November 2, 2007 |
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MNA PRESIDENT MOURNED
UAN TO CONDUCT NATIONAL POLL
GOOD NEWS FOR THE MICHIGAN NURSING CORPS
TWO WEEKS LEFT!
"GREEN" MONEY FOR NURSES
SCHIP UPDATE
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MNA PRESIDENT MOURNED
MNA is saddened to report that President Cheryl Johnson, who was admitted to the University of Michigan Health System on Friday, October 19 with a ruptured brain aneurysm, passed away on Sunday, October 28. A memorial service will be held on Monday, November 12, 2007 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in the Ford Amphitheatre at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. Information regarding memorials and other expressions of sympathy can be found here. Also posted on the webpage are the obituary and links to the state and national coverage regarding Cheryl. Memories, stories, and "Cheryl-isms" are being collected for the memorial service and can be sent to nurseline@minurses.org.
UAN TO CONDUCT NATIONAL POLL
Beginning this Saturday, November 3, the UAN will be conducting a national opinion poll of its members conducted by a research firm, On Target Research. The UAN’s last national poll was in 2003. Given the state of the labor movement, the complexity of issues facing the profession and the recent internal debate on issues related to the value and role of a national union, UAN believes that hearing directly from the membership is valuable. It is anticipated that preliminary results will be available in December. In order to minimize disruption, UAN has required that all polling be done between the hours of 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm (in each time zone), except on the weekends, when the polling will start a little earlier. Additionally the poll should take no longer than 20 minutes. Note: UAN members are free to not participate. information for the poll is held as strictly confidential.
GOOD NEWS FOR THE MICHIGAN NURSING CORPS
With budget cuts rampant in every state department, MNA is pleased to note that the Michigan Nursing Corps program received enough general fund dollars to support 200 students who already have a Bachelor of Science degree to get their nursing degree via an accelerated program. Unfortunately, the program did not receive enough money to fund advanced nursing education to increase the number of nursing instructors. Still, it is a start!
TWO WEEKS LEFT!
The Fall 2007 UAN Labor Education Scholarship Application period is underway. The deadline for applying for a UAN Labor Education Scholarship is November 15, 2007, and awards will be announced by December 14, 2007. Complete application materials and scholarship guidelines are available on the UAN website or click on the labor education button on the right side of the home page.
"GREEN" MONEY FOR NURSES
Health Care Without Harm is announcing round seven of the Nurses Workgroup Mini-Grant Program. The Mini-Grant program is designed to support innovative efforts to expand and deepen the involvement of nurses in environmental health issues, to promote advocacy activities and to encourage those initiatives that showcase collaborative efforts between nurses and environmental organizations. You can find all the details including the deadline, guidelines, application template and more here.
SCHIP UPDATE
If you were not convinced before that politics are convoluted, the saga of the SCHIP bill will remove any doubt from your mind. A new bill was voted on by the House of Representatives last Friday but did not pass with the number of votes needed to overturn a presidential veto. Another version of the bill has been passed by the Senate on November 1 and will now move to the House. Because this bill still does not meet President Bush's criteria, it is anticipated that it will be vetoed again. Whether the Representatives will pass the bill with the required number of votes to override a presidential veto remains to be seen. Stay tuned!
Be sure to check out the MNA Events Calendar for all upcoming events and activities!