I Don’t Hate America!

Via press release:

Margaret Anderson Kelliher DFL State Convention Speech

Thank you DFL’ers.
Many thanks to Jeff Hayden, Dave Fredrickson, and Maria Arago.
And to my campaign co-chairs Secretary of State Joan Grow and Vice President Walter Mondale.
My roots in the DFL party go way back.
The first convention I attended was as a college sophomore. I will never forget it. I couldn’t take my eyes off this cute red head from the old 2nd Congressional District.
Well, today that red head is my husband, David.
Let me introduce my family. Dave and our kids - Patrick and Franny.
And, my mom - Elaine.
My mom’s pretty excited to be here. As many of you know I was the Blue Earth County Dairy Princess. Mom always wanted me to win another contest.
She hoped I would be crowned – “Princess Kay of the Milky Way.” Her wish was that my head would be carved in butter and displayed at the state fair.
 Well… I’ve been trying to make it up to her ever since.
Do you realize it has been nearly a quarter century since we elected a DFL governor?
For far, too long the governor’s office has been run by big personalities.
And, individuals with even bigger ambitions.
Well… I’ve got a message for anyone who is resigned to thinking the phrase -

“DFL Governor” is an oxymoron.

It’s time to end the 24 year drought!

Are you ready to end the 24 year drought?

This year we are on the verge of adding a new chapter to our history.
We are strong and ready. As the leader of the House DFL Caucus I’ve been serious about rebuilding our party.
With your help we’ve elected Democrats in places like Rosemount - First DFL’er there in 24 years.
In Rochester. In North Branch.
In six years we’ve gone from a minority in the house to a 30 seat majority.
As I knock on doors in the suburbs and the cities. And visit farms and factories….
I’m reminded of what matters most to Minnesotans.
Too many people are looking for a job or worried about losing their job.
My own family has faced tough times. I remember a night on the farm when I was fourteen. We had just finished supper when my dad pushed his plate away. He put his head down on the table and started to cry.

My dad Carl was a proud man and I had never seen him cry before. I knew something was really wrong. Interest rates had skyrocketed and milk prices had bottomed out. We were in danger of losing the farm.

Today there are families at kitchen tables who face the same fears.
I’ve met people like Scott - an electrician in Shakopee. Scott has been out of work for more than a year. He worries about how he’ll make his next mortgage payment.
Dixie in Thief River Falls - who is afraid she will lose her union because of the airline merger.
And, the teachers struggling in Long Prairie - Grey Eagle who work for health care. Literally. Their entire pay check goes to pay for health care for their family.
In the last eight years we’ve had a governor who put his right wing ideology ahead of improving people’s lives.

We have endured a governor who would rather block and squander, than build and prosper.

We must and can do better. Minnesotans are hungry for a leader who shares their values.

We must and can do better. We need a governor who can connect with all of Minnesota.

That’s why I am running for governor.

And that’s why today I am asking for your endorsement.

I will do better.

I’ve stared down the Republican right. I’ve come out with wins.

The 35W bridge collapse was a time for strong leadership.

Governor Pawlenty ignored the wake up call. He vowed never to sign a comprehensive transportation bill.

I looked him in the eye and told him I would organize an override of his veto. He said go ahead and try. And, that’s exactly what I did.

I forged new partnerships with business, labor. Farmers, environmentalists. Democrats and Republicans.

Together, we won. And, Minnesota won.
Our roads and bridges are safer. And, we put Minnesotans back to work.

There is nothing more important than jobs.

In March, I led the effort to pass a jobs agenda. Economists project it will pull us out of the great recession more quickly. 20,000 Minnesotans will be back to work in the coming months and 10,000 more after that.

As Governor I will go farther.

I have the executive experience to hit the ground running. There is no time to waste. The new governor must deliver a budget in twelve short weeks.

As Speaker of the Minnesota House, I manage a 300 person staff with a multi-million dollar budget.

I have completed three - 34 billion dollar balanced state budgets. Hammering out a budget isn’t glamorous work. It takes more than being a cheerleader.

It matters because the budget touches every, single Minnesotan. Through job training for returning veterans, making college affordable, and insuring 40,000 more kids.

I have already put forward an economic roadmap. As Governor I will ensure economic recovery touches every corner of the state.

From Fergus Falls, where Greg and Jenny Stumbo are expanding their cafe…

To the technical college in Canby where students are learning how to repair wind turbines.

To McQuay International in Plymouth creating jobs for engineers and managers.

We cannot afford to have an opportunity gap between rural and metro Minnesota.

We will seize new possibilities. Like we did with the 2007 Renewable Energy Standard. Standards that Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer want to repeal.
We had the vision to set the strongest standards in the nation. This is good for the environment and good for jobs.
As governor I will position us for the future by setting priorities from day one as we govern together.
Dave and I are proud public school parents. As Governor I will ensure all kids succeed in college and work. It starts with early childhood education.
We will fix our school funding formula so that it is fair, predictable, and sustainable.
As Governor I will ensure every Minnesotan has health care. And, be steadfast in securing civil rights. Including racial justice.
And, marriage equality.
As your next Governor, these are my priorities. In good times and in bad.
My family was fortunate. We saved the farm. My parents scraped together every single penny - their life savings. We worked sun up to sun down. Those difficult days made me who I am today.

A tireless fighter.

This spring my brothers Craig and Ken are preparing for another planting season. As they break ground, they do so with a steady eye on the future.

So, must we. Together we can build a future filled with prosperity and opportunity.

This is the tradition of the DFL party.

Twenty-one years ago Dave and I sat with a college professor from Northfield when he decided to run for statewide office.

Paul Wellstone inspired so many of us.

Paul said “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
It is the DFL party that believes in the dreams of the little guy.

We are the party of Fitz Mondale and Hubert Humphrey. Champions of the people.

The DFL party is the party of pioneering women.
We sent Coya Knutson to Washington fifty years ago.
We are the party of: Alan Spear, Keith Ellison, and Amy Klobuchar.
The DFL party has been breaking ground for nearly a century.
It is time to come together again for one Minnesota.

Together, we can win in November!

I ask for your vote.

Via press release. The Rukavina speech is attached to this post.

Download it here.

Via press release: 

Full Text of Thissen Endorsement Speech

Representative Thissen will thank various people before he begins the speech text, copied below.

Delegates – It. Is. Time.

It is time to stand up for our values.

It is time to STOP playing not to lose and start playing to win!

It is time to shed the mistakes of the past and embrace the future!

It……..is……….time!

For 8 long years, our children have suffered in overcrowded classrooms with outdated materials. Our seniors have lived in fear being forced out of the communities they love because they cannot afford to stay. Parents have worried about how they will keep their jobs, homes, and care for their children.

Minnesota’s just say no governor has closed the door on opportunity for too many of us. He’s used his veto pen as a weapon to assault the most vulnerable among us.

We’ve lived for so long with such poor leadership that we have gotten used to it. We’ve come to accept skyrocketing health care costs as normal. We’ve made due with fewer hours and lower pay. We’ve too readily accepted that we live in a state of scarcity when in fact we live in a state of great abundance.

Our leaders have decided for us that mediocrity is the best we can do.

And as the current governor has slashed and burned the state we love, the response of some Democrats has been little more than a whimper. We confuse caving in with compromise.

Democrats – the challenges we face are too serious to settle for slapping a coat of paint on a building that is collapsing to pretend we’ve fixed something.

It is time we stop nibbling around the edges and start taking on the big challenges of our future again.

Yes, Democrats, it is time!

It is time we stand up and fight the flawed philosophy that says we are better off if just left on our own. We know that Minnesota is at its best when our communities are thriving – that we prosper when our neighbors do.

It is time for a Minnesota where we measure our success by the prosperity of our families and not by our national tax ranking, where we shine once again as a destination state, an oasis that welcomes the world, respects science and revels in great culture.

It is time for a Minnesota where we once again value all of our communities — large and small — and understand that the seeds of the next Minnesota renaissance rest in the hard work of thousands of individual Minnesotans across this state who are rebuilding Main Streets and reclaiming their neighborhoods.

It is time for a Minnesota where we once again lead the country in job creation — where we respect the dignity of a hard day’s work, encourage innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, take pride in the bounty of our fields and forests and mines, and create a Minnesota that powers itself with homegrown renewable resources.

It is time for a Minnesota where every child has the best education, regardless of family background or where she lives; where doctors and nurses can focus on taking care of people instead of worrying about how much a patient costs the system; where our seniors become not a burden, but an army of volunteers ready to transform our state.

It is time to build a Minnesota we can be proud of again.

Democrats — let’s break out of the trap that tells us that the only job of state government is to cut deals and balance the books. Our democracy demands much more than that. I will be a Governor that looks outside the walls of the Capitol at the reality of people’s lives. I will be a governor that takes action to break down the walls that separate us – walls of race and geography, of disability, gender and sexual orientation. I will tackle discrimination not just on the surface, but at its roots buried deep within our communities and institutions. I will set forth a moral vision for our state and where it needs to go. Together, we can remind Minnesotans that government is not the enemy; INSTEAD POOR LEADERSHIP IS.

That’s why in 2009 – despite a just say no governor and hyper-partisan legislature – I stood up and said that no Minnesota child should go without health care.

The result was ground breaking legislation that covered 40,000 Minnesota kids, cut through the partisanship, and even convinced the just say no governor to do the right thing.

That success proves that we CAN do the people’s work with the right leader — a leader with a clear vision, who has faced down fierce Republican opposition and demonstrated a willingness to break with the conventional wisdom when it is the right thing to do.

It is time to lead again.

But Democrats, it’s also time to be honest with ourselves. We cannot accomplish ANY of the bold objectives we share unless we finally win the governor’s race. We live with the consequences of losing for 20 years every single day.

For too long, we’ve repeated the mistake of running the establishment candidate – the face of the DFL party. We’ve ignored the independent spirit of Minnesota. We’ve shunned the reality that Minnesotans trust the person, not the party. We’ve played it safe, and Minnesota is suffering.

We owe it to ourselves and to Minnesota to break the chains of failure and win this time.

It is time to run a fresh face, tested in a partisan environment but armed with a vision that cuts across partisan bounds and appeals to the independent spirit of Minnesotans. It’s time to grab hold of our DFL values but transcend the DFL brand.

It’s time to stop playing it safe and start playing to win!

That’s why I am asking for your support for the DFL endorsement for Governor. You’ve seen how far our campaign has come through hard work, criss-crossing the state, and sheer determination. There is nothing more Minnesotan than that.

I ask you to join our team - be a part of turning the DFL and Minnesota away from the past and towards a vibrant future. Together, we can build a Minnesota that makes us the envy of the nation again because …

It is time to stop looking back and start looking forward.

It is time to stand up for our vision of a vibrant Minnesota.

It is time to prove to Minnesota that we can win AND govern.

Delegates, the stakes are high and the time is now!

Together, let’s make this the time we take back the governor’s office and build a better future for all of us.

Thank you.

On March 5th, an agreement was made between Gov. Tim Pawlenty and DFL leaders to extend the GAMC program that was set to end on March 31st, 2010 and would have transitioned tens of thousands of low-income Minnesotans to a more expensive MinnesotaCare plan. Although the plan will continue coverage for many, the payments are slim from the state, instead shifting much of the costs to hospitals.  According to MPR and Sen. Linda Berglin (DFL), 77% of the program’s funding from the state is being cut.  Hospitals such as HCMC will still need to deal with picking up the cost to ensure all their patients receive the appropriate care.  From an RN that works at HCMC, staff have already been facing cuts that affect patient care.  Patient to nurse ratios have now increased on medical/surgical units up to 8:1 on nights.  With less reimbursement to hospitals and a shifting of costs such as this GAMC deal, patient care will still negatively be affected until legislators pass safe patient handling bills, or increase funding to programs for the uninsured.  This will be an interesting topic to continue following in the coming months.

From Minnesota Public Radio (MPR):

GAMC deal shifts costs to hospitals, health providers

by Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio, Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio

March 5, 2010

St. Paul, Minn. — Gov. Tim Pawlenty and DFL legislators have reached a deal over funding for a health insurance program for the poor.

The deal will preserve coverage for most current General Assistance Medical Care recipients, but will shift costs onto medical providers.

GAMC provides health insurance for more than 30,000 of the state’s poorest residents. The program was scheduled to end on March 31, after Pawlenty cut its funding last year to balance the state budget.

The new plan will extend GAMC for two months. Starting June 1, a new system, funded with block grants, will replace it.

Instead of paying providers for each service provided, the new plan will provide hospital-based coordinated care systems with capped block grants to provide health care to eligible residents. Most former GAMC recipients will be eligible under the new plan.

“The hope will be this will be a more efficient, comprehensive, and continuous care,” Pawlenty said in a press conference this afternoon.

DFL legislators said they’re glad to have reached an agreement, but said the plan will hurt medical providers. Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, said the plan cuts the program’s funding by 77 percent.

“The health care providers are taking a huge cut,” said Rep. Thomas Huntley, DFL-Duluth. “That makes the state budget look good, but some hospitals may collapse, and other hospitals may just raise their rates to everybody else to make up for the loss of this money, and that will be put on your insurance bill.”

The state’s General Fund will provide $71 million in capped block grants to hospital-based Coordinating Care Organizations in the current 2010-2011 budget, and $131 million in 2012-2013.

The plan also establishes a separate method to reimburse CCOs for prescription drug costs. The deal caps drug reimbursements at $45 million from the General Fund in the 2010-2011 fiscal years, and $83 million in the 2012-2013 fiscal years.

GAMC recipient Robert Fischer expressed relief that he won’t lose his coverage. Fischer, who is 51, has sleep apnea, depression, and a degenerative back condition. His only income is $203 a month from the state’s General Assistance program.

“From what I’ve heard, I’m very, very happy,” Fischer said.

Negotiators have been working on a solution for GAMC for about nine months. The plan was set to expire later this month.

“We knew when we began this endeavor nine months ago that we were going to be putting together legislation that was going to be less than lovely,” said Rep. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul. “We were working very hard to protect the safety net for those who get their care in GAMC, and we’ve protected that commitment.”

Murphy added, “I think the safety net is a little thinner. It may be a little bit more like a lifeboat.”

The state had planned to transfer many current GAMC enrollees into another state health insurance program, called MinnesotaCare, once the program ended.

But many recipients say they would not be able to afford MinnesotaCare’s monthly premiums and higher co-payments.

Issue background:

The General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) fund is a MN healthcare program run by our Minnesota Department of Human Services (MDHS, 2009) that covers “low-income adults, ages 21-64, who have no dependent children under age 18 and who do not qualify for federal healthcare programs” (para. 1). The services offered include a comprehensive benefits package focused on preventative care and one for those who want coverage in case of an emergency hospital visit with a specific co-pay amount. A recent veto and line-item cut from MN’s budget by Gov. Tim Pawlenty took away $381 million from the GAMC (Perry, 2009). According to Share (2009), these “cuts to GAMC will leave 33,000 low-income Minnesotans without healthcare” as the labor review editor quoted the MNA.

One of the major hospitals in the Twin Cities, the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is one of the most affected by the line-item cut to GAMC as they will lose “$43 million in 2010 and $50 million in 2011” (Newmarker, 2009, para. 5). This has forced the one in only four Level 1 trauma center’s in the state to face many program cuts as they deal with a $550 million budget compared to a $600 million one in 2009 (Newmarker, 2009). Protesting nurses do not want to be a part of potential cuts, or see vulnerable patients turned away especially as we already face issues regarding safe staffing. HCMC’s major cuts highlight how payment increases to insurers must happen in order for healthcare organizations to stay afloat. Payment increases to insurers means payment increases to their customers, the ones who pay for health insurance. This is one element of the greater healthcare reform issue that needs to be addressed as the national debate continues.

Minnesota Department of Human Services. (2009). General assistance medical care. Retrieved
on October 15, 2009, from http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService
=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=id_006257

Newmarker, C. (2009, September 25). HCMC lists programs facing cuts. American City
Business Journals, Inc. Retrieved on October 15, 2009, from http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2009/09/28/story4.html?b=1254110400%5E2162231

Perry, S. (2009, October 1). Employment stimulus will dominate session, as well as bonding bill.
Finance & Commerce, Inc. Retrieved on October 15, 2009, from http://legal-ledger.com/item.cfm?recID=12318

Share, S. (2009, October 12). Nurses march on capitol, call on governor to restore general
assistance medical care. Workday Minnesota. Retrieved on October 15, 2009, from http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_4205

The National Nurses United (NNU) updated their number of RN volunteers in the RN Response Network (RNRN) to 7,000 today.  These nurses are from all across the U.S. and are anxiously waiting for the go ahead to  to travel to Haiti for the relief effort.  The issue of course continues to be the need for funding to make this happen.  I am proud to say I am one of the 7,000 nurses waiting to go, but the NNU is still in the process of collaborating with multiple organizations while working on coming up with enough donations to start sending us.  When I eventually get to go (crossing my fingers), I promise to capture pictures, videos, and stories from the frontlines as I use my nursing skills to aid those who desperately need care.

Today, the NNU set up a “Send A Nurse” Disaster Relief Fund.  Please go to their website and donate any amount so we can start sending nurses to Haiti as soon as possible.

The Star Tribune wrote an article today about how Minnesotan’s are ready to support the relief, but barriers are keeping the help from reaching Haiti:

Across Minnesota, as a large outpouring of volunteers and aid takes shape to help Haiti, Minnesotans are worrying that they are in a race against time.

Will emergency supplies arrive fast enough to save lives? Is there a place for volunteers to sleep? Is there food and water?

Feed My Starving Children, in the Twin Cities, is scrambling to get 1 million meals to Haiti in the weeks ahead. A White Bear Lake nonprofit is rushing its director there to check on the fate of its school and orphanages. A St. Cloud bank executive is writing a check for $50,000 to spur other donations to the tragedy.

But people — even doctors, nurses and engineers — need to wait for the right time.

Food, water, and housing are in such short supply that only skilled volunteers working with large international relief organizations are welcome at this moment.

“It’s going to be very unpredictable,” said Monte Achenbach, one of two staffers from the Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee who flew to Haiti Thursday. “The first things that need to be done are to clear the roads, clear the people trapped in the buildings and offer food, water, sanitary services — the things people are literally dying for.”

In the same article, nursing colleague and close friend Cassandra Hamilton, RN was also interviewed:

In the Twin Cities, Cassandra Hamilton was among the Minnesota nurses who responded to a call by National Nurses United to help the injured in Haiti. Hamilton is a family care nurse who works with children at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids.

“I feel like nursing is a way to give back to people,” said Hamilton, who also has volunteered in Colombia. “I feel it’s my obligation.”

A University of Minnesota bioethicist outlined what needs to happen for the Haiti relief efforts to be successful:

As urgent as it feels now, Minnesotans should realize the crisis in Haiti will be with us for a long time, said Steve Miles, a University of Minnesota bioethicist who has participated in many medical relief missions.

“What’s really needed now is food, diggers, dogs and materials,” Miles said. “The best approach right now is to send money to large organizations … that can move on a swift and large scale.”

The next phase, he said, will include erecting “MASH-style” hospitals, clinics and feeding stations, as well as massive public health services.

The final phases include the rebuilding of roads, libraries, schools, and telecommunications systems, he said. This is where Minnesotans should consider lending a hand.

The NNU held an almost hour and a half long conference call yesterday led by executive director Rose Ann DeMoro with more than 1,800 RN’s and other national callers (including the press).  This was one of the largest, if not THE largest ever conference call held by NNU or CNA/NNOC, with the purpose of outlining the current plan for nurse deployment to Haiti.  From my notes, here is what I’ve gathered for those interested in where we are at.

Disclaimer:  Every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of what was said during the conference call.  Despite being an NNU member myself, the following is not meant to represent any official statement from the organization.  Please visit their website for the latest news and for all official statements.

• Nurses have historically been extremely valuable resources during relief efforts given their multiple skills & specialties, ability to assess situations in the environment and with the patient, carry out skilled treatments, and work under difficult conditions night and day.  Nurses organized through the RN Response Network were well recognized for their work during Katrina and in Sri Lanka.
• NNU is preparing a systematic process to roll-out nurses in waves.  Miami will act as the homebase for RN’s to travel to first, before they are transported to Haiti by either air, or potentially sea travel depending on what partnerships are made.
• The first priority is SAFETY for our nurses.  We will need security set in place at all times by groups such as the military, national guard, UN, or other security groups from other countries.  We will not put our nurses at risk by going if we can’t ensure constant protection.
• RN’s need to be prepared and properly oriented before deployment.  Vaccinations need to be up-to-date due to potential exposure to many infectious diseases.  Typical exposure includes food and water-borne disease, E. Coli, typhoid fever, HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis A and B, worms, tetanus, measles, malaria, malnutrition, and dehydration for example.  Sanitation is a problem in the country, as well as clean water and shelter (we will likely have to sleep in sleeping bags and potentially on the streets).  Aftershocks are still occurring which makes it dangerous to stay in unsteady buildings.  RN’s also need to be prepared mentally and emotionally as they will see a numerous amount of trauma patients, broken bones, dead children and adults laying in the street, kids without parents, and significant pain and suffering.
• NNU is hoping for cooperation from the health insurance industry and pharmaceutical companies to offer discounts, or even free vaccinations for RN’s going to Haiti.  Some of the vaccinations take up to 2-3 weeks before they are fully effective, thus delaying immediate deployment for some.  This is another top priority for NNU so we don’t have many more delays, however.
• RN’s will also need passports, but we are hoping that the White House may be able to waive certain travel requirements based on this being declared an emergency.  This would prevent more unnecessary delays holding qualified RN’s back because lives are at risk in Haiti!

From the NNU press release related to the conference call, Rose Ann DeMoro added:

“We are asking the hospitals to provide paid time off for the nurses who wish to join this effort. We are also asking the pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies to provide free vaccinations for the nurse volunteers, and others to donate medical supplies for the nurses to bring with them,” DeMoro said.

It will be very important for nurses to work with their healthcare organizations to arrange days off.  The deployment waves will likely last 7-10 days according to the conference call.  So far I’ve contacted the Allina Hospitals & Clinics, one of the largest healthcare organizations in MN and was directed to the following news post by them:

Haiti Earthquake Disaster Relief

Jan. 14, 2010

The devastation in Haiti caused by the recent earthquake has people around the world asking how they can help. Many Allina employees have asked if they can donate Paid Time Off (PTO) to disaster relief efforts, as was the case in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  Current Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations require that PTO donations of this type be taxed — however, we are hopeful the IRS will suspend this requirement soon, which will enable employees to help in this way. We will communicate the process for donating PTO to Haitian relief efforts as soon as the IRS acts.

 Additionally, Allina representatives are coordinating with relief agencies to identify a process for deploying clinical personnel, supplies and/or equipment to Haiti. We will communicate additional detail on this as plans come together.

  We know that Allina employees are anxious to help, and we will provide additional information as soon as possible.

The American Red Cross and OxFam are accepting donations for Haiti relief efforts.

Hopefully they will recognize the “Send A Nurse” Disaster Relief Fund is in need of money to send our nation’s nurses.  Additionally, this and any other healthcare organization could be recognized internationally if they work with their nurses schedules to give them time off and use the donated PTO as charity pay to RN’s who take off from work to go to Haiti.  It would be a win-win situation for everyone, especially for the lives potentially saved in Haiti.

IDHA! will continue to cover the Haiti situation and update everyone on the status of nurse deployment as well as my own hopefully soon.  Please keep checking back.

The recently formed National Nurses United (NNU) union which represents approximately 150,000 direct-care RN’s across the country has activated their volunteer RN Rapid Response Network (RNRN) in the hopes to immediately send the support of our nation’s RN’s to the disaster areas in Haiti.  The national organization, aptly named an RN “super union” became a major force when three major nursing organizations merged under the NNU umbrella in December of 2009 through a historical vote that took place in Phoenix, AZ.  These groups consisted of the 85,000 member California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), the 23,000 member Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), and the 45,000 member United American Nurses (AFL-CIO) with all their affiliates.  The NNU board consists of an elected co-president from each of the three major nursing organizations listed above, several elected vice-presidents from represented state nursing organizations, a Secretary Treasurer, and Rose Ann DeMoro who was elected executive director, a position she held while leading the CNA/NNOC since 1993.

The Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) with its 20,000 members has a major stake within the national union.  A press release sent out by the NNU to their members was being circulated to all NNU affiliates yesterday including here in MN calling for volunteers to aid those in the devastation areas in Haiti.  The formal call to action press release is presented here:

Largest RN Union Issues Urgent Call for Nurse Volunteers

To Assist Earthquake Ravaged Haiti
Nurse Volunteer Group to Coordinate Emergency Nursing Mission

The nation’s largest organization of registered nurses tonight activated its nationwide disaster relief program to recruit nurse volunteers to provide assistance to residents of earthquake devastated Haiti, the National Nurses United announced Tuesday night.

Registered Nurse Response Network sent more than hundreds of nurse volunteers to the Gulf region following Hurricane Katrina. RNRN has also sent volunteers to Sri Lanka after the South Asia tsunami and to help following huge Southern California wildfires. RNRN is affiliated with National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the national union and professional association for Registered Nurses.

Details are still being worked out, but nurses can sign up at the web form that follows for more details. http://www.calnurses.org/rnrn/rnrn-volunteer-form.html. NNU will also provide follow up information at www.twitter.com/nationalnu

rses <http://www.twitter.com/nationalnurses> for details and plans.
The 150,000-member NNU was formed last month through the unification of California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, United American Nurses, and Massachusetts Nurses Association.

Through RNRN, the organization hopes to send nurses to provide emergency short term and long term medical support, as it has in previous major disasters. Following Katrina, for example, RNRN volunteers worked with local healthcare and emergency agencies and officials in mobile clinics, area hospitals, and other healthcare settings in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

“We are calling on nurses throughout the U.S. to join us in this critical effort,” said NNU Co-Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro.

“Nurses will be fundamental to the disaster relief process, to provide immediate healing and therapeutic support to the patients and families facing the devastation from this tragic earthquake,” DeMoro said.

If you are interested in donating to the National Nurses United (NNU) union of 150,000 direct-care RN’s, but more specifically to the fund for the RN Response Network (RNRN), please do so here.

According to the NNU, 1,500 RN’s have already responded in less than a day’s time to volunteer. The RNRN relief fund would help send these incredible nurses willing to to provide assistance in Haiti.  A new press release outlines information regarding a conference call for volunteering RN’s that will happen today:

National Conference Call Thursday For 1,500 RN Volunteers for Haiti Relief Effort
Press Can Dial-in or Visit Local Offices in TX, FL, MA, NV, IL, CA and DC

Nurses Issue Urgent Appeal to Public to Support Nurse Relief Efforts

More than 1,500 registered nurses from across the U.S. have responded in less than one day to the call by the nation’s largest organization of registered nurses for volunteers to provide assistance to residents of earthquake devastated Haiti —leading the RNs to now issue an urgent appeal for the public to support these efforts with donations of funds to support travel costs and medical supplies on their upcoming emergency nursing mission.

Press and nurses are invited to a conference call Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time for an overview of the efforts and their logistics, including the details on the first teams of nurses traveling to the area.  Press can call in for the briefing at (866) 320-4709 using the access code 143135, or gather with local nurses and representatives in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Miami.

The relief efforts are being coordinated by the Registered Nurse Response Network (RNRN), a project of the 150,000-member National Nurses United (NNU), formed last month through the unification of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, United American Nurses and Massachusetts Nurses Association.  RNRN/NNU is hoping to have nurse volunteers on the ground in Haiti within the next few days and is coordinating with Haitian nurses on the effort.

Details are still being worked out, but those able to support the efforts of these nurses can get involved via:

• www.NationalNursesUnited.org to sign up to volunteer or donate
• @NationalNurses on twitter or by following: #haitiRN
• Call the RNRN hotline: 1-800-578-8225
• Support the RNRN/NNU disaster relief effort in Haiti by sending checks c/o California Nurses Foundation, 2000 Franklin St., Oakland, CA 94612. Charitable contributions will be used to pay for travel/related costs and medical supplies for volunteer RNs on their emergency nursing mission in Haiti.

RNRN sent hundreds of nurse volunteers to the Gulf region following Hurricane Katrina. RNRN has also sent volunteers to Sri Lanka after the South Asia tsunami and to help following huge Southern California wildfires. RNRN is affiliated with National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the national union and professional association for registered nurses.

“The need for help has never been so acute.  We need financial support to transport them,” said NNU Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro.  “Nurses will be fundamental to the disaster relief process, to provide immediate healing and therapeutic support to the patients and families facing the devastation from this tragic earthquake,” DeMoro said.

Follow the latest news related to NNU & RN involvement at:
http://www.twitter.com/nationalnurses
http://www.nationalnurses.united.org

Follow me as I attempt to go to Haiti:
http://idonthateamerica.com/category/jason-b/
http://twitter.com/Jason_RN
I will keep everyone updated here on I Don’t Hate America! as I am attempting to arrange to go to Haiti as part of the RNRN relief efforts.  My availability is dependent on my pleas to switch my hospital shifts which is still pending as of early Thursday, January 14th.  For those who do not know, I have a  Master’s in Nursing specializing in Leadership & Management (MSN), currently work in acute care, and am also a certified public health RN.  Please donate to the RNRN cause and/or volunteer if you are an RN able to go on such short notice.

——–

Barack Obama issued these remarks from a transcript released from The White House yesterday morning:

Remarks by the President on Rescue Efforts in Haiti
Diplomatic Reception Room

10:20 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  This morning I want to extend to the people of Haiti the deep condolences and unwavering support of the American people following yesterday’s terrible earthquake.

We are just now beginning to learn the extent of the devastation, but the reports and images that we’ve seen of collapsed hospitals, crumbled homes, and men and women carrying their injured neighbors through the streets are truly heart-wrenching.  Indeed, for a country and a people who are no strangers to hardship and suffering, this tragedy seems especially cruel and incomprehensible.  Our thoughts and prayers are also with the many Haitian Americans around our country who do not yet know the fate of their families and loved ones back home.

I have directed my administration to respond with a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives.  The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble, and to deliver the humanitarian relief — the food, water and medicine  — that Haitians will need in the coming days.  In that effort, our government, especially USAID and the Departments of State and Defense are working closely together and with our partners in Haiti, the region, and around the world.

Right now our efforts are focused on several urgent priorities.  First, we’re working quickly to account for U.S. embassy personnel and their families in Port-au-Prince, as well as the many American citizens who live and work in Haiti.  Americans trying to locate family members in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at 888/407-4747.  I’m going to repeat that – 888/407-4747.

Second, we’ve mobilized resources to help rescue efforts.  Military overflights have assessed the damage, and by early afternoon our civilian disaster assistance team are beginning to arrive.  Search and rescue teams from Florida, Virginia and California will arrive throughout today and tomorrow, and more rescue and medical equipment and emergency personnel are being prepared.

Because in disasters such as this the first hours and days are absolutely critical to saving lives and avoiding even greater tragedy, I have directed my teams to be as forward-leaning as possible in getting the help on the ground and coordinating with our international partners as well.

Third, given the many different resources that are needed, we are taking steps to ensure that our government acts in a unified way.  My national security team has led an interagency effort overnight.  And to ensure that we coordinate our effort, going forward, I’ve designated the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Dr. Rajiv Shah, to be our government’s unified disaster coordinator.

Now, this rescue and recovery effort will be complex and challenging.  As we move resources into Haiti, we will be working closely with partners on the ground, including the many NGOs from Haiti and across Haiti, the United Nations Stabilization Mission, which appears to have suffered its own losses, and our partners in the region and around the world.  This must truly be an international effort.

Finally, let me just say that this is a time when we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share.  With just a few hundred miles of ocean between us and a long history that binds us together, Haitians are neighbors of the Americas and here at home.  So we have to be there for them in their hour of need.

Despite the fact that we are experiencing tough times here at home, I would encourage those Americans who want to support the urgent humanitarian efforts to go to whitehouse.gov where you can learn how to contribute.  We must be prepared for difficult hours and days ahead as we learn about the scope of the tragedy. We will keep the victims and their families in our prayers.  We will be resolute in our response, and I pledge to the people of Haiti that you will have a friend and partner in the United States of America today and going forward.

May God bless the people of Haiti and those working on their behalf.

Thank you very much.

The U.S government has set up a website located at The White House Blog, Help for Haiti, which should feature regular updates from Obama and the White House staff.

Americans looking for family members in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at (888) 407-4747.

The Center for International Disaster Information also set up a site with more ways for people to donate to the “Haiti Earthquake Humanitarian Emergency.”

——–

Groups that are in Haiti already, or en route include the International Medical Corps, Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, UN Peacekeepers, U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, University of Miami School of Medicine, Oxfam International, and so many more. Hopefully the NNU will be there within a few days. Keep following their site at http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is there. According to CNN who quoted this group, “the most urgent needs at this time are search and rescue, field hospitals, emergency health, water purification, emergency shelter, logistics and telecommunications.”

According to WCCO local news in the Twin Cities, MN,
MN aid group’s that are assisting include Kids Against Hunger of New Hope, Haiti Outreach of Minnetonka, Feed My Starving Children of Coon Rapids, HealingHaiti.org of White Bear Lake, World Wide Village of St. Paul, and likely many other organizations that are sending food and other sorts of aid who deserve to be recognized.

——–

From the International Medical Corps, another great medical organization that could use donations as well sent out a mailing from the frontlines in Haiti:

Dear Jason,

We arrived in Port-au-Prince this afternoon. The airport is so full of people trying to evacuate that it is difficult to find transportation into the city.

We traveled about 35 minutes by car to a hotel called Villa Creole. It is complete devastation here. Most of the city does not have electricity. Crowds of people are standing in the streets, taking care not to get too close to shaky buildings. Many in the crowds are injured, and dead bodies are lined along the roadside. Injured people are sleeping next to people who are dead. The streets are littered with cables from downed power lines, as well as cars and buses that crashed or were abandoned when the earthquake and aftershocks hit.

The hotel here has been turned into a small makeshift hospital. About 90-100 people were standing in the hotel driveway, waiting for help. We instantly began conducting triage and treating patients alongside a Haitian doctor from Hope for Haiti. Medical supplies — such as IVs, pain medicines, and bandages — are extremely limited. Most patients that we have seen so far are suffering from broken bones, fractures, and ruptures. Some are in more critical condition, but there is no hospital we can refer them to. Our team will sleep outside tonight. Like everyone else, we are afraid to sleep inside a building. The aftershocks are still coming.

If you have already sent a donation to support our emergency response team, we thank you for your compassion. If not, we hope you will join us in responding to this devastating earthquake. Your donation will help us bring in the medical personnel, supplies and equipment we need to save as many lives as possible here. Donate now.

Thank you for your support,

Margaret Aguirre
Director of Global Communications
International Medical Corps

——–

More information to come as available.  I will update after the NNU conference call with the 1,500+ RN volunteers.  The press is invited to this call as well.  Again, the information to call in is as follows from the NNU press release:

Press and nurses are invited to a conference call Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time [12:00 p.m. Central, 1:00 p.m. Eastern] for an overview of the efforts and their logistics, including the details on the first teams of nurses traveling to the area.  Press can call in for the briefing at (866) 320-4709 using the access code 143135, or gather with local nurses and representatives in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Miami.

The folk from Minnesota Democrats Exposed posted a press release from former three-term MN state representative from the 80’s, Allen Quist, announcing his candidacy to challenge Tim Walz in the 1st district.  This 65-year old who should be retiring is now an ambitious McCain clone with views that actually hurt our senior’s healthcare (as a nurse, I’ll never understand that conservative viewpoint).  What is most interesting is Allen Quist’s lack of mentioning GOP efforts to support him, the Mayo Clinic (given the issue of healthcare and of course, the failure of Brian Davis to win in 2008), but instead mentions the Tea Party!  This is awesome (or blatantly stupid on his part) considering recent posts on Bluestem and here on IDHA about the tea baggers ridiculous anti-immigrant views.  Seriously, just watch the video from the two posted links above to see how proud they are of being “European Americans.”  Hell, if I was there they’d be hating me simply because I am of mixed blood of two of our enemies from WWII, Germany and Japan.  I’m guessing their ancestors at least have one of those two in them as well, yet they are clearly much better… sure.  I’m hoping for them to announce their public support for Allen Quist very soon, especially after Quist mentions them in his press release:

 “Southern Minnesota voters have been holding Tea Party rallies and contacting Congressman Walz’s office asking him not to support these wasteful government spending bills that force more government control of our lives,” said Quist.

DJ recently discussed Allen Quist’s horrible political ads when him and I were just youngin’s, but DJ’s incredible memory is relived through this post.  He also mentions Quist’s tendency to be a “super-mega-ultra right winger.”  If Brian Davis got a little over 30% of the vote in 2008, I’m guessing someone even more right-winged would likely get less of a turnout.  Again, let’s hope for a public endorsement from the Tea Party.

Here’s MDE’s posting of Allen Quist’s press release announcing his candidacy (credit must go where credit is due):

(St. Peter, MN) – Former State Representative Allen Quist has announced that he will run against U.S. Representative Tim Walz for the First District Congressional Seat.  Quist served three terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1982 to 1988, runs a family farm of 1200 acres with his son Andrew in rural St. Peter, and recently retired as a teacher at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato

Quist, a Republican, said his message will be simple and straightforward:  ”If people like what Congress is doing, they should vote for the incumbent,” Quist said.  ”But if they believe, as I do, that Congress is headed in the wrong direction, then I will be the alternative.”

According to Quist there have been three unusually important bills under consideration during this session of Congress: the $787 billion Stimulus bill, Cap and Trade, and the Health Care bill.  ”Representative Walz has been on the wrong side of all three,” said Quist.

Quist emphasizes that government spending is totally out of control.  ”Just the Stimulus bill by itself added over $10,000 of new government debt for every family of four in our nation,” he explained.  Quist also said that present Congressional spending trends will almost double our national debt-from 40% of GDP today to 87% of D+GDP by 2020.  Quist says this means, “continued high unemployment and burdening the next generation with a level of debt that will substantially reduce their quality of life.”

“The Cap and Trade bill will add $6,800 per year of higher energy costs for every family of four and the Health Care bill, which is supposed to reduce medical costs, will actually increase total costs by over $100 billion each year,” said Quist.

Quist added that the Health Care bill contains a huge hidden tax on the middle class and will substatnitally reduce the access senior citizens have to needed health care.  ”In terms of costs,” Quist said, “big business is the big winner and the middle class is the big loser.  American citizens of the middle class will be forced to pay the bills.”

“Southern Minnesota voters have been holding Tea Party rallies and contacting Congressman Walz’s office asking him not to support these wasteful government spending bills that force more government control of our lives,” said Quist.  ”Congressman Walz continually shows by his votes that he is out of step with the voters of the First District.

Not a real bad press release, despite the ugly spelling error of “substantially” (spell check anyone on a major release?) to try and emphasize his agenda.  In other news, I just finished my Master’s degree so I should have more time to post!  Woohoo!

[Update 11/19/09, 8:00 P.M.]

In a press release sent out by the Tim Walz camp, they responded to Allen Quist’s announcement of his candidacy by mentioning the Tea Party connection as well.  Check out this excerpt:

Today, the right-wing tea party Republicans announced their plans to run long-time politician and former State Representative Allen Quist from St. Peter. 

I really hope the tea baggers and Quist work closely together in this race as a simple google search (”tea party rally”) of the group portrays their not so patriotic movement.  A substantial amount of the news and blog links focus on the groups attacks on protesters at Tea Party rallies across the country while they appear impervious to expressing racism.

Here are some excerpts from the Christian Science Monitor about Tea Party violence around the country.  Visit the aforementioned link for the entire article.

“At one anti-Obama protest in Arizona this summer, a protester carried a rifle slung over his shoulder. “[Tea-partiers] bringing weapons does suggest a stronger degree of alienation and threat,” he says.

Conservatives place the blame at Mr. Obama’s feet, saying his liberal leadership has made “union thugs” comfortable enough to confront conservatives in the streets.”

“The first spark of violence connected to the Tea Party movement came in St. Louis Aug. 6 when a Tea Party protester named Ken Gladney was injured after a confrontation with Service Employees International Union protesters.”

“A second scuffle also broke out last Saturday when Tea Party protesters in Phoenix attempted to evict a group of neo-Nazis trying to join their protest.”

Since these guys continue to be buzzworthy, IDHA will continue exposing connections between this radical conservative group and their support of candidates seeking positions in a government representing the great freedoms in our country.  More to come later!

Rep. Tim Walz sent out a mailing today applauding the expansion of the list of diseases that the harmful chemical Agent Orange has had on many of our Vietnam Veterans.  With a family member awaiting a heart due to this serious threat, I am glad to see this step forward by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.  As a cardiac nurse, I feel adding ischemic heart disease is a major win for Vets given the time frame this specific illness affects the population and the current age of the Vietnam Veteran cohort.

From the VA:

“VA presumes that all military personnel who served in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange, and federal law presumes that certain illnesses are a result of that exposure.”

Their current list of diseases include:

acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy, porphyria cutanea tarda, chloracne, prostate cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, respiratory cancers (lung, bronchus, larynx and trachea), Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma, soft-tissue sarcoma, acute; non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Type II diabetes mellitus

From the Walz mailing:

I am writing to inform you that Veterans’ Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has made the important decision to add Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and hairy cell leukemia to the list of presumptive illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure for Vietnam veterans. I applaud Secretary Shinseki for making this decision, which will have a positive impact on thousands of America’s veterans.

VA presumes that all military personnel who served in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange, and federal law presumes that certain illnesses are a result of that exposure. This “presumptive policy” simplifies the process of receiving compensation for these diseases since VA foregoes the normal requirements of proving that an illness began or was worsened during military service.

The decision announced this week expanded the list of presumed illnesses to include ischemic heart disease, hairy cell leukemia and Parkinson’s disease. This policy change means that all service members who served in Vietnam and are suffering from these illnesses will no longer have the additional burden of proving their illness is connected to their service to our country.

I am happy the VA made this decision today, and I want to thank Secretary Shinseki for moving us in the right direction. When our warriors return home, they should always be given the benefit of the doubt, and we have an obligation to ensure that they receive the care and benefits they earned. This decision helps us fulfill the moral responsibility we owe to the men and women who have served this country.

I would also like to thank the U.S. Military Veterans with Parkinson’s (USMVP) for their untiring efforts. Their advocacy and research helped VA make this important decision and their efforts will have lasting impacts on the lives of Vietnam veterans. I appreciate the close partnership and assistance they continue to give us as they advocate for our nation’s veterans.

For more information about Agent Orange and VA compensation eligibility, please see http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/benefits/herbicide/aono1.htm. To file a compensation claim for a current disability related to Agent Orange, veterans can call 1-800-827-1000 for an application form or visit VA’s Web site at: http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov.

For more information about my activities representing southern Minnesota in Congress, please visit http://walz.house.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter.

Sincerely,

Tim Walz
Member of Congress

The Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) is currently holding elections through September 8th, 2009 for many major positions within the union organization.  MNA members are given either a mailing packet with a paper ballot, or access to an online ballot.  I am running for three elected positions and hope that I can convey my message to a wide audience as the MNA represents 20,000 members.

All ballots should already have been received by the time of this posting.  This is an excellent opportunity to set in motion change by electing active members involved with current healthcare issues. I’ve been an active member in governmental affairs since being a nursing student at Winona State in 2007.  After graduation, I have furthered my interest as both an MNA bargaining unit representative for multiple units at Abbott Northwestern, served as a delegate to the annual House of Delegates, and have chosen the MNA organization as my clinical location for my Master’s degree practicum (MSN) in leadership & management.

One issue that I know many of us see in our daily workplace is the aging population of nurses. Many are nearing the retirement age, worried about pension problems that are extremely important to everyone including us, but also need to consider other issues important to the generation X and Y’ers who would like to be in the profession for many years to come. I understand that as younger nurses, we want flexibility in our job, regular hours, better pay, and tend to look at our job as second to our family and personal life. A study by Kovner et al. (2007) sent to nurses all across the country found that 41.5% of responding nurses would choose to go into another profession if they were given the chance, 24% “planned to leave their first job within two years of taking it,” and 37% plan to find a new job within one year (p. 68). Does any of this sound like you?

Have many of you faced issues with poor staffing ratios, were given severely ill patients, yet asked to take up to six or more of them on one night? Burnout and dissatisfaction in our jobs is commonplace, but it doesn’t have to be! Aiken, Clarke, Sloane, Sochalski, & Silber (2002) found that there was a high frequency of emotional exhaustion and job dissatisfaction “significantly associated with patient-to-nurse ratios” (p. 1990). MNA wants to change this by helping to pass legislation that would mandate a maximum nurse-to-patient ratio in MN. Furthermore, we would receive fewer patients depending on their acuity/intensity because we all know that sometimes the most difficult patients are not the ones that may be real sick, but can be the ones that need constant attention, or frequent assessments due to issues more than just their illness.

I’m a nurse with only two years of experience under my belt, but like many of you, I feel that we need a change in our healthcare system that works better for nurses, better for patients, and better for hospitals. Our jobs as nurses has always been considered a “line item,” or an expendable “cost” as patients are charged for our services simply through their room and board rate. How wrong is that when we do so much for our patients that simply one charge measures our work?

The nursing shortage has been discussed less as of late, but we can all agree that things have truly not become safer at the bedside. A survey by Anderson, Niebuhr, & Associates (2007) found that “90% [of] Minnesota citizens express concern that lack of adequate RN staffing negatively affects patient care” (p. 5). The study also highlighted the feelings of MN citizens during times of hospitalization as 30% “experienced a situation where too few registered nurses on duty affected the quality of care they received, or they know someone who experienced such a situation” (p. 5).

What we do as nurses is invaluable in healthcare. We cannot let anyone tell us that we need less nurses, or that we have to sacrifice lunch breaks, must stay for overtime, or do more non-nursing tasks just because hospitals do not want to hire ancillary staff. Registered nurses are there to assess and perform potentially life-saving nursing tasks, not stock gowns due to personnel issues! Soon, we may see hospitals try to increase our patient loads due to financial problems, but we know that patient mortality increases “7% for every additional patient in the average nurse’s workload” (Aiken, Clarke, Sloane, & Silber, 2002, p. 1991). If we let them do this to us, it is our license at risk and more notably, a patient’s life at risk.

If any of you have not seen the impromptu video of famed author Suzanne Gordon and me at Nurses Day on the Hill 2008, check it out on YouTube, it may be worth a look to raise awareness of the seriousness of this problem through an actual situation I had. I know for a fact I’m not the only one who has had experiences very similar to the one I presented, but we all need to speak up. I am reaching out to this group specifically because I know most of you are younger, just getting involved with your profession, and want to give the best care possible to your patients. I want to make sure that all of you are standing up for our profession, our rights as professional registered nurses, and are expressing to your colleagues any concerns you are facing. We also need more young nurses involved as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2004) estimates the average age of our workforce is 46.8 years and increasing every year! We are the future and need to secure a better profession for ourselves!

I am running for three elected positions within the Minnesota Nurses Association so I can continue the fight for nurses and patients. If you have already received a ballot, there are many great candidates to choose from this year. I am likely one of the youngest on the ballot since I have only been in the profession since 2007. However, this means that all of you will have a voice for the younger generations in an organization mostly led by senior nurses. Please consider voting for me for the following positions if you have an MNA ballot:
- Commission on Governmental Affairs for congressional district 2
- Delegate to the MNA’s annual House of Delegates
- Delegate to the United American Nurses (UAN) national collective bargaining union

If you are interested in serving in the annual House of Delegates (HOD), there will likely be openings as alternatives! It is such an awesome event that teaches so much about our profession. Everything is paid for (except work hours), such as hotel, food, and mileage. Hotel is paid for based on dual occupancy and I’m more than willing to help a new member! This October 11-13th HOD will be located in the Crowne Plaza hotel in St. Paul, MN. CEU’s are available for those attending while you vote on items affecting MNA for the following year(s). More information is: here.

An alternate delegate form is available online. Fill this out and send it via e-mail to Kelli.Eisenschenk@mnnurses.org

Please consider being a delegate as I can’t stress how great of an experience this is: FORM.

My biography for the positions I am running for:

Jason Bauman, RN, BSN, PHN
- Winona State University graduate in 2007. Nursing major, Psychology minor.
- Walden University Master’s in Nursing (MSN) – Leadership & Management to be conferred in October, 2009.
Activities:
- Staff nurse at Abbott Northwestern
- MNA Steward
- Delegate to the MNA HOD
- League of Women Voters
- AFL-CIO: Working America
- Minnesota Public Health Association (MPHA)
- Creator/moderator of an international Nursing Student Community of 5,500+ members focused on healthcare issues.

Questions answered for the ballot (50 words or less):

- 1. How would you help fulfill MNA’s mission and strategic goals/priorities?
- We are a powerful union when using our collective strength. As a nurse part of Generation Y, I would promote the use of grassroots organizing, utilizing new technologies such as social networking and motivating members of all ages to participate. Education will especially be vital, particularly with negotiations approaching.
- 2. Health Care Reform and Safe Staffing legislation are priority issues of MNA. Please comment on one or both organizational priorities.
- MNA can have a real impact on these issues if we properly organized, mobilize and educate our members. RNs need to be patient advocates in the political area, though lobbying and sharing our stories as we focus on covering the uninsured and protecting our children.
- 3. How have you or would you represent the views of the membership?
- My political involvement prompted me to serve on the House of Delegates, become an MNA representative and choose MNA for my Master’s degree seminar. I am passionate about researching how other states are implementing nurse safe staffing to learn how we can improve our bill for next year.

My primary nursing issues:

- Nurse safe staffing. I would like to see state legislation pass next year that has a ceiling for how many patients a nurse can receive at any given time (e.g. mandated ratios), however this number can decrease if patients are more acute, have a greater need for nursing care, and/or ancillary staff is unable to help (i.e. with patients needing feeding, are fall risks, etc.). I feel we need this guaranteed in law, otherwise with the greater financial strain on our hospitals, we will be the first to feel cuts while given more tasks as nursing is technically considered a “line item” or “cost” that doesn’t generate revenue through what we do, unlike other parts and personnel in the hospital. We need change now to secure our future and keep nurses at the bedside!

- Healthcare reform. As of 2008, uncompensated care costs from those uninsured rose to 42.7 BILLION; money which will pass on to the consumer who is insured (Families USA, 2009). For families with private insurance, uninsured people are raising their insurance premiums approximately $1,017 annually (Families USA, 2009). These amounts are added up from many things such as uninsured people visiting the ED’s, patients unable to pay for the cost of their hospitalization (1/3rd of the uninsured pay out of pocket, 26% comes from the government or charities, but the rest is uncompensated), and many more reasons that add to the hospital’s debt. As a result, hospitals charge insurance companies more for services so they can get pay off their debts which again raises the premium of everyone else who has private health coverage. What we need is a comprehensive reform that targets a preventative approach to medicine (not a reactive one) that includes basic insurance coverage for all. If you think about it, a patient who comes into the ED with coverage will reduce uncompensated care costs since he or she will have money insuring them, physicians will receive payments rather than forced to do charity work, and nurses can provide optimal care as they are being reimbursed for what they do instead of increasing uncompensated care fees. Costs for hospital services will eventually decrease as the need for paying off uncompensated care, or debt isn’t going to be as major of an issue.  Why do we require car insurance for an “item” we use and aren’t requiring health insurance for our LIFE.

- I could list more of my opinions, but I am willing to discuss these on a one-on-one basis if anyone would like to contact me personally.

HOW TO VOTE:

If you work in an MNA facility (or are an MNA member) and did not receive a paper ballot, the online ballot is located here.

If you do not have your ID/password, go here and enter your registered MNA e-mail address.

If that doesn’t work (I had to go to this step as well… don’t worry!), go to the technical support information on the bottom and find the click “here” which brings you to a form located here.
- Fill the information out and you will receive your username ID/password within the next day or two so you can do the online ballot. Please do this and vote by September 8th!

Thank you everyone for reading and for your support. Don’t hesitate to comment, or write me directly as I would love to answer your questions. Thanks again.

References:

Aiken, L. H., Clarke, S. P., Sloane, D. M., Sochalski, J., & Silber, J. H. (2002). Hospital
nurse staffing and patient mortality, nurse burnout, and job dissatisfaction. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(16), 1987-1993

Anderson, Niebuhr, & Associates. (2007). RN staffing and patient care in Minnesota:
Perspectives from nurses at the point of care and the citizens of Minnesota. Minnesota Nurses Association. Retrieved on August 15, 2009, from http://www.mnnurses.org/vertical/Sites/%7B41671038-B8D0-4277-90A9-50B10F730CBD%7D/uploads/%7B4F6264DC-088D-4B2B-9F1D-CD7FC2024FE8%7D.PDF

Families USA. (2009, June). Investing in health coverage: It just makes sense. Retrieved
on August 23, 2009, from http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/health-reform/invest-in-coverage.pdf

Kovner, C. T., Brewer, C. S., Fairchild, S., Poornima, S., Kim, H., and Djukic, M. (2007).
Newly licensed RNs’ characteristics, work attitudes, and intentions to work: A better understanding of newly licensed RNs and their employment patterns is crucial to reducing turnover rates. American Journal of Nursing, 107(9), 58-70.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2004). The registered nurse population:
Findings from the 2004 national sample survey of registered nurses. Health Resources and Services Administration. Retrieved on June 29, 2009, from http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/rnsurvey04/

After a Bush presidency where an expansion on a successful childrens’ health insurance program was not worth an increase in tobacco taxes, Obama will be able to decide in his first days in office if he believes in this same logic.

What I find most interesting is according to the CDC, tobacco is responsible for the deaths of 5 million people worldwide every year.  Raising taxes would give one way to curb its use to those who are needing a reason to quit.  This is similar to what happened when oil prices sky rocketed last year.  When gas prices were at all time highs, Americans drove much less and public transportation was used much more (Smackers, 2008). This gave us an opportunity to call out for alternative fuel sources, use energy efficient sources, and require politicians to endorse it in their speeches.

According to UPI, the SCHIP bill calls for a “61-cent-per-pack increase in the federal cigarette tax.”  The Cigar Aficionado, a website I do not regularly read, posts that “legislation would impose a revised federal excise tax on large cigars—52.4 percent, with a maximum tax cap of 40 cents per cigar.”  I am not sure if this includes the Strawberry flavored Swisher Sweet’s at this time.

From Tim Walz press release:

WALZ SAYS CHILDRENS HEALTHCARE EXPANSION FISCALLY AND MORALLY RESPONSIBLE

Twice vetoed by Bush, SCHIP expansion passes House with wide bipartisan majority on its way to Obama’s desk

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Tim Walz voted with a bipartisan majority of his colleague to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, providing 11 million American children with health coverage. Growing unemployment, which reached 7.2 percent in the 4th quarter of 2008, combined with the housing crises mean that more children will need health insurance than when President Bush first vetoed the plan in 2007.

“During these tough economic times, when millions of middle-class Americans are losing their jobs and health care, it is essential that health care coverage for children be expanded without further delay,” said Walz. “This bill is the best of both worlds – it is fully paid for and insures an additional 4 million children who are not covered today.”

“This bill makes it easier for those 11 million kids to get preventative care and for their parents to reduce health care costs by replacing emergency room care with access to critical preventive health services,” continued Walz. “I believe that expanding health care coverage for children is a powerful statement about the value that we as a country put on our children’s health. Children’s healthcare is not just another detail — it is critical to strengthening the American family, and it deserves our continued attention. With the Senate’s help, this bill will land on President Obama’s desk in the next few weeks.”

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program was created under a Republican Congress in 1997, and has been wildly successful at providing health care for children whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance. SCHIP is a program any fiscal conservative can support — it costs less than $3.50 a day to cover a child through the program, and it saves money in the long run, as providing children with routine preventive care means that families no longer have to rely on emergency rooms for their medical care.

Under SCHIP, private health care plans run by private insurers work with individual states to cover uninsured children. That innovative public-private partnership is the reason this legislation has been endorsed by America’s Health Insurance Plans, the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association. Those groups recognize that this program is good for the health care industry, as well as being good for America’s kids.

The expanded SCHIP program passed today by the House of Representatives:

Ensures health care coverage for 11 million American children. The bill renews and improves the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), reauthorizing it for four and a half years – through FY 2013. The bill ensures that the 7 million children who currently participate in SCHIP continue to receive coverage. It also extends coverage to 4 million uninsured children, according to the nonpartisan CBO.

Improves care and strengthens funding. The bill invests billions in new funding over five years in SCHIP in order to strengthen SCHIP’s financing; increase health care coverage for low-income, uninsured children; and improve the quality of health care children receive.

Provides resources for states to reach uninsured children who are today eligible for SCHIP and Medicaid but not yet enrolled. Two-thirds of uninsured children are currently eligible for coverage through SCHIP or Medicaid – but better outreach and adequate funding are needed to identify and enroll them. This bill gives states the resources and incentives necessary to reach and cover millions of uninsured children who are eligible for, but not enrolled in, SCHIP and Medicaid.

Improves SCHIP benefits – ensuring dental coverage and mental health parity. Under the bill, quality dental coverage will now be provided to all children enrolled in SCHIP. The bill also ensures that states will offer mental health services on par with medical and surgical benefits covered under SCHIP.

Improves outreach tools to streamline enrollment of eligible children. The bill provides $100 million in grants for new outreach activities to states, local governments, schools, community-based organizations, safety-net providers and others.

Improves the quality of care for low-income children. The bill establishes a new initiative to develop and implement pediatric health quality measures and improve state reporting of quality data.

IDHA Side Notes:

-  IDHA is still around so please don’t delete us from your blogroll just yet.  We currently have one blogger on staff, but have some plans in the works.  It may be slow, but we are still around.

- Close friend of IDHA and also a personal/political blogger, Chad Larimer recently lost his mother to illness.  Our deepest condolences go out to him and his family through this rough time.  We ask that the blogosphere keep Chad in their thoughts and prayers.