Blog

Debate This: I’m 57 and Want Medicare and Social Security for Future Generations

The most troubling thing I heard last evening during the debate was that I could stop listening about the proposed changes to Social Security and Medicare if I was at or near retirement age. I’m not that selfish. I care that my children and grandchildren have those programs. I care so much that I have devoted my personal and professional energy to improving and expanding a 'Medicare for All for Life' model and making sure Social Security remains the sure and safe program that it has been for decades.

Blog by: Donna Smith

Nurses lead push for safer care in DC hospitals

The proposed law benefits all patients in the District with mandatory minimum nurse-to-patient ratios by hospital unit, whistle-blower protections and an end to mandatory overtime. Nurses are burned out and that puts patient care in jeopardy. “This is a problem at every single hospital in the city,” said Raj.

National Nurses United

Primer on Climate Change, Healthcare, and the Keystone XL Pipeline

The Keystone project is a controversial proposal for a 1,700 mile pipeline to send 900,000 barrels every day of one of the world’s dirtiest fuels, tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to Gulf Coast refineries in Texas. Major oil and other fossil fuel corporations in the U.S. and Canada, joined by other Wall Street interests and the federal and state politicians they influence are promoting the plan.

National Nurses United

Typhoon Disaster in the Philippines - What RNs Can Do to Help!

Sign Up, Donate Now to Help Our Response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda has left a path of devastation in the Philippines. Communication channels are not yet re-established to many areas, but current reports indicate as many as 10,000 deaths, with fears of many more casualties yet to be assessed. Several hospitals, along with thousands of homes and schools have been damaged or destroyed, and hundreds of thousands left homeless – many with long term shelter needs.

RN Response Network

This is a hospital, not Disneyland

How nursing scripts and patient satisfaction surveys project a fantasy of care, not real care. “Hello, Mr. Smith. My name is Joanne. I am your nurse. Are you experiencing any pain today? No? That’s good. Do you need help getting to the bathroom?” (check script) “Can I fluff your pillow, bring you a magazine, turn on your TV, move your water bottle closer?” (check script) “I am so happy to be of service, this is all part of the excellent care we provide here at Happy Homes Medical Center and Resort.”

National Nurse Magazine

Ebola Preparedness – What National Nurses United Won in California

The state of California, at the insistence of registered nurses, has set an Ebola safety standard for the nation. CNA/NNU has defeated efforts by the hospital industry to limit the protection of nurses to the voluntary, unenforceable guidelines put forth by the Centers for Disease Control. Instead, we have collectively ensured an optimal standard for personal protective equipment and respiratory protection that will enable nurses to safely treat Ebola patients.

National Nurses United

Standing On Our Own Shoulders

Year 15 of the new millennium opened with a most momentous achievement for registered nurses and patients – a precedent-setting agreement in the largest RN contract in the nation, for 18,000 Kaiser Permanente RNs and NPs that will likely raise the bar for nurses from coast to coast. The new pact could not have been realized without the unified determination of Kaiser nurses, with the broad support of other RNs and our unparalleled organization, to defend the role of nurses and their professional expertise as patient advocates.

RoseAnn DeMoro

The ACA Survives for Now, But We Still Don’t Have Real Healthcare Reform

Perhaps the best window to the top winners in the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act could be seen 200 miles up the road, on Wall Street.

National Nurses United

Basic Information on the Zika Virus

Zika is currently locally transmitted in 28 countries and territories in North and South America. The CDC is constantly updating the list of areas affected by the virus.

National Nurses United

What goes on behind and in front of closed doors? Democratic National Convention

What's going on behind and in front of closed doors before the Democratic National Convention? ALOT! Nurses and progressive groups are still fighting for a platform that includes "Medicare for All" and other issues such as anti TPP.

Pattie Lockard, Nurse Talk Radio