Recently in Health Care Workers Category

Source: Mischa Gaus, Labor Notes, No. 361, April 2009

The future of health care unions came into focus in March, with three major nurse unions combining, and bitter rivals SEIU and California nurses announcing a truce. But other state nurse groups decided to throw their own party.

Source: Watson Wyatt and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, 2009

Even during the current financial downturn, the health care industry continues to face a talent crisis. An aging population is increasing the demand for health care services and the need for critial-skill employees. Health care providers have addressed the issues of attracting and retaining critical-skill employees more proactively than general industry, but they still need to improve to meet these challenges.

Watson Wyatt and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) conducted a 2008/2009 study of the health care industry. It reveals that a major challenge for health care organizations is the need to expand their facilities and human capital to meet the increasing demand for their services. Watson Wyatt research shows that an integrated approach to reward and talent management - one that touches all stages of the employment life cycle - is most effective in enhancing an organization's attraction and retention efforts; however, as with general industry, few health care organizations have implemented an integrated approach.

Source: Katherine Rogers, State Health Notes, Volume 30, Issue 535, March 16, 2009

State and local health officials applauded the inclusion of significant public health spending in the stimulus bill signed by President Obama last month, which included $650 million for community prevention programs and another $500 million for bolstering the health and public health workforce. However, a new report suggests that prevention and public health programs remain in danger and suggests ways for states to create long-term funding streams.

The report, released March 9 by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH), reports that in recent years, significant cuts in federal public health spending may have weakened states' ability to prevent outbreaks, curb chronic illness and limit the growth of health spending.

The report notes that an estimated 11,000 public health jobs have already been lost, a number that may continue to grow. Another TFAH report released in December found federal funding to states for state and local preparedness has fallen 25 percent since 2005.

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2009

From the press release:
President Obama today also announced the release of $155 million authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will support 126 new health centers. These health centers will help people in need - many with no health insurance - obtain access to comprehensive primary and preventive health care services.

"We have acted quickly to put Recovery Act dollars to good use in communities across America," said President Obama. "The construction and expansion of health centers will create thousands of new jobs, help provide health care to an estimated 750,000 Americans across the country who wouldn't have access to care without these centers, and take another step toward an affordable, accessible health care system."
See also:
* Find information about patients helped, jobs created and grants for your state.
* Find information about patients helped, jobs created and grants for all states.
* Learn about the Community Health Center program.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009

The Centers for Disease Control have unveiled a new website, which "provides all-hazards resources intended for individuals at healthcare facilities tasked with ensuring that their facility is as prepared as possible for an emergency. The healthcare facilities targeted by this page include hospitals, long-term acute and chronic care facilities, outpatient clinics and urgent care facilities, physicians' offices, and pediatric offices and hospitals."

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, Fact Sheet, Publication Number: 7872, March 4, 2009

This fact sheet examines the assistance for Medicaid programs and other key health provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that President Obama recently signed into law. Subjects covered include the temporary increase in federal matching money for state Medicaid programs, subsidies for COBRA health coverage for laid off workers and funding for health information technology.
See also:
Interactive State-by-State Look at New Funding

Source: Modern Healthcare, Vol. 39 no. 10, March 09, 2009
(subscription required)

Healthcare continued to add jobs in February while the rest of the U.S. job market remained in a free-fall. Hospitals and physician offices have added 47,100 workers in 2009.

Source: Herman Benson, WorkingUSA, Vol. 12 no. 1, March 2009
(subscription required)

Two million five hundred thousand registered nurses are employed in the U.S., mostly in hospitals. By 2016, we will need 500,000 more. Now that nurses are in demand and the nation faces a shortage, they are able to make a decent living. In some cities, with overtime and salary levels protected by unions, they can make lots of money. Still, the job is tough.

Nurses need union representation. At first glance, there seems to be a bewildering assortment of claimants to provide that representation: state affiliates of the American Nurses Association (ANA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United American Nurses (UAN), American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Communication Workers of America, American Federation of Teachers, California Nurses Association (CNA), American Federation of Government Employees. Even the International Union of Operating Engineers, a heavy-equipment construction union, enrolls its share of registered nurses, over 3,000. The Steelworkers, United Food Workers, Teamsters, and Laborers all have a piece of the action.

And so, as everyone wants to get into the act, nurse unionism might seem scattered and in disarray. But that appearance minimizes the actual power of contemporary nurses' unionism and its potential influence in the broader labor movement.

Source: Lauren Kugielska and Melissa Linker, Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal, Vol. 25 no. 2, February 4, 2009

Hospital malpractice appears to have reached a peak in the United States. Studies suggest that this trend has been in the works for well over a decade. A reporting of hospital deficiencies suggests a link between poor working conditions for hospital employees and an increased risk to patient safety. Specifically, "the long and unpredictable hours" that nurses work contribute to adverse effects on patient care.

In Part I of this note, we explore the cause of the current surfacing of adverse medical care: a universal nursing shortage. The nursing shortage stems from problems on two fronts: there is (1) a decrease in those entering the profession, and (2) an increase in turn-over rates. The shortage's common catalyst--mandatory overtime--is addressed and discussed. The effects of this common catalyst on nurses are surveyed: fatigue, job dissatisfaction and lower-quality nurse health. Part I illustrates the cyclical relationship between high rates of hospital error and the nursing shortage, which has contributed to the rise of hospital malpractice and resulted in the neglect of patient and nurse health. Thus, in order to resolve the adverse effects of poor patient care, the needs of patients and nurses must be addressed.

Source: Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), January 2009

Healthcare associated infections develop in a patient as a result of their exposure to healthcare facilities or procedures. They include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), C. difficile and other infections caused by bacteria and viruses encountered in healthcare facilities.

Rising infection rates are causing unnecessary suffering and death and are taxing the healthcare system as well as patients and families.

Cleaning, laundry, and other support services are a vital element of infection prevention and control strategies. Pathogens such as C. difficile, VRE, MRSA, norovirus, influenza, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) associated coronavirus can survive in the healthcare environment for extended periods of time, even months. In fact, these infections are inherently well adapted to survive in dust and on floors, bedrails, telephones, call buttons, curtains and other surfaces. Washing hands is important, but if bacteria and viruses are not eliminated from the environment, hands will quickly become contaminated again.

"Breaking the chain of infection" requires well-resourced, well-trained, and stable inhouse healthcare teams attacking all of the links of transmission; sufficient beds, equipment and staff to achieve best practice occupancy rates; modern high-quality infrastructure and equipment, and; standardized procedures, monitoring and public reporting.