News

In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times  column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

Aided by new allies ranging from the AARP to social workers and health-policy experts, nursing groups are pressing ahead in a controversial bid to persuade state lawmakers to shift the balance of power.

In 11 states, they are pushing legislation that would permit nurses with a master’s degree or higher to order and interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe medications and administer treatments without physician oversight.

Read the article in The Washington Post here.

With the Affordable Care Act adding 30 million Americans to the health-insurance rolls, it may become harder to get an appointment with a doctor. What’s the solution? Nurse practitioners. Read the article in The Seattle Times here.

Fatigue leaves a majority of nurses concerned about their ability to perform safely, with two-thirds of nurses reporting they had nearly made a mistake at work because of fatigue and more than a quarter saying they had made a fatigue-related error, according to a survey commissioned by Kronos Incorporated.

The “Nurse Staffing Strategy,”  released this week at the American Organization of Nurse Executives conference in Denver, found nurse fatigue also can negatively affect operational costs, as well as patient and employee satisfaction, according to the research announcement.

Read the whole

A half-page print advertisement critical of Community Health Systems for its treatment of nurses will make an appearance Monday in the Nashville media. The ad kicks off a campaign by the National Federation of Nurses and the American Federation of Teachers’ health care division meant to “raise questions of the treatment of nurses” by the Brentwood-based hospital chain, said Eric Williams, president of the local Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association and a nurse at CHS-owned Northside Medical Center in Youngstown, Ohio.

Read the article in the Nashville Post here.

This notice constitutes the official call to meeting to the 2013 NFN National Federation Assembly (NFA) to be held May 17-19 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Arlington, VA.

Read more including the proposed resolutions, agenda and a recap from the 2011 National Federation Assembly.

Nurses across the country are alarmed by the devastating affect sequestration will have on public health. These cruel and unnecessary cuts threaten the welfare of our patients, our families and communities. Congress needs to do its job and put an end to this manufactured crisis.

The cuts we are facing are real, and they are dangerous. Cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would deny life-saving immunizations to 30,000 children and 20,000 adults. Medicare cuts would lead to 200,000 fewer health care providers on the job and healing patients.

Approximately 424,000 fewer HIV tests

A new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality identifies 22 patient safety strategies that are proven to be effective and provides information on how they work best so they can be adapted to local needs. The report, which updates a 2001 report called “Making Health Care Safer,” includes reviews of the strength and quality of evidence for 41 patient safety strategies and identifies those that have the strongest evidence of effectiveness. The reviews include evidence about context, implementation and adoption to help clinicians understand what works, how to apply it and under

The Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation released a report last week focusing on the health and safety of the health care workforce and calling upon health care organizations to initiate broad organizational changes to reduce physical and psychological harm to health care workers. Through the Eyes of the Workforce: Creating Joy, Meaning, and Safer Health Care contends that patient safety is inextricably linked to health care workers’ safety and well-being because caregivers who suffer disrespect, humiliation, or physical harm are more likely to make errors or fail

Hospital officials at Tacoma General Hospital and 650 nurses represented by the Washington State Nurses Association are hoping a new session with a federal mediator scheduled for March 28 will help the two sides reach a new labor pact between the hospital and some 650 nurses represented by the Washington State Nurses Association. Read the article from The News Tribune here.