The California Senate late Monday approved a bill intended to reduce a growing number of incidents of workplace violence in hospitals. SB 718 is authored by Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco and sponsored by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United. The bill next hears to the Assembly Health Committee. —California Nurses Association, 05/21/13 More »
The California Nurses Association (CNA), together with community partners, will host a Robin Hood Fair outside Oakland City Hall on Tuesday, May 21 at 12 noon in support of the Robin Hood Tax, whose goal is to bring a real recovery to Main Street and to end climate change and HIV/AIDS. The Robin Hood Tax is embodied in the Inclusive Prosperity Act, H.R. 1579, reintroduced in Congress last month by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). —California Nurses Association, 05/20/13 More »
State regulators have slapped Sutter Health's Alta Bates hospital in Oakland with potential fines totaling $142,970 for six health and safety violations related to failure to properly isolate patients with airborne diseases such as tuberculosis. Two violations were determined to be “serious” and “willful,” carrying a proposed penalty of $70,000 each. —Sacramento Business Journal, 05/21/13 More »
When Medicare disclosed average charges from thousands of U.S. hospitals for 100 common procedures last week, only one hospital was near the top in every category: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Be it a cardiac stent, a hip replacement or a pacemaker, Cedars-Sinai's list prices for these routine treatments ranked among the top 5% in the country. —L.A. Times, 05/20/13 More »
If there is one problem that symbolizes the ongoing national healthcare emergency, it is the rampant price gouging in the healthcare industry that continues to price too many Americans out of access to care and into financial ruin. Not only is the problem not solved by the Affordable Care Act, but it is a likely reason many will continue to demand more effective reform, as in expanding and extending Medicare to cover everyone. —by Deborah Burger. First appeared in The Huffington Post, 05/17/13 More »
ACTION NEEDED by May 24th--AB 975 would clearly define charity care to ensure it is care for the poor, not marketing, cutting of services or other schemes, and redefine genuine community benefit, and assure greater public transparency. Send a messages to the Assembly Appropriations Committee ASAP! —California Nurses Association , 05/15/13 More »
