National Nurses United

Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation Publication title: National Nurse. Publication number: USPS 0807-560, ISSN 2153-0386. Filing date: 10-19-2014. Issue frequency: Monthly except for combined issues in January-February, April-May, and July- August. Number of issues published annually: 9. Annual subscription price: $40. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: 2000 Franklin St., Oakland, Alameda County, California, 94612-2908. Contact person: Lucia Hwang. Telephone: (510) 273-2200. Complete mailing addresses of headquarters or general business office of publisher: Same as above. Publisher: California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, 2000 Franklin St., Oakland, California, 94612. Editor: Lucia Hwang. Managing editor: None. Owner: California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, 2000 Franklin St., Oakland, California, 94612. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount: none. Tax status: Has not changed during preceding 12 months. Publication title: National Nurse. Issue date for circulation data below: July-August 2015. Extent and nature of circulation: Registered nurse members of CNA/NNU and subscribers. For the following, the first number represents the average number of copies of each issue during preceding 12 months and the second number represents the number of copies of the single issue published nearest to filing date. Total number of copies (net press run): 155,000; 155,000. Mailed outside-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541: 145,151; 148,851. Mailed in-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541: 0; 0. Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other paid distribution outside USPS: 0; 0. Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 50, 52. Total paid distribution: 145,201; 148,903. Free or nominal rate outside-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 50; 50. Free or nominal rate in-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 0; 0. Free or nom- inal rate copies mailed at other classes through the USPS: 0; 0. Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail: 0; 0. Total free or nominal rate distribution: 50; 50. Total distribution: 145,251; 148,953. Copies not dis- tributed: 9,749; 6,047. Total: 155,000; 155,000. Percent paid: 99.97%; 99.97%. Information in this statement will be published in the October 2015 issue of this publication. 8 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 NEWS BRIEFS CALIFORNIA D ue to management's refusal to meaningfully address nurses' patient care concerns, Marin General Hospital (MGH) nurses walked out on strike Nov. 5. Nurses have been in negotiations with the hospital for 11 months and say patient care and workplace safety issues have not been adequately addressed—although the hospital has reported $49 million in profits over the last three years. "It takes a lot of courage to stand up for what's right," said Lynn Warner, RN. "But it's part of our job to ensure that our patients have access to safe, quality care. And right now, the inadequate staffing, the workplace safety issues, the issues with retaining experienced nurses—all of that puts our patients at risk." Issues that some 520 Marin General Hospital nurses are calling on management to address include safe staffing, workplace safety, and nurse retention. MGH nurses say that lack of adequate staffing in several departments prevents RNs from taking sufficient breaks. Studies show that inadequate breaks and resulting fatigue can compromise patient care and can negatively affect nurses' health and safe- ty. Nurses are calling on the hospital to add one additional nurse per department to assist in providing break relief. Nurses and nursing assistants are at significant risk of injuries and muscu- loskeletal disorders, which are often the result of manually lifting patients. Accord- ing to the Centers for Disease Control, musculoskeletal injuries from overexertion in healthcare occupations are among the highest of all U.S. industries. MGH RNs do not have sufficient lift equipment or 24-hour access to lift teams to help reposition patients. "At night we do not have a lift team to help us turn patients and step in during emergency situations," said Virginia Currie, an RN in the cardiac specialty care unit. "Marin County has a high elderly population and I provide care for acute patients with serious heart conditions. We need a 24-hour lift team to assist and help prevent RN injuries on the job." Over the past year, as working conditions have continued to deteriorate, MGH has struggled to fill 62 open RN positions with full-time, experienced nurses. As a result, RNs say, there has been an influx in the use of "traveler" nurses in several units of the hospi- tal. Travelers are unfamiliar with the hospital and patient population, nurses say, and often require valuable training time simply to leave at the end of their contract. Nurses are calling on management to invest in hiring local nurses and retaining the longtime, experi- enced nurses the community deserves. "Marin General calls itself 'your healing place.' Nurses are the ones at the bedside, providing that healing," said Currie. "What we're doing with this strike is standing up and saying that the hospital's failure to address patient care and workplace safety issues is resulting in it negating its own mission. Our patients and our community deserve better." —Kari Jones Marin RNs strike for staffing, fair contract

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