I Don’t Hate America!

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 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 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

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Today, the 20,000 member strong Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) voted to disband from the American Nurses Association (ANA).  I am proud to be a part of the elected delegation, representing one of the collective bargaining units, which made this major decision.  261 members were credentialed at the time of voting.  The vote ended up being 208 in favor and 49 against.  Discussions on the motion lasted well over an hour with both sides passionately emphasizing their points.  MNA nurses in favor of the motion cited increased risks to our bargaining units due to ANA’s recent decision attempting to eliminate any functions that defined itself as a labor organization.  The ANA’s June House of Delegates failed to completely eliminate all these functions, but voted to evaluate the situation over the next two years through a task force.  This move still puts our entire union at risk for future bargaining efforts with our employers because of MNA’s stance as a strong, united labor organization.  Also, there were discussions of a dues increase for Constituent Member Associations (CMA’s) of the ANA like ours who are also a part of the United American Nurses (UAN)/AFL-CIO, thus “penalizing” us for labor organization membership.

A nurse against the motion referred to the ANA website which still lists collective bargaining as a workplace issue.  While in the delegates meeting, I investigated this claim and also found ANA’s website to still list collective bargaining as an issue.  However, when clicking on the actual collective bargaining link on their website, you are automatically forwarded to the United American Nurses (UAN) website.  Was this a coincidence? It seems as though any question whether ANA was continuing any collective bargaining activities was answered by this interesting finding.

Though we disbanded from the ANA, MNA nurses are still encouraged to participate in individual memberships if interested.  I am proud of ANA’s long history of establishing nursing standards, policies, and Code of Ethics.  As a nurse currently in graduate study, I continue to utilize ANA resources to guide my research.  Their usefulness in this way is why I plan on paying for individual membership.  However, when it came to protecting union nurses in my state, the issue to force constituents to pay dues to a non-labor oriented organization would put all of us at risk.  MNA nurses will move forward together from this and I am confident we will be stronger than ever.

Via press release:

Minnesota Nurses Association Withdraws from American Nurses Association

ST. PAUL, MN — The 20,000 members of the Minnesota Nurses Association withdrew MNA’s constituent membership from the American Nurses Association, effective October 13, 2008. In a vote of MNA’s House of Delegates, the highest authoritative body of the organization, MNA affirmed its commitment to the comprehensive representational work that MNA has done for over 50 years, since it first started organizing nurses. MNA will continue its membership in the United American Nurses and the national AFL-CIO and Minnesota AFL-CIO.

ANA has chosen to explore initiatives that no longer include the programs and core functions of a labor organization for nurses, effectively creating an untenable relationship for 97% of MNA’s membership who are represented by union contracts.

“MNA respects the right and autonomy of ANA to guide their organization as they see fit,” said MNA President, Linda Slattengren, RN. “It is increasingly apparent however, that MNA and ANA share different visions of how best to represent the interests of our member nurses.”

MNA invested significant resources over many months in negotiations with ANA and examining a variety of consequences of maintaining or terminating its membership. MNA member leaders met in a Special House of Delegates in May to set in place protective actions to defend MNA’s status as a premiere collective bargaining agent for nurses.

The Minnesota Nurses Association has been the second-largest constituent member of ANA, and becomes the seventh state nurses organization to withdraw from ANA. California, Maine, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Michigan all left ANA previously.

“MNA’s priorities and direction in advancing the interests of registered nurses in Minnesota must be our primary concern.” said Ms. Slattengren. She emphasized the organization’s commitment to its stated priorities to focus on staffing for patient safety in acute care hospitals and to achieve health care reform.

ANA established policies several years ago that allow individual Registered Nurses to join and participate in ANA directly.

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Uniting nurses in vision and voice since 1905. With 20,000 members, MNA is the leading organization for registered nurses in the Midwest and is among the oldest and largest representatives of RNs for collective bargaining in the nation. MNA is a multi-purpose union that fosters high standards for nursing education and practice, and works to advance the profession through legislative activity. MNA is affiliated with the United American Nurses and the Minnesota AFL-CIO.

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Via the MNA website, here is a picture of the 2008 MNA House of Delegates.