News

Petaluma hospital nurses OK labor contract

Nurses at Petaluma Valley Hospital represented by the California Nurses Association have approved a labor agreement with St. Joseph Health, which runs the hospital, the union said. The deal gives nurses pay raises of 2 percent a year for three years but also reduces their stand-by pay, a St. Joseph's official said. The CNA represents about about 170 nurses at Petaluma Valley Hospital. The union contract also was approved by more than 900 union nurses at two other St. Joseph hospitals, St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka and St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley.

Santa Rosa Press Democrat

June 20, 2013

St. Mary nurses ratify labor agreement

APPLE VALLEY • After more than six months of negotiations, registered nurses at St. Joseph, St. Mary ratified a new collective bargaining agreement Wednesday, according to a news release from the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United. Local nurses joined others at the Eureka and Petaluma locations in the St. Joseph Health system in ratifying the deal after a preliminary agreement was reached earlier this month. “We are extremely pleased that the bargaining teams for the CNA union and our hospital have reached agreement on a new contract with our valued nurses,” said St. Joseph Health, St. Mary spokesman Randy Bevilacqua in a written statement after the preliminary deal. “As always, the focus of our clinical teams continues to be on providing high-quality, safe, compassionate care and service to our patients at all times.”

Daily Press

June 20, 2013

Affinity nurses seek delay on electronic records

MASSILLON — Affinity Medical Center registered nurses are asking hospital officials to delay a new electronic health record system set to begin this weekend.

CantonRep.com

June 18, 2013

This Week In America, June 14, 2013

More profits and less healthcare. In some corners of the newsroom the central story of America’s healthcare crisis – profiteering – finally has been discovered. Steve Brill in Time magazine took it on earlier this year and several have followed suit. At $2.7 trillion, the annual U.S. healthcare price tag is the biggest in the world, by far, an indication that there are vast riches reaching investors in the business of illness. There is evidence, as well, that those profits remain prodigious even as increasing numbers of sick Americans forego care.

National Nurses United

June 14, 2013

Quincy Medical Center nurses reach deal with hospital owner Steward

Nurses at Quincy Medical Center have reached a one-year agreement on wages and staffing with Steward Health Care. In a joint press release, Steward officials and the leadership of the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United said the agreement affirms their mutual commitment to the hospital’s viability and staffing levels that assure quality patient care.

PatriotLedger.com

June 13, 2013

Massachusetts Department of Public Health says Morton Hospital's Pediatric unit is essential

After hearing, the state Department of Public Health has weighed in on Morton Hospital’s plan to close its pediatric unit, calling the pediatric services “essential” for the community.

Taunton Gazette

June 11, 2013

Unit at Morton Hospital essential, state says

Hospital’s pediatric unit, slated to close next month, provides critical access to health care for children in the Taunton region, according to a strongly worded state finding that, though not binding, is meant to pressure the hospital to reconsider.

June 11, 2013

Sutter Health patient information turns up in drug bust

When Alameda County sheriff’s deputies conducted a drug bust in Oakland on May 16, they found drugs, but a search turned up something else, too: personal information on about 4,500 Sutter Health patients. It’s unclear how the information got there, but it may have come from Sutter hospitals, including Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley and Oakland, Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch and Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, according to a letter to patients from David Bradley, president of Sutter’s East Bay Region.

Sacramento Business Journal

June 10, 2013

Stop Austerity, Stop Keystone: Our Planet, Our Health

Keystone represents the false choices of the austerity era. Jobs VS the planet. Economic recovery VS healthy communities. Our money or our lives. The Robin Hood Tax will heal our environment AND our economy. March across the Golden Gate Bridge with 350.org, 350BayArea.org, National Nurses United, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Sierra Club, Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter, CREDO, Food and Water Watch, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, EQUAL Health Network, California League of Conservation Voters, Center for Biological Diversity, Keystone XL Action Council, UNITE HERE! Local 2850, Movement Generation, Bay Localize, Citizens Climate Lobby, Sustainable San Rafael, Global Exchange, and other environment and public health advocates to send this message to Wall Street and Washington, DC. Tax Wall Street to heal the environment

National Nurses United

June 10, 2013

This Week In America, June 7, 2013

Wall Street Buying Main Street. First, they prize an economy with low wages and keep wages low for generations. Then they offer mortgages to families whose earnings would never afford them the opportunity to save and buy homes within their budgets. Next, they switch the bait and raise interest rates on the mortgage payments beyond what workers’ wages can meet. Defaults ensue and families are evicted—by the millions.

National Nurses United

June 7, 2013