Blog

Is Medicare for All ‘disruptive’? Not more than medical bankruptcy or death

David Wichmann, CEO of the corporate giant UnitedHealth Group, recently cautioned against the “wholesale disruption” of American health care, should Medicare for All be enacted. There’s something surreal about a man who earned $18.1 million in 2018 warning that changing the deadly, unfixable health care system that made him rich—would be too jarring.

Bonnie Castillo, RN, Executive Director of National Nurses United

Urgent Appeal from Japan's RNs and Other Medical Unions

In the wake of the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident that hit northeastern Japan this month, Japanese nurses and other medical workers are requesting donations to help with the recovery effort for the embattled nation.

Japanese Federation of Medical Workers’ Unions

Making Ourselves Sick with Their Worry? Not Any More

For some time now, my disabled and retired machinist husband has watched with amusement when stock markets crash and rebound and broad financial indicators stutter and stammer. He has lived a lifetime of economic stress and difficulty and never once has he seen his personal wealth or lack thereof be of any great concern for those who trade and win and lose large sums of money in our world.

Blog

I Dreamed About My Cancer Docs Last Night

My sleep was restless last night except for the snippets of scenes where I was being tended to by my cancer doctors from some time ago. In those dreams they cared for my body and comforted my fears as we worked together to overcome my illness. Of course time had changed things a bit and their offices were interwoven with the sweet things only dreams can infuse, but it sure was nice to revisit a time in my medical life when the system was even a little less broken than it is today. Don’t get me wrong, the bills were crushing then and some of the barriers daunting, but the slide to an even more difficult healthcare system for patients and our providers continues and deepens.

NNU Blog by Donna Smith

RNs Applaud San Francisco Supervisors’ decision to take closer look at Sutter/CPMC Proposal

RNs with California Nurses Association/National Nurses United who attended the San Francisco Supervisors meeting Tuesday night are glad city officials are taking a closer look at the Sutter/California Pacific Medical Center’s controversial building project in the city.

CNA Blog

Thanksgiving for Hurricane Sandy RN Relief Efforts

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we are truly grateful for the dedication of our volunteers. Currently, these efforts are being handled by local organizations, with the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) taking a key leadership role. If volunteers from out of the local area are needed, we will contact you. The affected RNs and patients are incredibly grateful for your continued support.

NNU Blog

National RN Updates: Florida, Illinois, California, Michigan, Missouri

Florida Nurses Welcome First Contract, Illinois Jackson Park Chicago RNs Win First Hospital Contract, California RNs Reach Agreement with Sutter CPMC & St. Luke, Michigan MNA President, Jeff Breslin on Right To Work, Missouri Nurses Push for “Safe Patient Handling” Law HB 856, and more.

National Nurses United

Dignity Shows Respect for Nurses in New Contract

Nurses with Dignity Health, one of the nation’s largest hospital systems, just settled a four-year master contract covering about 12,000 RNs in California and Nevada that not only keeps everything they had, but actually makes improvements in salaries, expands retiree health and pension benefits, and even establishes a new insurance program to protect nurses in case of needle sticks on the job or other work injuries.

California Nurses Association

NURSE TALK RADIO: Charles Idelson Demystifies Hospitals Price Gouging

An epidemic of sky-rocketing medical costs has afflicted our country and grown to obscene proportions. Listen, as Nurse Talk Radio Executive Producer Pattie Lockard talks with National Nurses United Communications Director Chuck Idelson about disturbing new data on hospital price gouging and what consumers can do.

Nurse Talk Radio

High-Tech Health Gadgetry: Not All That Glitters Is Gold

We’ve launched a national campaign intended to emphasize the point that all that glitters is not gold. Our campaign describes a number of changes occurring in healthcare delivery at the bedside that RNs believe are putting patients at risk. These include the premature discharge of patients to other settings, including the home, where the burden for care falls entirely on family members.

Deborah Burger, RN