Nurses Attend Rally to Push Support for Patient Lifting Bill
It was an early day for Julie Perry and other nurses of the National Nurses United in Kansas City. Many members got up between 4 and 5 a.m. to catch the 5:30 a.m. bus to the Capitol. Their mission? To protest “right to work,†lobby state legislators to vote the measure down, and find support for a bill that would create requirements to make lifting patients easier. After a brief training seminar at Bones Lounge & Restaurant in downtown Jefferson City, members of the nurses union split up into several groups to visit 35 legislators in an hour, said Jan Rodolfo, a nurse and union representative.
By Casey Bischel, News Tribune
VA Nurses Urge U.S. Senate to Stand Up for Quality Care, Proper Funding for VA Facilities
The nation’s largest organization of registered nurses, which also represents thousands of Veterans Affairs RNs, today called for substantial increases in funding at VA hospitals to ensure that veterans get the care they need – and offered qualified support for a proposal announced last week by Senators Bernie Sanders and John McCain to address the much discussed problems at VA facilities. National Nurses United also urged management reforms for the VA and a measure to ensure that nurses are empowered to advocate for quality care for patients. NNU said it opposes proposals that might decrease the quality of care by allowing VA funds to be used at private health care corporations.
National Nurses United
Jun 10, 2014
7 in 10 Doctors Favor Pending Legislation to Call for Greater Transparency of Hospital Finances
Survey findings released as hospital CEOs gather for three days of golf, fine dining and networking at the luxurious chatham bars inn on Cape Cod. As well-heeled hospital CEOs plan to gather for three days of golf, lavish receptions and networking at one the state’s most luxurious resorts on the Cape, a new survey of the state’s doctors finds that most doctors (58%) have seen these executives cut valuable patient care services in order to increase profits, and 7 in 10 believe that greater transparency of hospital finances would help protect funding for needed services.
Massachusettes Nurses Association - National Nurses United
Jun 10, 2014
Safe RN Ratios for Illinois!
With less than 10 days notice, nurses from around Chicago descended on the Health and Human Services Committee hearing of our IL Ratio Bill HB 0012! 9 nurses testified, speaking eloquently and from the heart about how unsafe staffing is hurting their patients. Many more were prepared to testify had we had more time.
National Nurses United
Nurses tour petroleum coke facilities, seek ban until piles enclosed
A national nurses union and Southeast Side activists will call on Mayor Rahm Emanuel today to ban petroleum coke in Chicago city limits until the piles of dust are enclosed. National Nurses United says in a news release that an Emanuel-backed ordinance the City Council passed last month to regulate storage of petroleum coke doesn't go far enough.
Chicago Tribune
RNs, County Workers Halt Cook Co. Board of Commissioners Pres. Preckwinkle’s Pension “Reformâ€
Quick action from all County workers opposed to pension cuts stopped passage of pension legislation. In a last minute move, Toni Preckwinkle, the President of the Cook County Board went to Springfield the last two weeks of May with an entourage of lobbyists to ram her pension reform package through in the final hours of the session. Preckwinkle, accompanied by leaders and lobbyists from the larger County unions, attempted to convince state politicians to cut County pensions in a last minute appeal.
National Nurses United
In Chicago, nurses take up fight against petcoke piles
“Stunning, just stunning, just stunning,†said Sheilah Garland, shaking her head as she stared out the window of the bus rolling along a dirt road next to towering black piles of petroleum coke on Chicago’s Southeast Side. As an organizer of National Nurses United, a labor union representing about 6,000 nurses in Chicago and 185,000 nationwide, Garland has seen a lot. She represents nurses working in grueling and traumatic situations on a daily basis. And the union has picked fights with powerful politicians, including former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Midwest Energy News
Illinois activists demand moratorium on ‘petcoke’
Registered nurses and community activists will tour petroleum coke sites in Chicago Monday and publicly demand city officials to declare a moratorium on creating the byproduct they say is a hazard to city residents. National Nurses United is planning a news conference alongside the Southeast Side Environmental Task Force, Southeast Side Coalition to Ban Petcoke, and Progressive Democrats of America.
The Herald-News
California Bill Would Let Patients See Out-Of-Network Providers
Health insurance plans have networks of doctors and hospitals that policyholders must use. If a patient wants to see an out-of-network provider, they face higher out-of-pocket costs. But a pending bill in the California Senate would require insurers to offer timely access to care. If that wasn’t possible, patients could see a non-network provider without having to pay more.
Kenny Goldberg, KPBS
Nurses' statement on GOP lawmakers mocking women on the House Floor
The following statement from the Michigan Nurses Association is from Julia Morrissey, RN. She and other registered nurses were participating in a Lobby Day at the Capitol today to advocate for the Safe Patient Care Act (safe nurse-patient ratios in hospitals).
Julia Morrissey, Michigan Nurses Association
Jun 5, 2014