Tag Archives: Nurses

MNA Daily NewsScan: Crystal Sugar Deal; Albert Lea Nurses Get the Red Out; Insurance Rebates

26 Apr

What is this?
The MNA Daily NewsScan is our attempt to round up the day’s biggest nursing, healthcare and organized labor stories in one place! As news unfolds in real-time, we’ll update the NewsScan with new links and info, so be sure to check back often!

Stories we’re scanning:

Health Care

Labor Notes

  • Albert Lea RNs “Walk and Talk”: Albert Lea’s MNA RNs took to the streets yesterday to talk about negotiating a fair contract that keeps community nurses in the community.
  • Re-Opening:  Michigan nurses ready to help shuttered hospital to unlock the doors again
  • Pulling Together:  Communication Workers of America  unite in solidarity as AT & T talks heat up
  • Bitter, but Better:  Crystal Sugar in contract deal with Montana workers.  ND, MN, IA still in standoff.

Breaking News on Important Legislative Issue: National Nurse Licensure Compact

5 Mar

Last Friday you received an email notifying you about the hearing on the National Nurse Licensure Compact (SF230, also known as the Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact) scheduled for today in the Minnesota Senate. We have gotten more specific information on the timing of the hearing: the Compact will be last on the agenda for the hearing, and we have been told by Health and Human Services Committee staff to expect the compact to come up sometime between 5:00 and 6:30 pm tonight. Schedules at the Legislature are very fluid and things may change, so we can’t give you an exact start time, but we believe that if you arrive by 6:00 pm you will be there in time to hear the discussion. MNA President Linda Hamilton will testify in opposition to National Nurse Licensure.

What: National Nurse Licensure Compact Hearing, Senate Health and Human Services Committee

Where: Room 15, Minnesota Capitol (ground floor, directly below Rotunda)

When: Between approximately 5:00 and 6:30 pm

Why: The Compact is supported by the Long-term Care Industry and other Health Care Corporations.  MNA STRONGLY OPPOSES this controversial legislation because of the risks it poses to patient safety, our nursing practice, and to our union.

Many of you have asked about parking at the Capitol. The closest public parking will be at meters on John Ireland Blvd (in front of the Department of Transportation Building), Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd (between the Judicial Center and the Centennial Building) and Cedar Street (in front of the Centennial Building). Parking meters take quarters only (one quarter = 12 minutes) but meters aren’t enforced after 4:30 pm. Click here for information about visiting the Capitol.

Why does MNA oppose National Nurse Licensure? 

Threats to Nursing Practice
The compact is a radical change in how we regulate nurse licensure in our state today. It would allow nurses to practice within our state without a MN license.  This bill could result in a “race to the bottom” as nurses without the same licensure standards or requirements would be allowed to work side- by- side with MN nurses. We believe the regulation of Nurse Practice is a States’ Right Issue and this bill would give the NCNBS (National Council of State Boards of Nursing) control over Minnesota’s nursing practice without public accountability.

Threats to Patient Safety
No evidence exists that entering into an Interstate Compact improves patient safety. In fact, a recent investigation of 5 compact states by Propublica, an investigative journal, found four dozen examples of nurses who continued to work even though another compact state had barred them. Their licenses were suspended for a number of issues including ignoring patients’ needs, stealing medications, and missing crucial tests or changes in a patient’s condition. The Compact may actually multiply the risk to patients because the Compact impedes the state’s ability to ensure non-resident nurses fulfill the same qualifications for practice that are expected of resident nurses.

Threats to Our Union
The Compact also poses a threat to our union. It allows multistate corporations to move nurses across state lines under the regulatory radar. We believe the compact would cause potential disruption by out-of-state nurses on our contract negotiations and union action and that employer intimidation and discipline of nurses advocating for their patients could increase under the compact. Without a state licensure system, the thousands of nurses who crossed our picket lines this summer would not pay a licensure fee nor could they be easily tracked by our BON.

 

Moose Lake’s Mercy RNs Issue Concerns About Merger Negotiations

8 Feb

Minnesota Nurses Association Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

Media Contact:                      Jan Rabbers  (612) 860-6658 or jan.rabbers@mnnurses.org

Mercy Hospital (Moose Lake) RNs Issue Concerns About Merger Negotiations

(Moose Lake, MN – February 8, 2012) As Mercy Hospital in Moose Lake moves toward a possible merger with Duluth-based Essentia Health, registered nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association met last week to discuss concerns regarding impact on the community and on the work environment at the hospital.

The meeting highlighted the nurses’ apprehensions about the overall process of merger negotiations, especially noting the lack of advice and involvement of patient care providers, patients, and potential patients.

The group unanimously drafted and approved this statement reflecting the nurses’ issues.

“Mercy hospital has been a part of this community for decades, and the registered nurses at Mercy are proud to be a part of the outstanding patient care that patients have come to expect. We would like to see Mercy remain a place for our neighbors to receive high quality patient care for decades to come.

“The laws and ethics of our profession direct us to be mandated patient advocates.  From the patient room to the boardroom, we will advocate for our patients, our community, and our hospital. As such, even though we do not have a firm position on the outcome of merger talks, we cannot in good faith, support any merger or affiliation unless the following issues are answered in a way that benefits our community and our patients:

  1. What will be the composition of the hospital governing board, and how will community members have influence regarding the future operation of our hospital?
  2. Why have patient care providers (doctors and nurses) been shut out of the negotiating process?
  3. Will Essentia commit to, at a minimum, maintaining the level of services provided at Mercy?
  4. What guarantees would be in place to protect employees and maintain existing employee contracts?
  5. What are the specific details regarding the future of local community doctors?
  6. Why, in detail, does Mercy need to affiliate in light of a history of profitable operation?
  7. What capital and operational investments will be made by Essentia to provide for the hospital; for the community?

“We value the people of this community.   We hear the concerns of patients and their families every day on the hospital floor.  We implore our hospital board to take the time as we do to listen to their input and advice.  Then communicate, respectfully and consistently, with community members before any action is taken about the details of this process.”

Respectfully submitted,
The Mercy Hospital Registered Nurses, represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association

Newborn Screening Update for RNs

1 Feb

Attention, nurses who work in maternal-child health: See this letter (pasted below) from the Minnesota Department of Health regarding storage and use of residual blood spots.

MNA President Linda Hamilton’s Response to Minnesota Adverse Events Report’s Release

26 Jan
MNA President Linda Hamilton

MNA President Linda Hamilton

Have you or a family member ever had the unfortunate experience of suffering from a pressure ulcer? In addition to being extremely unpleasant and painful, pressure ulcers can become so deep that they result in damage to your muscles, bones, tendons and joints.

And pressure ulcers – also commonly known as bedsores – are almost always preventable when proper staffing levels are adhered to.

Yet last week’s release of Minnesota’s Eighth Annual Adverse Events Report noted that incidents involving pressure ulcers spiked more than 19 percent statewide in 2011. What state hospital executives didn’t mention in spinning away that alarming statistic was that numerous national studies have shown a direct correlation between inadequate nurse staffing levels and an increase in conditions including pressure ulcers, pneumonia, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, shock/cardiac arrest, urinary tract infections and more.

The numbers don’t lie – safe staffing levels save lives and improve patient outcomes. While many will remember that the Twin Cities nurses’ strike during the summer of 2010 shined a white-hot spotlight on the issue, unsafe staffing has been a problem in Minnesota for decades.

As patients, you deserve better. You and your loved ones should never suffer without need from pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections or other conditions that can be prevented with adequate RN staffing levels.

Money is not the issue. Keep in mind that during the great recession of 2009, Twin Cities hospitals had their largest profit margins (6.5 percent) in a decade! It’s not that hospital executives can’t pay to adequately staff their hospitals. They just don’t want to.

My fellow nurses will continue to remain vocal about the needless suffering we in our patients see as a result. And data such as the recently released Adverse Events Report will continue to lend credibility and credence to our concerns.

Sincerely,

Linda Hamilton, RN
President, Minnesota Nurses Association

MNA RN on Unsafe Staffing Levels: Enough is Enough!

18 Jan

This note from a frustrated MNA RN puts words to the frustration too many Nurses are feeling:

“We are getting tired of working without the safe amount of  nurses. We have enough upper  management to sink a ship and they want to add more COs. We need Bedside  Nurses – the ones that do the work, the ones who take care of the patients, the  ones who work overtime to help out the short staff.  We need a state law telling the hospitals how many patients the nurse can safely take care of. How many RNs don’t even get a break on their whole entire shift? Do the  CNOs ever miss a meal???? Sorry for the editorial, I’m just tired of all this crap.”

Virginia RNs Call for Charter Change; More Nurse Involvement

31 Oct

RNs at Virginia Regional Medical Center Call for Charter Change; Involvement of Bedside Nurses

Virginia, MN (Oct. 25, 2011) – VRMC RNs voted overwhelmingly today to support the City of Virginia’s proposed charter change that would alter the terms of what is considered a sale of the city-owned hospital.  “We believe a partnership agreement may be the best way to ensure a sustainable future for our hospital,” said Dave Perron, RN Chair of the VRMC nurse’s union bargaining unit, represented by Minnesota Nurses Association.

However, the nurses at VRMC have a number of concerns about the process the city has utilized so far in its initial negations with potential partners. Of chief concern for the VRMC RNs is the composition of the committee currently negotiating with a potential partner. Committee members include several with no health care experience, and noticeably absent is a representative from the nursing profession who currently practices at the bedside.  Nurses have repeatedly asked for representation on the committee, but surprisingly, have been told their knowledge and experience caring for patients were not welcome.

VRMC nurses believe a charter change would improve VRMC’s negotiating position as it moves forward in possible partnership talks with outside entities. Any such agreement would require approval by a two thirds vote of both the hospital commission and city council.

“We are mandated patient advocates, but we can’t advocate for our patients when we are being kept out of discussions,” stated Peggy Anderson, a Short-Stay Surgery registered nurse with 26 years experience and MNA Co-Chair. “Nurses vow to continue advocating for their patients and will continue to demand to be included in any process that affects patient care at VRMC,” said Dave Perron.

Founded in 1905, the Minnesota Nurses Association represents more than 20,000 nurses in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. MNA is also a founding member of National Nurses United, which represents more than 170,000 RNs across the United States.

Nurses: HealthEast Home Care RNs need your support!

20 Oct

Please take a moment to watch this video and lend some online support to MNA RNs at HealthEast Home Care. They need your support, encouragement and advice now more than ever!

MNA Duluth Nurse Vicki Ross Needs Our Help!

5 Aug

Help a nurse in need!

From MNA Nurse Deanna Bartlam, who works at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth:
My co-worker and friend, Vicki Ross, has been a long time resident of the Cloquet/Duluth area, along with her husband Gary, and two children Courtney and Jeff. She is an employee of St. Luke’s Hospital. Vicki became seriously ill in January, resulting in multiple surgeries and extensive hospital stays. She is currently receiving daily medical treatments at home. There is a possibility of future surgery. Vicki has not worked since January and her return is undetermined.

Her friends and co-workers (like myself) are hosting a benefit to help in her time of need. The benefit will be held on Sunday, August 7 from 4-8 pm at Clyde Iron in West Duluth. 

$10 ticket buys you fabulous Clyde Iron Pizza and salad. Homemade desserts, coffee, punch, or water. Cash bar is of course available! Children 6 and under are free!

$1 raffle tickets for fabulous prizes every hour as well as a silent auction with incredibly creative themed baskets!!

Please come out to eat at the Clyde Sunday evening 4-8. All proceeds go to Vicky Ross!

Patient Testimonial: MNA RNs = Rock Stars!

2 Aug

This came in on our Facebook page, and it could apply to any of our 20,000 RN members!

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