Condemn Care Cuts, Premium Hikes; Endorse Rate Regulation Initiative. Kaiser Permanente nurses, joined by consumer advocates, will hold a press conference Tuesday, May 6 to expose that Kaiser Permanente has held $21.7 billion more than the state required amount in reserve (1626% more than required) and to protest contributions Kaiser has made to an initiative to rein in excessive premium hikes. All those funds, say Kaiser RNs, are diverted from the bedside at a time when Kaiser has been cutting patient care services.

Candlelight vigil Wednesday May 7. Mt. Desert Island Hospital (MDI) registered nurses will be holding a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening to protest ongoing cuts to patient safety and services in their facility and throughout the state, announced the Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses United. MSNA/NNU represents the RNs. “The recent failure to expand Medicaid and pass health care as a human right legislation in Maine, has resulted in far fewer resources for patients in our state’s hospitals, said Terrylyn Bradbury, an RN who works in the emergency department at Millinocket Regional Hospital.

Registered nurses and healthcare workers in Ventura County health facilities have approved a new tentative collective bargaining agreement that they call a first step to help retain experienced RNs and recruit new nurses that is essential to tackling a persistent nursing shortage for county health facilities.

Will also cover accidents and Injuries. A landmark program to provide supplemental insurance protection for registered nurses injured in workplace assaults or injuries went live this week for 12,000 RNs who work in 28 California and Nevada hospitals that are a part of one of the nation’s largest hospital systems, Dignity Health.

Three bills sponsored by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United that would enhance patient safety, increase access to care, and promote workplace violence prevention advanced in the California legislature this week. Late Tuesday night, the Assembly Health Committee gave the green light to AB 2533 to protect the ability of Californians to seek medical care from the providers of their choice by restricting higher charges for patients who get medical care outside their insurance provider “network.”

RNs protest unsafe patient care conditions, stalled talks. Several hundred San Bernardino County registered nurses from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC), the county detention centers, juvenile halls, outpatient clinics, and public health programs will hold an informational picket on Thursday, May 1, to call attention to what they view as unsafe conditions for their patients and a lack of response in negotiations by county officials. The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United represents approximately 1,300 RNs in San Bernardino County who have been trying to negotiate an agreement for more than four months with little progress on key issues of patient safety.