Nurses, Elected Officials Condemn Kaiser’s Imminent Closure of Vital Pediatrics Unit

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Closure is part of pattern of HMO’s new model of care, limiting access to hospital and nursing care. Registered nurses, elected officials, including Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski, and Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle and concerned community members will hold a press conference Thursday, followed by a community forum Friday, to protest Kaiser Permanente’s decision to close the inpatient pediatrics unit in its Hayward facility on Nov. 17.
California Nurses Association
Oct 23, 2013

Lawsuit against BJC HealthCare alleges wage violations

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Missouri--A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed against BJC HealthCare on behalf of a nurse who accuses the nonprofit health system of improperly calculating employees’ overtime hours and meal breaks.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

With the next budget fight looming, tell Congress don’t push Grandma off the cliff

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With the hostage taking of the current crisis has passed, a budget conference committee will be convened whose charge will be further deep cuts beyond the much detested sequester cuts negotiated late last year. And, there’s already “bipartisan” consensus that a central target of those knives will be two of the most important social reforms in U.S. history, Social Security and Medicare.
Karen Higgins, RN, NNU Co-president

San Leandro Hospital ownership to transfer at end of October

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SAN LEANDRO -- Ownership of beleaguered San Leandro Hospital transfers to Alameda Health System at the end of the month, the latest development in a lengthy fight by local officials to keep the struggling hospital open. "I'm really excited, because the emergency room and other acute-care services will remain open," said Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan, who brokered the deal between Alameda Health System, an independent operator of county health facilities, and Sutter Health, which owns the 93-bed hospital. "We've been working on this for a long, long time."
The Daily Review

Federal Budget Crisis Illustrates Need for New Revenue

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Washington, D.C. – With the latest showdown over the government shutdown and debt limit finally over and the next budget fight beginning, a coalition of health care, community, faith-based, and labor activists will call on Congress members Wednesday, October 30 to shift the tone from austerity budget cuts to expanding revenues with a small tax on Wall Street speculation that can bring hundreds of billions of dollars into the budget to help rebuild our economy.
Robin Hood Tax Campaign
Oct 18, 2013

Des Peres Nurses Win First Collective Bargaining Pact

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Registered nurses at Des Peres Hospital in St. Louis have achieved their first ever collective bargaining contract citing important improvements in patient care protections and securing their employer-paid health coverage at a time when so many workers face cuts in health benefits, the National Nurses Organizing Committee-Missouri (NNOC-Missouri) said today.
NNOC-Missouri
Oct 18, 2013

CNA wins new contract for 200 RNs at San Leandro Hospital once it transfers to Alameda Health System

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The California Nurses Association, which is on a contract roll recently, has won the first contract for 200 RNs at San Leandro Hospital under new owner Alameda Health System. The San Leandro acute-care facility, the subject of years of debate and conflict, has been part of Sutter Health for a number of years, but shifts to Alameda Health System's growing network at month-end.
San Francisco Business Times