Thursday, September 19, 2013
MSU Reporter • 1
News
Thursday, September 19, 2013
@msureporter
facebook.com/msureporter
Minnesota State University, Mankato
www.themsureporter.com
THURSDAY
H 76 L 52
FRIDAY
H 67 L 41
SATURDAY
H 69 L 45
Mankato nurses protest over low-staffing levels
Protests arise over fears of patient safety, union bargaining. LISA STEVENS Staff Writer Nurses picketed outside the Mayo Clinic Health System (MCHS) in Mankato Tuesday to protest a low-staffing issue. Low nursing staff has been an ongoing issue for two years, David Nachreiner, a registered nurse at MCHS said, but the issue has now come to a head. MCHS management is in the process of contract bargaining with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA). Contracts are ratified every three years. Nurses represented by MNA said they want a fair contract that supports a safe and reasonable nursing staff level. Nachreiner said he feels there are valid patient-safety issues that have occurred because there are not enough nurses or licensed personnel working.
He said nurses on his unit have reported elderly people falling and not being taken care of to their full potential because there is not enough help. MCHS uses an acuity system to measure how many patients a nurse is assigned. Nachreiner said there is no set patient-tonurse ratio, or a limit to how many patients a nurse can care for at one time. He also said that in a recent schedule, there were about 200 holes that needed to be filled by nursing staff to meet an average daily census of patients. To compensate for the lack of staffing, nurses are left with no choice but to fill holes in the schedule and work extra hours. Not all nurses at MCHS are represented by MNA. “There is a lot of staff that are non-contract staff that aren’t part of the union but absolutely
support what we’re doing,” Nachreiner said. He said some nurses that are not represented by MNA spent time picketing just to support the cause. Nachreiner believes MCHS nursing-staff levels are low so the company can save money. He said MCHS plans to cut half of the registered nurses on a dialysis unit and replace them with dialysis technicians. Dialysis technicians only require 10 to 14 weeks of training and are paid much less than nurses. Nachreiner said he would like to see a level of staff that can care for an average hospital census and he wants nurses to have real input when it comes to staffing levels. “We feel we need to do better,” Nachreiner said. “We work
NURSES • Page 2
Lisa Stevens• MSU Reporter Nurses protest outside the MCHS in Downtown Mankato yesterday.
Nationally known speaker to discuss ending violence against women MIKELL MELIUS Staff Writer
Web Photo
FEATURE STORY:
Co-founder of the nonprofit organization, A Call To Men: The Next Generation of Manhood, Tony Porter will be speaking on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Ostrander Auditorium. Porter will speak on his nationally recognized efforts to end violence against women, and his efforts to get more men involved with the anti-violence movement. He has been an educator, lecturer and activist in social justice for over 20 years. His message of anti-violence is supported by many established organizations. Porter has worked with groups such as the National
No. 2 MSU prepares for No. 7 UMD - pg. 12
Football League, the National Basketball Association, the US Military Academy at West Point and the US Naval Academy at Annapolis. Porter has traveled around the world as a lecturer for the US State Department. With extensive work having been done in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he has also lectured in the United Kingdom and Brazil. Other lectures for Porter include guests presenting for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and with his knowledge on violence against women, Porter has been a script consultant on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He is the author of “Well
PORTER • Page 2 EDITORIAL.............4 A&E........................ 10 SPORTS................. 12