April 01, 2020

Hot News
22 August 2019

Suicides among nurses are on the rise. Here's why one of America's fastest-growing jobs is facing a major crisis

Nurses — who typically work long hours and may face abuse on the job — are more likely to take their own lives, a new study found.

Researchers from the University of California at San Diego recently conducted what they said is the first nationwide investigation into nurse suicides in more than 20 years. They found that both male and female nurses had higher rates of suicide than men and women in the US.
15 August 2019

Violence Against Nurses: A Major Issue in Healthcare

Workplace violence against nurses has significantly increased in the past decade or so, with some studies suggesting a 110% spike in the rate of violent injuries against healthcare workers in the last 10 years.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), there are 4 types of workplace violence in the healthcare field:

• Type I: The perpetrator has criminal intent and has no relationship to the business or its employees
• Type II: A customer, client, or patient becomes violent when receiving care or services
• Type III: employee-to-employee violence
• Type IV: Personal relationship violence
27 June 2019

Nurses demand better compensation, staffing at McLaren Greater Lansing

Nurses at McLaren Greater Lansing took their fight for a new contract to the streets Wednesday.

The nurses, as well as their representatives at their union, Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 459 say compensation and staffing levels are the hangups in negotiations. Jeffrey Flemming, OPEIU’s lead negotiator for the nurses, says because of low staffing levels, the hospital is requiring nurses to work overtime.

“Nurses are having to work 16 hour shifts, in some cases day, after day, after day,” he said.

Which Linda Olin, a Registered Nurse at McLaren Greater Lansing, says negatively impacts patient care.

27 June 2019

Overworked McLaren nurses picket for better staffing, affordable healthcare

THURSDAY, June 27 — The nurses could be heard yesterday at the top of the hill from McLaren Orthopedic Hospital, from the sound of passing cars blaring their horns on Pennsylvania Avenue.

“Beep-beep-a-beep-beep, Lansing’s still a union town!”

About 20 nurses rallied with picket signs at the smaller McLaren speciality hospital and another 100 crowded the sidewalk on Greenlawn Avenue in front of the larger hospital a mile and a half away. 

The picket was not a strike but a reminder to the community that they’ve been working without a contract for almost a year. Their representatives say not enough nurses are staffed at any one time and the ones that are working are being forced to pull too much overtime. 

While they’re on-board with three 12-hour shifts a week, many of the nurses are being told to come in on their days off or pull 16-hour days.

Happy National Nurses Week! 7 May 2019

Happy National Nurses Week!

This week, May 6-12, marks National Nurses Week: a celebration of the contributions and compassion of nurses, which too often go unnoticed. Nursing is the most-trusted profession in the United States, but it is also one of the most dangerous. Support nurses across the United States bywriting your representative and telling them to protect those who protect us by supporting H.R. 1309: the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act.
RSS
1234567

About the ONC

The OPEIU Nurses Council (ONC) was established by OPEIU members who are nurses, giving them a means to participate in the resolution of issues affecting their nursing practice. The ONC helps foster a climate of professionalism within the nursing community, promoting best practices regarding patient care, safety concerns and compensation issues. The ONC advocates for legislation to improve working conditions and improve patient care, including measures that address nurse-to-patient ratios and violence against health care workers. Its primary goal is to advance the professional image of the nursing profession. 

If you are interested in starting a nurses council please email us at: info@opeiunursescouncil.org.

 

Latest White Collar



The ONC is a council of the OPEIU, which represents 103,000 members in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, including more than 10,000 nurses and healthcare professionals. Click Here for More Info