Mercy Killers--Powerful New Play Inspired by Healthcare Horror Stories Begins Chicago Run Oct. 28
Chicago--The American Theater Company of Chicago, in collaboration with National Nurses United (NNU) and the Illinois Single Payer Coalition, are bringing Broadway actor Michael Milligan’s topical solo performance, Mercy Killers, to Chicago for a five-day run Oct. 28 through Nov.3. The opening performance will also feature a panel discussion with Milligan and local activists at the University of Chicago to explore the next steps in finishing the job of healthcare reform in the nation. Admission is FREE to all performances.
NNU
Oct 25, 2013
Resisting the Empire: Four Days in Chicago
Resisting the Empire: Four Days in Chicago: A film by Haskell Wexler, ÂÂÂÂAndy Davis and Mike Gray (2013). Available for $15 from http://www.fourdaysinchicago.com. Mayor 1% (Rahm Emanuel) invited the G-8 (the Group of 8 most economically powerful countries in the world) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to meet in Chicago in May 2012. Needless to say, this did not go over well with Chicago activists—and a whole lot more other people.
ZNET Communications
ALEC Convention Met With Protests in Chicago
A coalition of labor, community and environmental groups from throughout the Midwest will gather to protest the group’s three-day conference throughout the week, with organizers expecting the largest actions against ALEC since the group first drew attention in 2011 for its role in providing model legislation written by corporations pushing a broad right-wing, pro-corporate agenda.
The Nation
Thousands get health insurance cancellation notices
Kaiser Permanente in California has sent health insurance cancellation notices to 160,000 people – about half of its individual business in the state. Consumer advocates say such cancellations raise concerns that companies may be targeting their most costly enrollees. They may be “doing this as an opportunity to push their populations into the exchange and purge their systems†of policyholders they no longer want, said Jerry Flanagan, an attorney with the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog in California.
NBC News
BJC Healthcare to reduce health benefits for part-timers, employees say
St. Louis, MO--BJC Healthcare, the largest St. Louis employer, is preparing to cut health insurance benefits for some of its part-time employees. According to two part-time nurses with the BJC system, managers and Human Resources representatives recently began informing certain employees that those who do not work at least 24 hours per week will be ineligible for health benefits.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Hayward: Kaiser to close pediatric hospital unit Nov. 17
HAYWARD -- KAISER PERMANENTE ANNOUNCED WEDNESDAY IT WILL CLOSE ITS PEDIATRIC HOSPITAL UNIT ON NOV. 17 AND SHIFT YOUNG PATIENTS TO OAKLAND. Although Kaiser Permanente says those patients will get better care in Oakland, the move is opposed by nurses, who say it will create a hardship for parents.
Inside Bay Area
Nurses, Elected Officials Condemn Kaiser’s Imminent Closure of Vital Pediatrics Unit
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
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
Concerns and Opposition Grow in Anticipation of Upcoming MTV Nurse Series Scrubbing In
Cable channel, MTV, is set to launch the so-called “Reality-TV†show Scrubbing In this Thursday Oct. 24 on MTV. The show focuses on ten travel nurses who are on temporary assignment in Orange County, California.
National Nurses United
Mercy Killers, A Play Inspired by Health Care Horror Stories, Featured in State-wide Tour
Mercy Killers, a special, topical one-man play that highlights the ongoing plight of the uninsured, many of whom suffer financial tragedies on top of chronic illnesses, will be presented in venues throughout California from November 7 – November 22, 2013.
Campaign for a Healthy California
Oct 21, 2013