Latest news with #HealthPartners
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Video shows aftermath of Wisconsin black bear attack
New video shows the aftermath of a bear attack, and gunshots, in western Wisconsin. Authorities say they were trying to shoot the bear after it attacked a woman near Comstock on Saturday. Newly obtained dash and body camera footage from police in Cumberland shows an officer responding to the scene here near Comstock just after 2 p.m. Karen Frye, 69, was outside with her dogs when she was mauled. In the video, an officer can be seen, weapon in hand, walking to an ambulance on the scene in search of the bear. About two-and-a-half minutes later, gunshots are heard. Cumberland Police Chief Heather Wolfe says it's unknown if the bear was struck. She says suspected blood was found in the area of where the bear was. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says the bear is still on the loose, and it still plans to euthanize the bear and "assess its condition." Traps and hound dogs have been used in the search. It's still unknown why the animal attacked Frye, but authorities say they found a cub in a tree which may have belonged to the black bear. A spokesperson for HealthPartners says Frye's condition has been upgraded from critical to fair.
CBS News
08-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Health care workers in Stillwater begin 4-day unfair labor practice strike
Health care workers in Stillwater, Minnesota, kicked off a four-day unfair labor practice strike Monday. Over 80 workers across multiple departments of the HealthPartners Stillwater Medical Group are represented by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa. Ninety-nine percent of the workers voted to strike if a deal could not be reached. Workers began a picket in front of the HealthPartners Clinic Stillwater facility at 7 a.m. The picket line will be followed by a rally at noon. The union says both sides have met seven times, but "remain apart on key issues like wages and benefits for their longtime employees." The group striking includes nurses, medical assistants and other service-unit health care positions. HealthPartners released a statement to WCCO. "Our colleagues represented by SEIU Healthcare are a valuable part of our team," the statement said. "While we are disappointed by the union's decision to move forward with the strike, we will focus on working toward a fair and financially responsible agreement. Our patients will continue to receive excellent care and service from us throughout this work stoppage." Last week, Twin Cities nurses reached a tentative deal with several Twin Cities health care providers to avert a strike after months of bargaining. This is a developing story and will be updated.
CBS News
03-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Twin Cities nurses reach tentative deal to avert strike, union says; Duluth-area strike may proceed
A Minnesota nurses union says it has reached a tentative deal with several Twin Cities health care providers to avert a strike after months of bargaining, but adds the fight continues for its Duluth-area members. The Minnesota Nurse Association, which represents 15,000 nurses across 13 hospitals in the Twin Cities and Duluth area, announced the deal on Thursday morning, which resolves the planned unfair labor practices strike its members voted overwhelmingly in favor for late last month. The agreement, according to the association, includes "new language to implement Minnesota's new break law, tools to address workplace violence, a raise of 3% in the first year 4% in the second, and 3% in the third." The association says thousands of the metro health care workers it represents have been working without a contract for months, including some whose contract just expired on Monday. The union has accused Twin Cities providers — including Allina Health, Children's Minnesota, M Health Fairview, HealthPartners and North Memorial Health — of refusing to bargain in good faith, withholding information and attempting to undermine workers' rights. WCCO Roadblocks to the agreement, according to the union, have included proposed policies from hospitals to cap sick time at 48 hours a year, cancel shifts at a moment's notice, cut overtime pay and switch workers to a higher-cost health care plan. The previous agreement, reached in December 2022, also averted a planned strike, but the union went on to accuse hospitals of ignoring contract language concerning staffing ratios. It's unclear how the new tentative agreement addresses that concern. Duluth-area health care workers set to strike next week The association's Duluth-area nurses, however, are still in the midst of negotiations that began in April. Its members, who work for Aspirus St. Luke's Hospital and Essentia Health, have been working without a contract since Monday. The association says those nurses are still set to strike on July 8, and advanced practice providers will join them two days later. WCCO has reached out to the hospitals involved for comment. This story will be updated. NOTE: The original airdate of the video attached to this article is June 24, 2025. contributed to this report.
Global News
27-06-2025
- Health
- Global News
Alberta strikes deal to off-load remaining controversial children's pain medicine
Three years after Alberta's government paid $70 million for children's pain and fever medicine, its front-line health provider says it has worked out a deal to off-load what remains of the controversial stockpile. Alberta Health Services spokeswoman Kristi Bland, in a Friday statement, confirmed the medicine is being donated to the charity group Health Partners International of Canada to distribute to 'vulnerable communities worldwide.' 'Preliminary shipments of products have started to leave Alberta, and additional shipments will happen in the coming months,' she wrote. Jackie Cousins, president of Health Partners, said the group works with others to ship medicine where it is needed, and that donations of medicine could end up in more than one country. In an email, she said some of the Alberta medicine would be sent to war-torn Ukraine. Story continues below advertisement 1:46 Alberta government looks to recoup $80M from children's medicine shipment The medication has proven to be problematic for Premier Danielle Smith's government. It struck a deal for the medicine three years ago to fill a gap during the COVID-19 pandemic. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Alberta paid $70 million to MHCare Medical for the medication in 2022 during a countrywide shortage. The province only received about 30 per cent of the shipment, and it has sat on 1.4 million bottles since the spring of 2023 after front-line health staff reported problems, including that the medicine's thicker consistency risked clogging feeding tubes. View image in full screen The government of Alberta paid more than $70 million for 1.4 million bottles of children's pain medicine in 2022, during a countrywide shortage, but was forced to stop distributing the medicine when health care workers raised safety concerns. Government of Alberta At an unrelated news conference Friday, Opposition NDP finance critic Court Ellingson said the government 'refuses' to take responsibility for the medicine and has 'no plan' to recoup funds. Story continues below advertisement 'That somebody is able to make use of this Tylenol somewhere, I'm going to say that that is a good thing, but there are so many other challenges there,' he said. '(Smith's government members) need to acknowledge that they were the ones that made these inappropriate decisions, that we're still on the hook for (product) — that we did not get product, and we don't know if that money is coming back.' Smith hinted in March that her government was working on a deal to send scores of the medication elsewhere. At that time, then-health minister Adriana LaGrange called the medications 'good quality drugs' and said it bothered her that they were going unused. The government has said it's still looking to get its money's worth by working with MHCare to import other medications to fulfill the $70-million deal. 0:40 Alberta Health Minister confirms new procurement of children's medicine will be at average retail price MHCare has since became embroiled in a provincial contracting and conflict of interest scandal after the former head of Alberta Health Services filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the province. Story continues below advertisement In the lawsuit, which hasn't been tested in court, Athana Mentzelopoulos alleges she was fired for looking into inflated government contracts awarded to private surgical companies. The lawsuit mentions MHCare multiple times, but the company is not named as a defendant. MHCare has said any allegations of wrongdoing on its part are 'unwarranted and unjustified.' The allegations have prompted numerous internal and external investigations, including by the RCMP.
Hamilton Spectator
27-06-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Alberta strikes deal to off-load remaining batch of controversial children's medicine
EDMONTON - The Alberta government has reached a deal to off-load what remains of its controversial stockpile of unused children's pain and fever medicine. Kristi Bland, with Alberta Health Services, says they are donating the medicine to the charity group Health Partners International of Canada. Bland says shipments have begun and more are expected in the coming months. Jackie Cousins, president of Health Partners, says they work with partners to ship medicine where it is needed, and confirms some of the Alberta medicine will go to war-torn Ukraine. The medication has proven to be problematic for Premier Danielle Smith's government after it struck a deal for the medicine three years ago to fill a gap during the COVID-19 pandemic. Alberta paid $70 million to a private provider for the medicine but has since sat on 1.4 million bottles after front-line health staff reported problems with it, including how the medicine's thicker consistency risked clogging feeding tubes. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
