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Guest: Mary McGibbon

Casey visits with Minnesota RN Mary McGibbon. Minnesota nurses just voted to strike last Wednesday. Over 12,000 nurses make this the largest strike of its kind in U.S. history. PLEASE—it’s not the money and benefits they are fighting over. It is the ability to treat all patients with safety and good care as the number one priority. I say this because I am learning a lot about nurses being advocates for patients. I am not a nurse but I have been a patient, and (God forbid) will probably be one again. I am thrilled that someone has my best interest at heart. Honestly! Read more…

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HEY—we have a great show coming up. Casey visits with Minnesota RN Mary McGibbon. Minnesota Nurses just voted to strike last Wednesday. Over 12,000 nurses make this the largest strike of its kind in U.S. history. PLEASE—it’s not the money and benefits they are fighting over. It is the ability to treat all patients with safety and good care as the number one priority.DAN FOUND HIS “THING” …TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR YOU TO GUESS WHAT IT IS.WHAT an exhilarating experience! Casey returns from the National Nurses United D.C. Rally where over 1,000 RNs marched to the Capitol in support of patients’ rights.AND speaking of remarkable, legendary White House reporter Helen Thomas was honored with the “Speaking Truth To Power” award by National Nurses United. Please check out the clip of this INSPIRING woman. READ MORE

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Guest: Sandra Falwell

A great conversation with D.C.-based nurse practitioner and activist Sandra Falwell. Sandra has been in the profession for 40 years and shares some AMAZING stories about the “good ol days” or not so “good ol days” when she was once asked to give up her chair for a doctor. This was after a 14-hour shift, 27 patients and 4 codes. Tune in for her answer to his question aka…DEMAND. (Originally aired February 21, 2010.) Read more…

Big strike vote set in Minnesota, if approved would be the largest in U.S. history. Linda Hamilton, RN in the Children’s Hospital System and president of the Minnesota Nurses Association writes, “Everybody knows a nurse. And right now, more than 12,000 of us are in the fight of our lives with six different Twin Cities hospital systems…What are we fighting for? Nurses never have been and never will be in this profession for the money. We are in the profession for one simple reason – we care about you.” READ MORE

Our friends at the California Nurses Association report that “more than 1,000 registered nurses from across the country rallied in Washington DC Wednesday, raising an unprecedented, unified voice for patient safety reforms and new, national standards for patient care conditions and standards for nurses.Among the legislative solutions are S 1031/HR 2133 that would, among other components, establish minimum ratios of nurses to patients for all U.S. hospitals, modeled after a successful California law, and S 1788/HR 2381 which would also promote nurse retention and reduce patient accidents and injuries by establishing safe patient lifting and handling policies.Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, author of S 1788, hosted a hearing on the bill Tuesday at which several nurses on hand for the week cited experiences that demonstrated the need for the bill.Speaking Wednesday to an NNU rally across from the Capitol, Franken told the RNs, “You are the ones we look to for advice, comfort, expertise and care. You are tireless advocates for the country’s well-being. You’re the ones we trust to care for our loved ones, that’s what your expertise is, and it’s simply unacceptable that you’re putting your own health on the line to care for patients.” READ MORE

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Guest: Keith Merrit

Join Casey and Dan for a conversation with Keith Merrit, one of the RNs at Cypress-Fairbanks Hospital in Houston who recently voted to remain members of National Nurses Organizing Committee-Texas, the state’s affiliate of National Nurses United, the national union and professional association for RNs. Read more…

The 28-day strike at Temple University Hospital has ended with new contract agreements that provide “some of the best working conditions and benefits in Philadelphia,” thanks to the united efforts of PASNAP, the union that represents 1500 nurses, professionals and technical employees.Read the whole story on the California Nurses Association website: “Temple Unions Ratify New Contracts, Declare Victory after Strike”

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Guest: Trande Phillips

RN-To-Patient Staffing Laws Reduce Patient Mortality. Casey Hobbs, RN host, has a conversation with RN Trande Phillips about a major new study led by one of the nations most eminent nurse researchers. The study verifies what nurses have long known:  California’s landmark RN-to-patient staffing law saves lives. Trande has over 38 years of experience as an RN and serves on the Board of Directors for the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United. Read more…

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COMING UP on the show this week…Casey talks about her recent skirmish at an Arizona checkpoint, Dan’s “thing” is now green and Marsha Podd, aka The Baby Whisperer—ROCKS! Also—listen to what RN Trande Phillips has to say about a new study that proves RN+Patient/Ratios save lives. READ MORE…

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Guest: Laurie Bahr

This week Casey and Dan talk with RN Laurie Bahr. Laurie has been an RN for 16 years and currently works in the Cardiac Surgical ICU at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. She sheds some light on current Pension Bargaining Efforts taking place in her state. It seems that hospitals are using the “economic downturn” to cut benefits that most RN’s have been paying into for years. Laurie is active in the Minnesota Nurses Association, the organization that works to protect patients and the nurses who serve them. (Originally aired March 21, 2010.) Read more…