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
(Duluth) – August 19, 2016 – After months of trying to negotiate a fair contract, MNA nurses at Twin Ports Essentia Health hospitals are going to the public with their concerns about the hospital system’s refusal to respond to safe staffing proposals by sponsoring billboards in Superior and Duluth.
The billboards read, “Has Essentia lost the care in healthcare? Ask an MNA nurse about staffing.”
“Nurses hope that publicly calling Essentia out on our concerns over safe staffing will bring them back to the negotiating table ready to agree to a contract that benefits all involved: nurses, our hospitals, patients, and our community,” said Essentia Twin Ports MNA Co-Chair Steve Strand. “We have repeatedly asked management to respond to our proposals to ensure safe patient care by having the right number of patients for nurses to care for at one time, but Essentia refuses.”
Nurses are very concerned that Essentia consistently fails to schedule the proper number of nurses for each shift and is not hiring enough nurses.
“We all have dealt with situations when there weren’t enough nurses to provide patients with the care they need and deserve,” said Strand. “We hope the public will challenge Essentia and urge the hospitals to have the right mix of nurses and patients at all times.”
Nurses and Essentia have two more negotiating sessions scheduled on August 29 and 30.
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