Support Minnesota Nurses
Help Duluth Nurses Put Patient Safety Ahead of Hospital Profits!
Need a Nurse? You're Not Alone!
In the past 30 days, more than 885 scheduled RN shifts went unfilled at SMDC. Those of us already working at SMDC and St. Luke's in Duluth are often forced to pull double shifts, running shorthanded and stressed while our patients suffer as a result. These two hospitals are putting your well-being and safety as patients at risk while reapting huge financial profits - more than $21 million between them during 2009 alone.
The business executives running our hospitals also don't want Duluth nurses to have the same contractual rights that Twin Cities nurses do when it comes to our ability to temporarily close a unit when it is unsafe to admit more patients and/or the ability to refuse additional patient assignments if a nurse feels his/her patient load is already unsafe. This contract language wouldn't cost our employers a penny to institute, and it's already in place in the Twin Cities.
How You Can Help
Tell Our Bosses What You Think! As a paying customer, you have every right to weigh in on this situation. You can reach St. Luke's and SMDC executives below:
- SMDC Executive Vice President Rocky Chapin - Send an e-mail or call him at 218-786-4564.
- SMDC COO MariBeth Olson - Send an e-mail or call her directly at 218-786-4878.
- St. Luke's CEO John Strange - Send an e-mail or call him directly at 218-249-5389.
Share your story with us! Duluth RNs want to know how you or your loved ones have experienced the negative and sometimes fatal impact of unsafe staffing inside our hospitals firsthand. Please take a moment to e-mail us your story. Be sure to include your name and contact information (e-mail, phone number) so we can verify everything.
Sign the Online Petition! In addition to sharing your unsafe staffing stories, you can sign this online petition showing your support for Duluth RNs and safe staffing levels inside our hospitals!
In the meantime, more than 1,350 of us will continue to stand up and fight for you (our patients) and our profession!
