MNA Daily NewsScan, July 25, 2012 - Insider Spills Secrets, More Nurses Needed in Workforce, AFL-CIO President Trumka in St. Paul to Make "Major Announcement" (Page 99)

NURSING

Although much attention focuses on filling physician spots, many hospitals increasingly are facing more vacancies in nurse positions. Nursing represented the biggest increase (40 percent) in job openings from Q1 to Q2, according to a brief issued today from recruiting firm HEALTHeCAREERS Network. Most nursing openings (90 percent) were looking for experienced nurses rather than entry-level nurses.

LABOR

Former U.S. Treasury insider Neil Barofsky tells all in a new book: “Washington abandoned Main Street while rescuing Wall Street. The suspicions that the system is rigged in favor of the largest banks and their elites, so they play by their own set of rules to the disfavor of the taxpayers who funded their bailout, are true. It really happened. These suspicions are valid.”

AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka will be in St. Paul on Wednesday with members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco, & Grain Millers Union, (BCTGM) who have been locked out of their jobs at American Crystal Sugar for several months. Trumka is expected to make “a major announcement” regarding the lockout on behalf of the 12 million member labor federation. Since August 1, 1300 workers in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Iowa have been locked out of their jobs at American Crystal Sugar Company. Trumka will speak at 4:30 pm at the AFL-CIO headquarters in St. Paul.

HEALTH CARE

Minnesota has slipped three rungs in a high-profile ranking of child-friendly states, largely because of its growing number of uninsured children.

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

NURSING

Although much attention focuses on filling physician spots, many hospitals increasingly are facing more vacancies in nurse positions. Nursing represented the biggest increase (40 percent) in job openings from Q1 to Q2, according to a brief issued today from recruiting firm HEALTHeCAREERS Network. Most nursing openings (90 percent) were looking for experienced nurses rather than entry-level nurses.

LABOR

Former U.S. Treasury insider Neil Barofsky tells all in a new book: “Washington abandoned Main Street while rescuing Wall Street. The suspicions that the system is rigged in favor of the largest banks and their elites, so they play by their own set of rules to the disfavor of the taxpayers who funded their bailout, are true.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 25, 2012 – Insider Spills Secrets, More Nurses Needed in Workforce, AFL-CIO President Trumka in St. Paul to Make “Major Announcement”  »

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

HEALTH CARE

Colorado State Senator: Nurses, Doctors and other heroes stepped in to save dozens of lives during tragic shooting.

Nurses from across the U.S. – including many from National Nurses United – will be joining others as they march through the streets of Washington DC today, demanding more funding for HIV/AIDS treatment.

The nation’s health insurers will pay out more than $1 billion in rebates over the coming days after many of them fell short of new standards that require them to spend a certain share of premiums on patient treatment.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 24, 2012 – Nurses March in D.C.  »

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

HEALTH CARE

Ask a Nurse? Or Google? Recent data shows that more than 130 million people go online every month to search for health-related information.

Led by National Nurses United, Maine Nurses are fighting a corporate healthcare entity’s effort to use patients as a profit center.

A young mom shares: How I lost my fear of Universal Healthcare.

LABOR

Union leaders representing employees of Hyatt Hotels are calling for a global boycott of the hotel chain they’ve been in a dispute with for years. 
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 23, 2012 – Google vs. Nurses, Don’t Stay at The Hilton!  »

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

HEALTH CARE

Although about 60 percent of patient harm events occurred at hospitals in states with reporting systems, only 12 percent of the events met state requirements for reporting, according to new report from the Office of the Inspector General released today that looked at Medicare beneficiaries discharged in October 2008.

Survey: Medicare patients happier than those with private insurance coverage.

Most doctors work alone when caring for patients – a long tradition reinforced by the notion of a private doctor-patient relationship and by the way doctors are paid. But new efforts nationally and in Minnesota are trying to change that.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 20, 2012 – “We Can End AIDS,” Medicare Patients Happier Than Those on Private Insurance  »

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

LABOR NEWS

Join the Tweet-A-Thon!  Unions members throughout the nation are tweeting their legislators to pass a bill that will bring jobs home.  Call 888-659-9401 now and urge your senators to vote for the Bring Jobs Home Act to get the ball rolling to stop the destructive policies of outsourcing.  Learn more.

Thank a union   Mining Wages Outpace Other Private Sector Jobs      Mining jobs have become the best jobs in the region for most workers.

HEALTH CARE

Health Care Spending Slows in Minnesota   Health care spending in Minnesota rose just 2.2 percent in 2010 — the slowest annual growth rate since 1997, the Minnesota Department of Health reported Wednesday.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 19, 2012: Bring jobs home, join the Tweet-a-thon; the July Effect;  »

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

HEALTH CARE

Healthcare hiring continues to rise, at its strongest point since the middle of 2010, according to data from Health Workforce Solutions (HWS) released Friday.

Good read: Accretive Health’s peculiar view of hospitals sums up the hospital debt collector’s response to the ongoing investigation by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson into mistreatment of Fairview patients: “These people are brats; they have no sense that they are guardians for an institution the world depends on; they have no consciousness of their larger social role.”

Please Don’t Forget About Our Northland Nurses in Need!
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 18, 2012 – Accretive’s “Peculiar View” of Hospitals  »

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

NOTES ON NURSING

Finally!!  U.S. News “Best Hospitals” Rating Now Includes Nurse Factor    The  magazine now considers the weight of each measure by itself in relation to  medical outcomes. “Adding more nurses, for example, leads to improved  care, no matter what relationship the nurse staffing measure does or does not  have with any of the other measures.

Weigh in Time:  New Technology of Remote RNs Claims Reduced Mortality in ICU.  Read and return here to comment on this story.

HEALTH CARE

When Public Beats Private:  Community Clinics that Keep Costs Down and Do a Better Job, Too  Federally funded health centers are at the heart of the Affordable Care Act.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 17, 2012 – U.S. News: “oh yeah, maybe nurses matter”  »

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In: Activism, Labor Unions

Earlier this month MNA RNs at North Memorial met with management to discuss the surge of Concern For Safe Staffing (CFSS) forms being submitted by MNA RNs inside the hospital’s recently reorganized Family Birth Center. Our MNA nurses initiated the meeting with management and expressed serious concern over the core staffing levels scheduled for each shift.

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

HEALTH CARE

Health Care insurance industry whistleblower Wendell Potter talks about the next PR move insurers are likely to make in order to keep putting profits ahead of patients.

More from Potter: Want proof that Big Insurance has figured out how to make a lot of money off reform? Last Monday WellPoint announced it will pay nearly $5 billion to buy the country’s largest private Medicaid managed care company, AmeriGroup. Rest assured that lobbyists for WellPoint and other firms wanting to get their hands on that new Medicaid money will have a “here’s how it has to be” talk with their buddies on Capitol Hill. 
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, July 16, 2012 – Corporate Insurance Giants Plan to Cash in on ACA  »