Harry Kelber spent 80 years as a labor activist. Through it all he championed worker ownership of their unions. When Labor Notes commissioned a roundtable on “organizing the unorganized” in 2007, Harry’s contribution argued that rank-and-file workers should be part of organizing drives.

HEALTH CARE 

Did Hospitals Profit Off Drugs Meant for the Poor?   An inquiry by a U.S. senator has found that three nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina have made millions from a discount drug program intended to help the poor and uninsured.

Mortality Rates at Critical Access Hospitals Racheting Higher    The nation’s critical access hospitals have higher mortality rates on several key measures than do urban and rural hospitals without the specia l designation, and the trend steadily worsened over the past eight years, according to a new study by Harvard researchers.

CMS Reverses Course   The insurance industry chalked up one of its greatest political victories in recent memory on Monday as the Obama administration reversed course on a proposal to cut Medicare Advantage rates. After intense lobbying, the agency said Monday that it would change the proposed 2.3 percent cut to those plans to a 3.3 percent boost. That’s a significant swing worth billions of dollars to the industry next year alone.

Departing Wellpoint CEO’s Compensation Ballooned to $20.6M Last year, as Insurer’s Shares Fell   The compensation paid to outgoing Wellpoint Inc. CEO Angela Braly last year rose 56 percent, even as the company’s shares slid on lower enrollment in its Blue Cross Blue Shield health plans.

 

 

On:
In: Bargaining, Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

LABOR UPDATES

Harry Kelber:   1914 – 2013     Harry Kelber spent 80 years as a labor activist. Through it all he championed worker ownership of their unions. When Labor Notes commissioned a roundtable on “organizing the unorganized” in 2007, Harry’s contribution argued that rank-and-file workers should be part of organizing drives.

HEALTH CARE 

Did Hospitals Profit Off Drugs Meant for the Poor?   An inquiry by a U.S. senator has found that three nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina have made millions from a discount drug program intended to help the poor and uninsured.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 3, 2013: RIP Harry Kelber; CAH Mortality Skyrockets  »

On:
In: Healthcare, Hospitals, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

Fatigue is Pervasive in the Health Care Industry; Directly Linked to On-the-job Errors     Sixty-nine percent of healthcare professionals surveyed said that fatigue had caused them to feel concern over their ability to perform during work hours. Even more alarmingly, nearly 65 percent of participants reported they had almost made an error at work because of fatigue and more than 27 percent acknowledged that they had actually made an error resulting from fatigue.

PA Considers Nursing by the Numbers   A pair of Democratic state lawmakers have introduced bills in both the House and Senate that would mandate a minimum number of registered nurses-to-patient ratio at all hospitals in the state.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 1, 2013: RN fatigue pervasive and harmful to patients  »

On:
In: Uncategorized

Nurses support Attorney General Review of Sanford-Fairveiw

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jan Rabbers
(office) 651-414-2861
(cell) 612-860-8858
jan.rabbers@mnnurses.org
Rick Fuentes
(office) 651-414-2863
(cell) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – March 28, 2013 – The Minnesota Nurses Association welcomes Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson’s inquiry into the possible merger of Sanford Health and Fairview Health Services and the continued corporatization of healthcare in Minnesota.  Investigators need to continue to look into the effects that big corporations are having on Minnesota patients.

“We congratulate Lori Swanson for having the courage to examine any deal that further puts the operation of more Minnesota hospitals into the hands of fewer corporations,” said Walt Frederickson, RN, MNA Executive Director. 
… Read more about: Press Release-Minnesota Nurses Welcome Swanson’s Inquiry into Hospital Merger  »

On:
In: Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing

NOTES ON NURSING

RN Grad Student:  “The $4450 Urgent Care Visit     “This was one patient on one day in one healthcare facility incurring every form of systemic waste Fineberg puts forth in his article and is also illustrated by Stephen Brill’s lengthy account of overcharging, particularly those who are uninsured or underinsured.”

HEALTH CARE

Fairview-Sanford Merger Talks Bring Scrutiny   Fairview Health Services, the Twin Cities’ second-largest hospital and clinic group, is weighing a merger with South Dakota-based Sanford Health in negotiations that have triggered concerns on the part of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson. 
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, March 27, 2013: AG Swanson sets public hearings on Fairview-Sanford merger  »

On:
In: Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

Study Says NICUs Need Nurses   A surprising number of the nation’s neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) have too few nurses, a new study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) has found.

HEALTH CARE

It’s Come to This – A Lottery for Health Care Coverage    Tennessee residents who have high medical bills but would not normally qualify for Medicaid, the government health care program for the poor, can call a state phone line and request an application. But the window is tight — the line shuts down after 2,500 calls, typically within an hour — and the demand is so high that it is difficult to get through.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, March 25, 2013: NICU nurses needed; Tennessee’s HC lottery  »

On:
In: Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

Standards of Care Update

Last Friday, MNA, in consultation with our legislative allies, revised the Standards of Care Act to shift the focus of the bill to collect Minnesota-specific data on issues of nurse staffing transparency as it relates to patient outcomes.  We continue to strongly believe that every patient in the state deserves a minimum number of Registered Nurses and that any data collected will validate the thousands of nurses in Minnesota who experience unsafe staffing on a daily basis.

We learned that legislators had too many questions about staffing, and not enough hard data specific to Minnesota hospitals. So we shifted our focus to a framework that would improve transparency by requiring hospitals to report their staffing on a quarterly basis, and tie it to data on nursing-sensitive health outcomes like falls, infections and pressure ulcers.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update March 22, 2013  »

On:
In: Labor Unions

Media Advisory from AFL-CIO

Happening in Minneapolis and Duluth on March 24

WHAT: Concerned citizens of Minnesota will rally on March 24 to protect Saturday mail delivery and demand that Congress deliver a better plan to strengthen the Postal Service for the future. Two rallies will take place in Minnesota.  One rally will take place at Minneapolis Main Post Office on Sunday, 3/24/13 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the intersection of 1st Street S and Marquette.  Another rally will be held at the corner of Lake Avenue and Superior Street in Duluth on Sunday, 3/24/13 from noon to 1:00 pm. 
… Read more about: Rallies to Protect Saturday Mail Delivery and Strengthen the Postal Service  »

On:
In: Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

Healing the Hospital Hierarchy   Most people in health care understand and accept the need for clinical hierarchies. The problem is that we aren’t usually prepared for them; nor are we given protocols for resolving the inevitable tensions that arise over appropriate care.

LABOR UPDATE

Income Inequality Shapes MN Tax Debate   Even in middle-class, middle-American Minnesota, income inequality is rising. It’s not a new phenomenon.

HEALTH CARE

New Database Reveals Thousands of Hospital Violation Reports    Hospitals make mistakes, sometimes deadly mistakes. A patient may get the wrong medication or even undergo surgery intended for another person.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, March 20, 2013: Hospital hierarchy; Error reporting  »

On:
In: Minnesota Nurses Association, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

Last Friday, MNA, in consultation with our legislative allies, agreed to amend the Standards of Care Act to create a procedure which will provide Minnesota-specific data on issues of nurse staffing transparency as it relates to patient outcomes.  We agreed to language in the House with an understanding that we would work on adding more detail with respect to reporting requirements.

We learned that legislators had too many questions about the staffing situation, and not enough hard data specific to Minnesota hospitals. So we shifted our focus to a framework that would improve transparency by requiring hospitals to report their staffing on a quarterly basis.
… Read more about: Standards of Care Act Update  »

On:
In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Patient Safety, Politics, Unsafe Staffing

Standards of Care Update

The Standards of Care Act, our bill to establish patient assignments limits, had its third hearing today in the House Health and Human Services Policy committee. The bill passed with amendments, despite serious objections from the hospitals. As amended, the bill has a narrower focus than its original version, but a delivers a victory for patients and nurses by laying a strong foundation for documenting the crisis of patient risk in Minnesota that nurses witness every day. In fact, Committee Chair Rep. Tina Liebling of Rochester offered a strong endorsement of MNA’s concerns when she stated “there is broad agreement that there is a problem.”

By no means, however is the work done.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, March 16, 2013  »