Monthly Archives: February 2014

02.12.14
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Affinity RN Welcomed Back To Work After Unlawful Termination

Affinity Medical Center registered nurses will be joined by members of local unions and community supporters in a celebratory show of support for RN Ann Wayt on her first day back to work Thursday after a federal court ordered the hospital to reinstate her, announced the National Nurses Organizing Committee-Ohio (NNOC-OH). Affinity is also ordered to retract the report it made to the Ohio Board of Nursing seeking to have her nursing license rescinded.

Affinity nurses welcome back fellow RN Ann Wayt.
Affinity nurses, (L-R) Betsy Miller, Wendy Fetzer & Lisa Byer, and others will welcome fellow RN Ann Wayt back to the hospital on Thur., Feb. 13, 2014.

Carrying bagpipes, flowers, and paper lanterns, a group of Wayt’s RN colleagues will be on hand to greet her and will accompany her into the hospital. Nurses from units throughout the facility will send a flower every hour of her initial shift as an ongoing reminder of their support.

A ruling, issued January 22 by U.S. District Court Judge John Adams of the Northern District of Ohio, delivered a sweeping cease and desist injunction requiring Affinity Medical Center to end its lawless behavior in refusing to bargain with its registered nurses and engaging in repeated illegal discipline and harassment of its RNs. First bargaining sessions are set for February 21 and 24.

Watch and share this supportive video of Sen. Brown welcoming Ann Wayt back to work!

Watch and share this impresive video of Sen. Brown welcoming Ann Wayt back to work!

Show your support…

Leave a welcome message for Ann on this Facebook page!

Stay updated on these issues by following us on Twitter @CHSnurses

Read and share the full press release with details and the federal judge ruling.

Worth Noting…

Community Health Systems Inc. (CHS) is a Fortune 500 company based in Franklin, Tennessee, and is the parent company of Affinity Medical Center. Since recently closing a $7.6 billion purchase of Florida-based hospital chain Health Management Associates (HMA), CHS is now the largest provider of general hospital healthcare services in the United States in terms of number of acute care facilities.

A Pattern in Corporate Care…

Two California hospitals, also owned by CHS, wrongfully terminated nurses who were union members and had been outspoken on labor issues.

Amplify your voice and your care with the union made of, by, and for RNs!

National Nurses United
NNOC-Ohio
2000 Franklin Street
Oakland, CA 94612

02.12.14
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Nurse Pranked By Ellen and Bruno Mars

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Bruno Mars and Ellen join forces to prank an unsuspecting nurse via hidden camera.

Bruno Mars and Ellen join forces to prank an unsuspecting nurse via hidden camera.

As a nurse, you see plenty of strange things and people along the way. To put it diplomatically, a great variety of people can walk into your unit on any given day! Among the even weirder is the hidden camera prank patient scenario recently put on by Ellen DeGeneres and Bruno Mars.

An unsuspecting nurse named Debra thought she’d met a real weirdo when she showed up to treat Mars — or Ramon, as Ellen instructs him to call himself — in his dressing room for a sore throat.

The setup for the hidden camera prank has Mars wearing an earpiece with Ellen on the other end instructing him with to say oddball things to the nurse.

He says he’s having a pain in his throat and that he hasn’t swallowed since the Super Bowl. Ellen directs the singer through an awkward dialogue where he says it’s like he has a chip in his mouth that’s causing his sore throat:

“I had a chip during halftime. I had either Chex Mix or Dorito or Frito … Pringle — I was wanting a Pringle, it wasn’t a Pringle actually. They didn’t give me Pringles, I asked for Pringles but there wasn’t [sic] Pringles in my dressing room. Why do Pringles come in a tennis ball can?”

Nurse Debra patiently suggests that the canister choice is due to the shape of the chip.

Just after the 5-minute mark Ellen instructs him to cry at which point the nurse is very sweet in comforting him. And then, at 6:25, Mars reveals that it was all a prank and good sport that she is, Debra laughs — likely relieved that Mars isn’t the strange patient she thought him to be.

Have you ever been pranked on the job? If so, share your story in the comments, and check out video of the prank below.

02.12.14
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Abbott Nurses “Get the Red Out” to Support Hastings Colleagues

18MNA nurses conducted an informational picket on Tues., Feb. 11 to support colleagues from Regina Medical Center to highlight concerns the Hastings community and its nurses are being considered second-rate by corporate management.

Allina Healthcare’s proposals to Regina Medical Center and its Registered Nurses represent a second-rate commitment to the delivery of quality nursing care in the community relative to the care residents receive in every other area served by Allina full-service hospitals.

MNA nurses from Abbott Northwestern with support from other Allina facilities and MNA-represented hospitals all donned red to march in solidarity along Chicago Ave. in front of Abbott Northwestern Hospital.  Hastings Bargaining Unit Chair, Jane Traynor took the opportunity to send an invitation to Allina management.  “Where’s (CEO) Ken Paulus’s office?,” she called.  I’d like to have coffee with him, so he can put a face to the thorn in his side from Hastings, because we’re not going to give up!”  Traynor pointed out that as a new Allina employee now, living less than 40 minutes away, she could sign a posting and be a nurse at Abbott with a pension and more choices for health insurance.  “Nurses will make choices and that will not leave our community with much,” she added.

Co-Chair of the MNA Allina Council of Chairs, Mischelle Knipe, who works at Allina’s Unity Hospital in Fridley offered her support Hastings nurses as well.  ” They deserve what we have,” said Knipe.  “Their community deserves to have excellent nurses.”  She called on Allina management to provide a fair contract that encourages nurses to stay in their community to “work and support those people they know and love.”

Watch the video to see the great show of support.

02.12.14
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PSNA Endorses Ward

Registered nurses from the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association – Political Action Committee (PSNA-PAC) have endorsed Judy Ward, RN, for the 80th House District in the upcoming Republican primary. PSNA represents more than 212,000 nurses in the Commonwealth.

A registered nurse for more than 30 years, Ward aims to build a health care system that meets the needs of its citizens and respects the contributions of its health care workers. Through a shared vision, Ward believes that stakeholders – including physicians, nurses, patients, administrators, educators, insurers and government leaders – can identify and address health care deficiencies.

“Ms. Ward will be a tireless advocate for her constituents, patients and nurses of the Commonwealth,” stated PSNA Chief Executive Officer Betsy M. Snook, MEd, BSN, RN. “As a professional nurse, she understands the key role nurses play in health care. Ms. Ward will bring her nursing expertise to discussions at all times.”

“We thank Ms. Ward for her commitment to her fellow nurses and the citizens of Pennsylvania. We firmly believe that in the primary election, there is one clear choice for the voters of the 80th House District,” Snook added. “We endorse Judy Ward for the 80th State House District.”

 

The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) is the non-profit voice for nurses in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Representing more than 212,000 nurses, the Association works to be essential in advancing, promoting and supporting the profession of nursing to improve health for all in the Commonwealth. PSNA is a constituent member of the American Nurses Association (www.psna.org).

 

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02.08.14
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RNs Protest Management’s Efforts to Undermine Patient Care at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward

RNs Protest Management’s Efforts to Undermine Patient Care

The Registered Nurses at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward conducted a candlelight vigil today to protest management’s stalling in negotiations for a first contract and refusing to address issues that are fundamental to quality patient care.

Listen to the news report on the vigil by KPFA

In December 2012, after several years of mismanagement at St. Rose, the RNs voted to affiliate with the California Nurses Association. Since that time, RNs have actively sought to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement that preserves some of their existing standards, and also improves them so that RNs can provide the best patient care. The nurses and their bargaining team have focused on standards that also address the retention and recruitment of experienced RNs.  Management, in turn, is attempting to extract almost a dozen concessions on standards that have been in place for many years.
 
Over the past few months, nurses have filed a growing number of ADO or Assignment Despite Objection forms with managment to document their concerns. These include, failure to provide adequate training to RNs who are caring for patients undergoing highly specialized medical procedures such as neurosurgery, chronic short staffing in all units, and requiring RNs to work overtime, through their breaks and on weekends. Nurses at St. Rose have not received a cost of living increase in five years and management now proposes to reduce salary increases and sick leave pay, which are already below those in other area hospitals.  

“Management is currently proposing provisions that will lead to attrition in the level of experienced RNs,” said Marlene Wong, RN. “St. Rose is a community hospital that serves many uninsured and low income patients and they deserve quality patient care from experienced, competent staff, just like anybody else.”

“St. Rose nurses have weathered the hospital’s trials and tribulations and now they deserve to be appreciated for their hard work and dedication,” said Vaishali Bhakta, RN.”With the takeaways on the bargaining table right now, RNs that have provided years of service and have a deep connection with the community, will feel compelled to leave for other hospitals in the area where they can provide better, safer care.”
 
“Through thick and thin we have struggled to do the best for the patients,” said Tricia Munoz, RN. “St. Rose needs to recognize this and provide a safe level of staffing at the hospital and a fair contract in step with nursing standards in the rest of the region.”

 

02.07.14
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Traveling With Pets: Year of the Horse Edition

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Year of the Horse: Whether you've got a dog, cat, or even a horse in tow, a pet friendly travel nurse company can help you.

Year of the Horse: Whether you’ve got a dog, cat, or even a horse in tow, a pet friendly travel nurse company can help you.

For a lot of Travel Nurses, it is super important that they are able to bring their pets with them on the road. The majority of Travelers have a beloved dog or cat without whom the adventure of Travel Nursing just wouldn’t be complete.

But other Travelers have less common pets in tow. We’ve heard of Travelers with rabbits, lizards, fish, and pot-bellied pigs riding shotgun on their journey. Today, in honor of 2014 being The Year of the Horse in Chinese astrology, we’d like to introduce you to a very special and unique traveling pet: Eichie the Traveling Horse!

Eichie is traveling with Medical Solutions Travel Nurse Amanda T. The pair have been together for 11 years and even compete in barrel races together! To read more about Eichie and Amanda click here.

As you can imagine, traveling with a 1200-pound pet requires a bit of pre-planning in the way of logistics. But even if you’re just traveling with a cat or a dog, you may need a little help planning for them to join you on the road.

If you plan to travel with a pet, you should definitely seek out an agency that is pet friendly and will be able to offer you some assistance in that area. Here are a few things a pet friendly Travel Nurse company can do to make traveling with pets easier for you:

  • First, your recruiter should inquire about your pets to get to better understand your needs when it comes to traveling with pets.
  • Pet friendly agencies will offer you help when it comes to finding housing that accommodates you and your pet. Some will even pay your pet deposit as part of your contract.
  • They may offer discounts that can help you care for your animals.
  • They may provide resources that can help you learn about how to best manage bringing your pets on the road with you.

So, do you travel with your pet(s)? Share your traveling with pets stories in the comments.