Twin Cities nurses' union asks regulators to investigate allegations of poor care during strike

The Minnesota Nurses Association announced a series of filings with regulatory agencies on Friday alleging problems in patient care at five Allina hospitals that are under a nursing strike until Sunday morning.

The allegations range from one patient death linked to a medication error, to poor disposal of used needles, to a variety of situations in which replacement nurses and Allina staff were asked to perform tasks beyond their training or experience.

"Nurses are not working within their usual scopes of practice within the hospitals," said Rose Roach, executive director for the MNA, which represents 4,800 Allina hospital nurses in contract talks.

Allina officials said they were familiar with some of the complaints, but others were new, and that all of them they investigated internally so far turned out to be false.

Allina spokesman David Kanihan criticized the union for publicizing these claims during the strike.

"Let's be honest," he said. "They clearly have a strategy here to try to raise doubt, to try to raise concerns, to try to make us look bad."

Allina officials have repeatedly complimented hospital employees for delivering compassionate and professional care this week at the five affected hospitals. Allina hired 1,400 replacement nurses for the week to work in Abbott Northwestern Hospital and the Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis, United Hospital in St. Paul, Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, and Unity Hospital in Fridley.

Complaints about hospital deficiencies are investigated locally by the Minnesota Department of Health and nationally by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Violations of practice standards by individual nurses are assessed by the Minnesota Board of Nursing. Needle sticks and on-the-job hazards would be considered by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

The most grave allegation collected by union officials this week involved the death at Abbott of a patient related to the administration of norepinephrine, a medication commonly given to manage blood pressure and cardiac risks.

Roach said it was "a direct result of nurses working outside of their areas of expertise or training." The union had not formally filed a complaint regarding the incident as of Friday afternoon, though, as MNA officials were still gathering information on the incident.

Kanihan said Allina hasn't explored whether a death in the hospital occurred that might have produced this claim, but he countered that "there have been no medication errors that caused deaths anywhere" this week.

The strike started on Sunday, June 19, after Allina and its nurses failed to reach a new three-year contract. The cost of nurses' health insurance remains a major stumbling block. No new negotiating sessions have been set, but striking nurses are expected to return to work starting 7 a.m. Sunday.