PSNA members are encouraged to attend the Annual Business Meeting on December 5, 2014. The meeting will be held from 10 – 11 am at the Giant Community Center, 2300 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg, 17110.
Monthly Archives: November 2014
#GivingTuesday Supports Nursing
The Nursing Foundation of Pennsylvania (NFP) has joined #GivingTuesday, a first of its kind effort that will harness the collective power of a unique blend of partners — charities, families, businesses and individuals — to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. Coinciding with the Thanksgiving Holiday and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, #GivingTuesday will inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they support and help create a better world.
Taking place December 2, 2014 — the Tuesday after Thanksgiving — #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a national moment around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping.
“We believe in the future of the nursing profession,” stated NFP President Elizabeth Walls, MBA, MSN, RN. “The NFP’s mission is to ensure nurses for tomorrow through grants and scholarships for study and research. These scholarships are the result of the dollars that have been gifted to the NFP. To continue the good work of the Foundation, we rely on donations such as these. #GivingTuesday is a valuable opportunity for friends of the nursing profession to take a moment during the holiday season and sponsor the future of nursing.”
Seeing an opportunity to channel the generous spirit of the holiday season to inspire action around charitable giving, a group of friends and partners, led by the 92nd Street Y (92Y), came together to find ways to promote and celebrate the great American tradition of giving. Thought leaders in philanthropy, social media and grassroots organizing joined with 92Y to explore what is working in modern philanthropy and how to expand these innovations throughout the philanthropic sector. The concept gained steam, and with the help of the United Nations Foundation and other founding partners, more than 10,000 organizations have joined the movement and are providing creative ways people can embrace #GivingTuesday and collaborate in their giving efforts to create more meaningful results.
“It’s been a privilege to work with remarkable leaders all over the country building a movement around #GivingTuesday,” said Henry Timms, 92Y’s Executive Director. “This initiative has truly been crowdsourced by some of the smartest and most connected minds among the next generation of philanthropists and entrepreneurs.”
“#GivingTuesday is a counter narrative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday because it reminds us that the spirit of the holiday giving season should be about community and not just consumerism,” said Kathy Calvin, CEO of the UN Foundation. “The most meaningful gift we can give our children, loved ones, friends and neighbors is the commitment to work together to help build a better world.”
Those who are interested in joining the NFP’s #GivingTuesday initiative can visit www.thenfp.org/ donate. For more details about the #GivingTuesday movement, visit the #GivingTuesday website (www.givingtuesday.org), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday) or follow #GivingTuesday (https://twitter.com/GivingTues) and the #GivingTuesday hashtag on Twitter.
The NFP ensures nurses for tomorrow. The official registration and financial information of the NFP may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free within Pennsylvania, 800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. www.thenfp.org
The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) is the non-profit voice for nurses in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Representing more than 218,000 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).
#GivingTuesday is a movement to celebrate and provide incentives to give. It will culminate with a global day of giving on December 2, 2014. This effort harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners — charities, families, businesses and individuals — to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. #GivingTuesday will inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they celebrate and help create a better world. #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a global moment that is dedicated to giving around the world. www.givingtuesday.org
Ask a Travel Nurse: Do clinics offer Travel Nursing jobs?
Ask a Travel Nurse: Do clinics offer Travel Nursing jobs?
Ask a Travel Nurse Question:
I work in clinics (started in family medicine then went to endoscopy procedures) and have always presumed this meant I couldn’t become a Travel Nurse. But recently, an agency saw my resume posted on a job board and contacted me for a travel clinic position! On the other hand, most agencies I’ve spoken with say there’s pretty much no clinic work to be had for Travelers. Do clinics offer Travel Nursing jobs, and if so, how would I find the clinic contracts? Thanks for your help!
Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:
I’m sorry to say that I may not be able to help you out here. While in recent years Travel Nursing has seen new opportunities in positions like case management, house supervisor, and even positions for unit managers, I am still unaware of many outpatient clinic opportunities.
That is not to say there are not any to be found or that there are not agencies that may specialize in this type of travel. But my expertise lies in hospital-based travel opportunities and none of the agencies with which I work closely offer these types of assignments.
You will need to do some research and ask A LOT of questions of any agency claiming to specialize in these types of opportunities.
Ask how many assignments they are currently posting, in how many states, and how many clinics they represent.
Clinics are usually separate entities from healthcare systems. That is why a company representing even a dozen clinics may not come close to the number of assignments a company might have even if they just serviced one large healthcare system.
I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but just because an assignment or two exists in a certain field or specialty does not mean that it would provide a sustainable travel career.
I would hate to see you give up a full time position only to work an assignment or two and then not be able to find work.
But please do investigate. If not now, one day, this may be a new area of travel that is readily available.
David
Funny Nursing Videos
With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, Travel Nursing Blogs wanted to say a big THANKS to all of the hard-working, amazing Travelers and Nurses out there!
As a token of our thanks, here are three funny nursing videos we hope will entertain you. Happy Holidays!
Ice Ice Baby Parody (Nurse, Nurse, Help Me)
This parody of Vanilla Ice’s one-hit wonder is both insightful and funny. Who better than nurses to be able to say: “If there was a problem, yo I’ll solve it.”
U of Portland School of Nursing, Iggy Azalea “Fancy” Parody
These three nursing students are nursing and wanna let the whole world feel it. Their nursing-student-centric parody of 2014’s biggest earworm is definitely worth a watch for anyone who has (or is currently) conquering the rigors of nursing school.
Fun with Nurses, with Juliet Funt
California speaker Juliet Funt will make you laugh, inspire you, and tug on your heartstrings in this video about nursing groups, terminology, and the impact of nursing.
Nearly Half A Million Select Obamacare Plans Through Healthcare.gov In First Week
Federal officials said today that during the first week of open enrollment for the health law’s online marketplaces, 462,125 people selected health plans, with just over half of those return customers.
The figures were the first weekly snapshot promised by the Department of Health and Human Services to provide details about exchange enrollment. The figures are preliminary and cover enrollment from Nov. 15 through Nov. 21 in the federal exchange, used by residents of 37 states.
The remaining states and the District of Columbia run their own marketplaces and their information was not included. The figures may fluctuate from week to week based on a variety of factors, such as consumers changing or canceling plans, officials said.
HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell called the numbers “a solid start” but added the agency has “a lot of work to do every day between now and Feb. 15” when open enrollment ends.
The first week’s tally was a dramatic improvement over last year’s, when healthcare.gov‘s myriad computer problems caused the site to malfunction for millions of people. Some state exchanges also had problems, hindering enrollment efforts.
During a call with reporters, HHS officials said now the website would be able to withstand peak demand periods, such as those predicted for Dec. 15, when consumers must sign up and pay their first month’s premium if they want their coverage to begin Jan. 1, and for Feb. 15 when the 2015 enrollment period ends.
Today’s report noted that the average wait time for the federal exchange call center was just over three minutes and that more than one million consumers had submitted applications for coverage.
HHS officials also announced new partnerships aimed at boosting enrollment. Deals with Westfield Shopping Centers, the National Community Pharmacists Association and the XO Group, which owns popular websites such as The Knot, are part of the agency’s efforts to reach more consumers and provide them with information about the health law.
Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Turning 21? Here’s How To Avoid A Big Hike In Health Insurance Premiums
For young people, turning 21 is generally a reason to celebrate reaching adulthood. If they’re insured through the federal health insurance marketplace that operates in about three dozen states, however, their birthday could mean a whopping 58 percent jump in their health insurance premium in 2015, according to an analysis by researchers at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The reason: They’re no longer considered children under the age-rating rules insurers use to set premiums.
Many 21-year-olds who qualify for premium subsidies will be able to sidestep the rate increase if they re-evaluate their coverage options on the federal marketplace before Feb. 15, when the annual open enrollment period ends. If they don’t, they’ll generally be automatically renewed into the same plan and with the same premium tax credit they had in 2014.
“If they don’t come back to the marketplace, they’re going to get a premium tax credit that’s based on their age rating as a child, and that premium difference is going to hit them,” says Judith Solomon, a vice president for health policy at the budget center.
Families with federal marketplace plans whose now 21-year-old children are covered as dependents will face a premium jump as well.
Under the health law, insurers can no longer base premiums on people’s health or pre-existing medical conditions. They’re permitted to apply just four premium rating factors in their calculations: age, where someone lives, how many people are going to be covered and whether someone uses tobacco. The law also prohibits premiums for older adults from being more than three times higher than those for younger adults.
Because of age rating, premiums for most adults will rise slightly every year as they get older. But with children, it’s different. Insurers apply the same age-rating factor to all children when computing their premiums. When children turn 21, however, the insurer begins to compute their premiums based on an adult age-rating factor, which results in that 58 percent premium increase.
Young people who go back to the marketplace to shop for a 2015 plan can generally avoid any age-related premium increases. They likely qualify for premium tax credits that are available to people with incomes between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($11,670 to $46,680 for an individual). If they return to the marketplace, their premium tax credit will be adjusted to cover the higher age-related premium for their 2015 coverage.
“We’ve been encouraging everyone to update their profiles on healthcare.gov so they can ensure that they have a tax credit that reflects what they should be getting,” says Jen Mishory, executive director at Young Invincibles, an advocacy group for young people.
Please contact Kaiser Health News to send comments or ideas for future topics for the Insuring Your Health column.
Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
HHS announces partnerships to promote Health Insurance Marketplace starting on busiest shopping weekend of the year
HHS announces partnerships to promote Health Insurance Marketplace starting on busiest shopping weekend of the year
Administration Warns Employers: Don’t Dump Sick Workers From Plans
As employers try to minimize expenses under the health law, the Obama administration has warned them against paying high-cost workers to leave the company medical plan and buy coverage elsewhere.
Such a move would unlawfully discriminate against employees based on their health status, three federal agencies said in a bulletin issued this month.
Brokers and consultants have been offering to save large employers money by shifting workers with expensive conditions such as hepatitis or hemophilia into insurance marketplace exchanges established by the health law, Kaiser Health News reported in May.
The Affordable Care Act requires exchange plans to accept all applicants at pre-established prices, regardless of existing illness.
Because most large employers are self-insured, moving even one high-cost worker out of the company plan could save a company hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. That’s far more than the $10,000 or so it might give an employee to pay for an exchange plan’s premiums.
“Rather than eliminating coverage for all employees, some employers … have considered paying high-cost claimants relatively large amounts if they will waive coverage under the employer’s plan,” Lockton Companies, a large brokerage, said in a recent memo to clients.
The trend concerns consumer advocates because it threatens to erode employer-based coverage and drive up costs and premiums in the marketplace plans, which would absorb the expense of the sick employees. The burden would fall on consumers buying the plans and taxpayers subsidizing them.
Administration officials approached independent lawyers about the practice in May, saying, “We don’t like this, but how can we address this?” said Christopher Condeluci, principal at CC Law & Policy, a legal firm. This month’s guidance, he said, “is the first time that they’ve come out explaining how and why the administration believes it violates the law.”
The Affordable Care Act itself doesn’t block companies from paying sick workers to find coverage elsewhere, lawyers said. But other laws do, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Public Health Service Act, according to three federal agencies.
Specifically, paying a sick worker to leave the company plan violates those statutes’ restrictions on discriminating against employees based on medical status, the departments said in their bulletin.
“If you were to cherry-pick your high-cost individuals and offer them money to send them over to the exchange … this would be a violation of HIPAA,” according to the regulators, said Amy Gordon, a benefits lawyer with McDermott Will & Emery.
The agencies publishing the guidance were the departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services.
Starting next year, the health law requires large employers to provide medical insurance to most workers or face fines.
How many companies have offered to pay workers with chronic conditions to find coverage elsewhere is unclear.
“I know there are some brokers out there that were pushing this, but it was a limited number that I had heard about,” Condeluci said. Even so, he added, the attitude of the administration was: “We don’t want it to become widespread. Let’s nip it in the bud now.”
Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Video: MNA Nurses Informational Picket at Cambridge Medical Center
Nurses braved the cold to inform the public they are fighting for a fair contract that protects patients and nurses alike.
CDC Health Advisory
On November 13, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a travel alert (Level 2) for Mali following reports of a cluster of Ebola cases in Bamako, Mali, that were linked to a man who had become sick in Guinea and traveled to Bamako, Mali. CDC is working with the government of Mali, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other partners to control further spread of Ebola in Mali. In addition, CDC is working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expand enhanced entry screening at U.S. airports and post-arrival monitoring of people whose travel originates in Mali.
The purpose of this HAN Advisory is to inform public health officials and the public of the following additional precautions taken to reduce the risk of Ebola cases entering the United States from Mali:
- Effective Monday, November 17, people arriving into the United States whose travel began in Mali are subject to the same enhanced entry screening activities, including health and Ebola exposure assessments that are already in place for travelers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
- All travelers entering the United States from Mali are subject to the 21-day active post-arrival monitoring and movement protocols now in effect for travelers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, with twice-daily temperature and symptom checks in coordination with state or local public health authorities.
Background: CDC is working closely with other U.S. government agencies, WHO, ministries of health, and other international partners in a global emergency response to the current epidemic of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Beginning in October 2014, a series of actions were taken to reduce the risk of air travelers with Ebola entering the United States undetected, particularly if they are symptomatic. Almost all travelers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to the United States are now routed though one of five airports (New York JFK, Newark, Washington-Dulles, Chicago-O’Hare, and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson) where enhanced entry screening is conducted by DHS and CDC. All travelers are evaluated according to their risk level of exposure to Ebola while they had been in Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone. Travelers also undergo active post-arrival monitoring, which means that those without fever or symptoms consistent with Ebola (e.g., muscle pain, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting), and who are not considered as high risk and allowed to travel to their final destination are followed up daily by state and local health departments for a period lasting 21 days from the date of their departure from West Africa. People who are symptomatic are isolated and medically evaluated. CDC is providing assistance with active post-arrival monitoring to state and local health departments, including information on travelers arriving in their states, and upon request, is providing technical support, consultation, and funding.
Since November 10, CDC has been working with WHO and other partners in response to reports of a cluster of Ebola cases in Bamako, Mali. The cluster of cases in Bamako is linked to a man who had traveled to Bamako after becoming sick in Guinea. Public health authorities in Mali and Guinea are actively investigating a number of confirmed cases of Ebola in Mali in recent days. CDC has deployed a team of experts to Mali to assist in the investigation and control efforts. On November 13, CDC released a travel alert (Warning, Level 2) recommending that travelers to Mali protect themselves by avoiding contact with the blood and body fluids of people who are sick because of the possibility such persons may be sick with Ebola.
As a further precaution, CDC and the DHS have added Mali to the list of nations (i.e., Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone) for which enhanced screening and active post-arrival monitoring measures will be taken.
Precautionary Measures Implemented: Effective Monday, November 17, people arriving in the United States whose travel began in Mali are subject to the same enhanced entry screening activities, including health and Ebola exposure assessments, which are already in place for travelers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
In addition, all travelers entering the United States from Mali are subject to the 21-day active post-arrival monitoring and movement protocols now in effect for travelers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, with twice-daily temperature and symptom checks in coordination with state or local public health authorities.
DHS will work with the airlines to ensure re-routing for the few travelers from Mali not already scheduled to land at one of the five airports in the United States (New York JFK, Newark, Washington-Dulles, Chicago-O’Hare, and Atlanta Jackson-Hartsfield) that are already performing screening on passengers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
For More Information: For additional information about the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, visit CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protects people’s health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international organizations.