Nurses' union pushes back against Mayo Clinic's plan to pull Minnesota investments if proposals at Capitol pass
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- State legislators and members of the Minnesota Nurses Association on Monday said they were blindsided when they learned of demands from the Mayo Clinic to the legislature: reject or make big changes to two bills – or it will pull billions in planned investments and move them somewhere else.
"It is completely unethical for Mayo, a nonprofit corporation, to attempt to override democracy and disrupt the legislative process at the last minute with what are essentially blackmail tactics," said Rebekah Nelson with the nurses' union.
At issue is legislation establishing Health Care Affordability Board aimed at protecting consumers from unaffordable health care costs, and the Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act, designed to keep nurses from leaving the profession by creating committees where they can weigh in on staffing levels. Both are tucked inside a health and human services omnibus budget bill subject to end-of-session negotiations.
The Rochester-based health care giant wants the first proposal scrapped altogether and the latter significantly changed with an amendment that would exempt them from staffing requirements. The chair of its Midwest medical practice said in a statement the plans will "negatively impact access to care."
Nurses and the bill's two authors during a press conference Monday criticized Mayo Clinic for what they call 11th hour demands to restructure the bill, which caught them by surprise.
Nurses say the Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act will help ensure safe staffing levels, hold hospital managers accountable, and keep caregivers from leaving the profession in droves. The group's recent nursing workforce report determined hospital management and understaffing were top issues motivating people to move away from bedside care.
"Any compromise that we would enter into would have to achieve these bills' goals and they cannot include the language that Mayo Clinic has proposed that would gut this bill, that would exempt every hospital in Minnesota from this bill," said Rep. Sandra Feist, DFL-New Brighton. "That is not an option."
In emails obtained by WCCO and first reported by the Minnesota Reformer, Mayo told the governor's office that the proposals threaten "significant facilities and infrastructure investments" the health system was planning to the tune of "four times the size of the investment in U.S. Bank Stadium," which had a $1.1 billion price tag.
"Because these bills continue to proceed without meaningful and necessary changes to avert their harms to Minnesotans, we cannot proceed with seeking approval to make this investment in Minnesota," wrote Kate Johansen, vice chair of external engagement, in the email sent last week. "We will need to direct this enormous investment to other states."
How many patients a single nurse cares for were among the sticking points during contract negotiations between Minnesota Nurses Association and hospital leaders, which ultimately lead to the largest private-sector nurse strike in U.S. history last fall when 15,000 nurses protested working conditions and wages.
Johansen in response to WCCO's request for comment Monday said Mayo was "disappointed" the nurses held a press conference instead of trying to find a compromise.
"Mayo remains committed to engaging with policymakers and other partners on legislation that will be in the best interests of patients, staff, the state and Mayo Clinic," she said in part. "We agree our nursing staff face many challenges; however, we believe this bill does little to address the real challenge – recruitment and retention of the health care workers and staff Minnesotans need."
Sen. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said she and bill supporters remain committed to getting the proposal over the finish line. She told reporters that since the news broke, she's heard from a lot of people inside and outside of the Capitol who are angry over Mayo's requests to overhaul the bills.
One of them is Julie Laue, a nurse of 25 years at Mayo's Fairmont Hospital.
"When we mention that our nurses feel unsafe at times, I feel that it falls on deaf ears," Laue said. "I feel that I can talk until I'm blue in the face - as blue as my uniform - and nobody hears me."
