MNA Daily NewsScan, August 10, 2012: Is your work schedule making you unhealthy? (Page 94)

NOTES ON NURSING

Work Schedules Contribute to Nurses’ Health Issues     “Adverse work schedules may be an overriding work-related factor for nurse obesity,” the researchers wrote. In addition to lack of opportunities for healthy behaviors, nurses with adverse schedules may have difficulty accessing healthy foods, the authors posited.

HEALTH CARE

New Medicaid Payment Method Will Save Money    Minnesota is the first state in the nation to receive federal approval for a new way of paying for health care in its Medicaid program.

Yes, There’s Probably A Medical App for That       The thousands of apps specifically geared toward health range from free to nearly $40 each, with most costing around $2. And there’s plenty of new ones popping up all the time.

Chaska Medical Center Expanding

The Two Twelve Medical Center has been open for just a year and a half, but Ridgeview is already talking expansion at the northeast corner of highways 41 and 212.  Plans for a three-story, 63,880-square-foot addition were submitted to the Chaska Planning Commission for consideration on Wednesday night

LABOR

Blue Collar Workers Top Charts for Worst Employee Health  Health care, illness and work environment also varied across the industries, the survey found. Nearly half of construction and mining workers had not visited a dentist in the past year, and  31.5% of transportation employees had high blood pressure, for example.  Clerical, office and service workers reported some of the best health, but about 30% said they did not feel safe walking alone at night in their city.

Legislative Hearing on State Employee Contract Gets Testy   A legislative hearing on contracts for state union workers turned testy at times Thursday, reflecting the differing philosophies of Republicans and DFLers on the issue of employee pay and benefits.

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In: Bargaining, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

NOTES ON NURSING

Work Schedules Contribute to Nurses’ Health Issues     “Adverse work schedules may be an overriding work-related factor for nurse obesity,” the researchers wrote. In addition to lack of opportunities for healthy behaviors, nurses with adverse schedules may have difficulty accessing healthy foods, the authors posited.

HEALTH CARE

New Medicaid Payment Method Will Save Money    Minnesota is the first state in the nation to receive federal approval for a new way of paying for health care in its Medicaid program.

Yes, There’s Probably A Medical App for That       The thousands of apps specifically geared toward health range from free to nearly $40 each, with most costing around $2.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 10, 2012: Is your work schedule making you unhealthy?  »

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In: Bargaining, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Uncategorized

HEALTH CARE

Doctor is In; Retail is Out   The glut of empty strip malls and big-box stores in the wake of the go-go years has made leases so affordable that nearly every major hospital system in the state and many private health care organizations have jumped in.

Indiana Hospital Blames Electronic Records for Longer Waits in ER   Patients’ lengths of stay in Columbus Regional Hospital’s emergency department doubled in late June during a switch to an electronic records system, and times are still longer than usual despite improvements, hospital officials said.

LABOR

American Pilots Reject Contract   Pilots for American Airlines have strongly rejected a contract offer that would have helped the company cut labor costs, dashing American’s hopes of winning voluntary concessions from all its labor unions.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 9, 2012: Retail health care; AA Pilots Reject Offer  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

LABOR NEWS

Women Know Best: Companies with women on their boards performed better in challenging markets than those with all-male boards in a study suggesting that mixing genders may temper risky investment moves and increase return on equity.

Unions representing more than 30,000 workers will gather in Philadelphia this Saturday as part of a “Workers Stand for America” rally.

Verizon workers struck for two energetic weeks last summer in response to billions’ worth of concessions demands from the profitable telecommunications company. Now, after 12 more months of fruitless negotiations, 45,000 Communications Workers and Electrical Workers (IBEW) across the Northeast may be putting down their tools and walking out again.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 8, 2012 – Women in the Boardroom; Another Verizon Strike Looming?  »

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HEALTH CARE

Big Med  Blog note:  This long piece published in the New Yorker, is written by the same author who uncovered the discrepancies in health cre spending, most notably in McAllen, TX.  It is a provocative article about corporatization of health care that will be a source of heated discussion.  Weigh in yourself,  using the comments section below.

Hospital Chain Inquiry Cited Unnecessary Cardiac Work  Blog note: another point about health care corporitization.  And it was a nurse who blew the whistle.

In British Emergency Room, “There’s No Card to Show; There are No Bills”   Take the American tourist.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 7, 2012: How is that corporate health care working for you?  »

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In: Activism, Politics

Congrats to MNA RN Lil Ortendahl, who was honored at the Minnesota DFL’s recent Humphrey-Mondale dinner. Lil was given the Hubert H Humphrey award for citizen political activism.

As only she can, Lil had the crowd roaring during her acceptance speech. Watch the video below to see why:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/MuLu_UPWXKU]
… Read more about: MNA RN Lil Ortendahl: “Some drink, some screw around … I do politics.”  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

LABOR NEWS

Massachusetts RNs win fight as state leaders agree to ban on mandatory OT.

Public employee contracts for Minnesota state workers are likely to face opposition in the Republican-controlled Legislature. A House-Senate subcommittee plans to consider the pacts next week after labor unions representing 31,000 employees approved contracts negotiated with Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration.

Amid booming business and record profits, Caterpillar is seeking major concessions from its workers.

HEALTH CARE

The lawsuit has been settled, but patients say there are lessons that shouldn’t be forgotten from the furor over debt collection practices at Fairview Health Services.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 5, 2012: Debt Collection Lessons From Fairview, Republicans Likely to Oppose State Workers’ Contracts  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

LABOR NEWS

The New York Times looks at D-Day for the U.S. Post Office.

HEALTH CARE

Hospital Impact Blog: Here’s how hospitals can drive great patient experience.

Report: Women only make up 4% of healthcare organization CEOs and 18% of hospital CEOs.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 3, 2012: Driving Great Patient Experience, Where are the Women CEOs in Health Care?  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

LABOR NEWS

Why Nurses Are Fighting for the Robin Hood Tax     MNA Executive Director writes about a tax for the people, not on the people.

HEALTH CARE

Unclear if ICU Telemedicine Can Save Hospitals Money   Remote monitoring of intensive care patients – a strategy to maximize scarce  medical expertise – can cost hospitals anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 per bed  in the first year of operation, according to a new study.  Whether this investment pays off in the long run by improving ICU patients’  care and saving money, “we don’t know,” said Dr. Gaurav Kumar.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 2, 2012: Why a Robin Hood Tax; ICU Telemedicine  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

HEALTH CARE

The 35W Bridge Collapse:

 

LABOR NEWS

Supervalue Faltering Brings Union Concerns    Some 84,000 unionized grocery workers spread out across the country have new reason for apprehension this month as it became clear the nation’s third-largest operator of supermarket chains is financially wounded and planning to make dramatic changes.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, August 1, 2012 – 35W Bridge Collapse Remembered  »

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In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

Health Care

Nurses Made the Difference:  You spoke up and helped deliver justice to patients.   Accretive Banned from Minnesota.    Accretive Health will be barred from operating in Minnesota for two to six years under a settlement agreement announced Monday by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson.  The agreement ends a six-month legal battle in which Swanson had accused the Chicago consulting firm of deceiving patients, harassing them for money in emergency rooms and mishandling patient data at Fairview and North Memorial hospitals.  Related NY Times report.

Food-borne Illnesses Not Diminishing   Little progress has been made in combating many types of food-borne illnesses in recent years, according to new federal data, an outcome that food safety advocates say underscores the need to put into place the landmark food-safety bill signed by President Obama more than a year ago.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 31, 2012: Accretive Banned; Nurse Burnout = More Patient Infections  »