Minnesota State Nurses Union Elects New Leadership; 104th Annual Convention Considered a ‘Gateway to History’

ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Linda Hamilton, RN has been elected to lead the 20,000 members of the Minnesota Nurses Association as the organization pursues an aggressive agenda of activism by nurses on behalf of the patients in their care. Hamilton has been a registered nurse for 28 years and works at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis. She was most recently honored by the national AFL-CIO as a “Political Hero” for her long-term dedication of connecting political activism with nursing advocacy.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091006/DC88044)

“MNA is a trusted leader for nurses and their practice because we have a legacy of merging diverse values of labor, nursing practice, education and governmental affairs into one unified voice,” said Hamilton. She plans to help the organization build on that legacy by achieving meaningful health care reform for Minnesotans, advancing the profession of nursing and assuring fair, safe working environments for nurses. The vision requires unrivaled solidarity, and she is convinced nurses are organized and motivated. “It is this moment in time when our 20,000 registered nurse members and all the RNs across the state and country will be engaged, unified and fiercely dedicated to creating the change nurses know will benefit nurses, patients and families,” declares Hamilton.

Hamilton and the other newly-elected officers on the Board of Directors and various Commissions and committees will assume their duties at the close of MNA’s 104th annual convention, October 10 – 13. The state’s nurses will meet within a powerful convergence of circumstances that members believe is a gateway to history for the organization.

The United States is embroiled in an impassioned discussion of health care reform, and the national workforce of registered nurses at the bedside is poised to play an influential role in the debate. The Minnesota Nurses Association helped spearhead an exciting move to form a national union of representing the interests of 150,000 of direct-care nurses in 22 different states. Equipped to organize hundreds of thousands of other front-line nurses, National Nurses United is expected to have ground-breaking impact not only on overall reform, but health and safety for nurses and appropriate nurse-to-patient ratios.

On a state level, 12,000 MNA members in the metro area, and 4,200 in 32 other bargaining units across the state will open contract negotiations with their employers in 2010. Signals clearly show a contentious bargaining session ahead. In recent months, hospitals unsuccessfully sought wage concessions, and then forced layoffs to already overburdened nursing staffs. In May, MNA members were notified by their employers the nationally-respected Twin Cities Hospitals/Minnesota Nurses Association Pension Plan would “likely be open for negotiations.”

MNA’s convention will feature a one-day conference on Saturday, October 10, that highlights nurses’ role in reform. Entitled “Health Care’s Best Hope: How RNs Can Heal a Fallen System,” the program is intended to give nurses the tools to put nursing at the forefront of transforming health care. Speakers for the event are independent writer, lecturer and health policy analyst Emily Friedman; nurse researcher John Welton, PhD, RN, who describes the theory of “nursing intensity” and its impact on patient care; Jorge Mancillas, PhD, health services officer for Public Services International; Dan Callahan, internationally renowned bio-ethicist and founder of the Hastings Center, and Rosemarie Reger-Rumsey, Executive Director of St. Paul’s, Listening House.

The convention will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, St. Paul.

    Minnesota Nurses Association Board of Directors 2009 - 2011

    President    Linda Hamilton, RN    Children's Hospitals and   Minneapolis
                                        Clinics

    1st Vice      Eileen Weber, RN      JD Independent Practice    St. Paul
     President

    2nd Vice      Bernadine (Bunny)     United Hospital            St. Paul
     President    Engeldorf, RN

    Secretary    Linda Slattengren,    United Hospital            St. Paul
                  RN

    Treasurer    Delores (Dee Dee)     Methodist Hospital         St. Louis
                  Bloch, RN                                        Park

    Directors
                 Pamela Scott, RN      North Memorial Hospital    Robbinsdale

                 Diane C. Johnson,RN   Abbott Northwestern        Minneapolis
                                        Hospital

                 Greg Dooley, RN       Children's Hospitals       Minneapolis
                                        And Clinics

                 Juli Uzlik, RN        Fairview Southdale         Edina
                                        Hospital

                 Nancy I. Carlson, RN  St. Mary's Hospital        Duluth

                 Judy Russel-Martin,RN Children's Hospitals and   Minneapolis
                                        Clinics

                 Patricia Webster, RN  North Memorial Hospital    Robbinsdale

Uniting nurses in vision and voice since 1905. With 20,000 members, MNA is the leading organization for registered nurses in the Midwest and is among the oldest and largest representatives of RNs for collective bargaining in the nation. MNA is a multi-purpose union that fosters high standards for nursing education and practice, and works to advance the profession through legislative activity. MNA is affiliated with the United American Nurses and the Minnesota AFL-CIO.

SOURCE Minnesota Nurses Association