Alternet's Alexander Zaitchik noted this week that during Glenn Beck's recent hospital stay for appendicitis, Beck tweeted in praise of his "AMAZING drs/nurses:"

Little did Beck know that the top-notch care he was receiving came at the hands of those "radical Marxists" represented by 1199SEIU. Zaitchik reminds us that research has shown that patients treated in unionized hospitals have better survival rates that those treated at non-union hospitals. She also reminds us why Beck's smears of SEIU and unions in general should be taken with a grain of salt (or none at all!):

Compared to Beck--who probably knows more about the 80s TV show ALF than he does about the history of the AFL--Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity are Pulitzer-winning labor historians. He clearly has little to no understanding of what unions do, their central role in creating the American middle-class, or why the labor movement has long served a legitimate and important role in national politics.

And in fact, Beck confirmed his total and utter lack of experience with labor last year when he said this: "I've never had to deal with unions before." But admitting he knows nothing about unions still didn't stop Beck from following up that statement with this baseless opinion: "I hate them. I hate them." The irony here is that Fox News broadcasters all belong to a union--so does this mean Beck hates all his coworkers too? Nice.

Beck says he'll be back to work on Tuesday following his emergency surgery for appendicitis last Wednesday. We can't help but wonder whether or not Beck will pick up right where he left off, increasing the pitch of his attacks on SEIU and its leaders. What do you think? (will the SEIU nurses who likely cared for him get an on-air "thank you"?)

Two SEIU members were featured in a video put out by the Senate Democratic Communications Center showing the overwhelming support for health care reform in the medical community. SEIU nurses Debbie Wilkes, a member of Local 1199 from Maryland, and Linda Bock, a member of United Healthcare Workers East also from Maryland, shared stories about their own experience working in our broken health care system.

See what they had to say:

When it comes to talking about health care, doctors and nurses are the experts. SEIU nurses have been at the forefront of this debate, lobbying state and federals representatives, rallying on the National Mall, delivering signed hospital scrubs to Congress, and meeting with President Obama at the White House. Now, they're speaking directly to the public.

"Every day, our doctors and nurses see first-hand the many challenges facing our health care system," said SDCC Staff Director, Rodell Mollineau. "These health care professionals know better than anyone that by leveling the playing field, encouraging preventive care and regulating insurers, patients will receive higher quality, more affordable care."

Nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers spend their days providing life-saving medical care. But, as they are busy working with patients at hospitals across the nation, the fight over health insurance reform rages on, often without them.

The voices of these legions of healthcare workers must brought back into the reform debate. That is one of the main goals of the Partnership for Quality Care, which includes 1.1 million SEIU healthcare workers and the nation's leading healthcare providers. In order to advance that goal, PQC launched the "Every Patient Matters" Campaign, which culminated today with a rally on Capitol Hill.

"Every day, healthcare workers see how a broken system makes it harder for them to deliver quality care," PQC Chairman Dennis Rivera said during this afternoon's rally. "We can't afford to wait to fix our healthcare."

In August, healthcare workers around the country were asked to sign surgical scrubs with their healthcare story and their call for reform. Today, hundreds of these scrubs were brought back to Washington, DC and displayed in front of the Capitol during a rally featuring Sen. Harry Reid and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. After the rally, these scrubs were delivered to members of Congress, urging them to listen to the voices of those working on the front lines of healthcare in America.

"Every Patient Matters is more than a slogan. It is a mission that brings us to work every day," SEIU Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry said during the rally.

Other SEIU leaders also spoke urgently about the need for healthcare reform. Dr. Toni Lewis, President of the Committee of Interns and Residents, reaffirmed that doctors are just as committed to reform as the nurses, who have been at the forefront of the scrubs project. Additionally, Nurse Alliance President Diane Palmer underlined the SEIU nurses' belief that healthcare is a basic right, one which is not being met in America today.

During one of the most moving moments of the rally, 30-year nursing veteran Donnetta Miller from SEIU Nevada presented a signed scrub to Sen. Reid. During his statement, prior to the scrub presentation, Reid noted that, just like the President, he too has a deep admiration and respect for nurses.

"I admire and respect the healthcare delivery workers, especially the nurses," he said.

To further show their support for healthcare reform, a number of SEIU members attended the event, traveling from near and far. Debbie Wilkes, a member of Local 1199 from Maryland, came to the rally because she works in a newborn intensive care unit. She wanted to make sure that Congress heard her message: the children she works with not only need healthcare reform today to help them get better, they need it for the rest of their lives to make sure they stay healthy.

Denice Bischofberger, who came from 1199 NW in Seattle, also wanted to share her message with Congress: "Don't let us down."

To see more photos, check out our gallery from the event!

Following up on his address to Congress on Wednesday, President Obama spoke to a group of nurses gathered in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Thursday morning. The President was joined by 54 Nurse Alliance of SEIU Healthcare RNs, as well as members of the American Nurses Association.

The participating SEIU members came to DC on very short notice from locals all over the country, including United Healthcare Workers East (New York and Maryland), SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, SEIU Healthcare Michigan, 1199 New England (Rhode Island and Connecticut). The RNs said they felt honored to represent SEIU at an event focused on such an important issue and thrilled to be involved in such an intimate gathering with the President.

With Labor Day just around the corner and only six days left of Congressional recess, Locals across the country are gearing up for a busy weekend. But, amidst the upcoming celebrations, SEIU members are still working hard for health care reform.

OHIO: SEIU nurse Barb Montgomery joined the Organizing for America Health Insurance Reform Now bus tour during its stop in Columbus, OH on Monday, where over 2,000 activists rallied and paid tribute to Senator Kennedy's legacy on health care reform. At the event, Montgomery shared both her own story and that of family members and friends, further illustrating why Americans need health insurance reform.

RHODE ISLAND: Rep. Jim Langevin joined doctors, nurses and health care workers at Rhode Island's Women and Infants Hospital (the only maternity hospital in the state!) as they signed scrubs with their message to Congress: we need health insurance for all Americans. The event was covered on a variety of blogs, including a great post on Rhode Island's Future.

MAINE: At an an event organized by SEIU Maine Change that Works, AFSCME, the Maine People's Alliance and Organizing for America, a passionate group of healthcare activists delivered more than 35,000 letters, postcards, emails, and online petitions from all over the state to urge Senator Olympia Snowe to stand up for quality, affordable healthcare for every man, woman and child. Senator Snowe was not the only one who heard our message--the front page of the Bangor Daily News the next day featured a front page story with pictures of our activists and the headline "Health care reform fans blitz Snowe with 35,000 messages." Read more.

FLORIDA: More than 1,200 people from across Florida gathered on Saturday to help jump-start the reform debate. "There's a Washington debate, but now people in Orlando can get involved," said SEIU Healthcare Florida president Monica Russo. Community members, people of faith, retirees, union members and healthcare workers arrived in buses and cars from Tallahassee, Tampa Bay, Miami, Broward County, Jacksonville and Palm Beach to pack a gym in downtown Orlando sending a message to Congress: healthcare reform can't wait! Central Florida's 7th, 8th, 24th congressional districts together have 403,000 people without health insurance. Watch video.

CALIFORNIA: In Los Angeles, SEIU United Long-Term Care Workers (ULTCW) has scheduled a free screening of Michael Moore's movie Sicko, followed by a panel discussion with health care professionals and special guests. After the event, attendees will also be able to engage in a variety of actions, like calling elected officials and taping their own personal health care story, in support of health care reform. More details here.

On a related note....don't forget to vote for your favorite video of Congress members at town hall meetings debunking the lies and refocusing discussions about healthcare reform. Vote here.

Doctors, nurses and other health care workers provide comfort and care to some of the sickest Americans, rarely able to leave their posts for any period of time because lives are at stake. As a result, their voices have been largely absent from the debate around health care reform.

But, through the Scrubs campaign "Every Patient Matters," healthcare workers around the country have been able to send their message to Congress. Check out this video from Prince George's Hospital Center in MD to see what they said:

During his long career, Sen. Kennedy distinguished himself as a staunch supporter of nurses and healthcare workers around the country. On Wednesday, as the nation mourned the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy, nurses from Local 1199 at Prince George's Hospital Center in Maryland took a moment out of their day to reflect on the Senator's legacy.

The PGHC nurses expressed both their sadness over the Senator's death, but also the need to carry on his dream and renew our efforts in fighting for what Kennedy called the "cause of my life": healthcare reform.

Across the country, nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers providers are partnering with their hospitals and healthcare facilities to sign surgical scrubs with stories and messages about our broken healthcare system--and why healthcare reform is needed.

Since the national launch of "Every Patient Matters" campaign with the Partnership for Quality Care the second week of August, numerous SEIU Locals with members working in health care facilities have already held scrub-signing actions at health care facilities their members work at.

Last week at Whidden Hospital in Everett, MA, members of SEIU Local 615 and Local 1199 joined together to sign scrubs.

When lawmakers return to Washington in September, nurses, doctors, and other caregivers will deliver tens of thousands of these signed scrubs to the Capitol to ensure the voices of front-line caregivers and the stories of their patients are heard in the debate over healthcare reform.

Looking to get involved in the Every Patient Matters campaign? Let us know.

The Partnership for Quality Care (PQC) is a national labor-management coalition committed to ensuring quality, affordable healthcare for everyone in America. It includes public, private, religious, teaching and nonprofit hospitals nationwide and integrated health systems; and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Our members care for more than 60 million patients annually.

Over the past month, members of Congress have returned home to hear the voices of their constituents through town hall meetings. They've listened to patients' stories, which illustrated so clearly why America can't wait for health care reform. But they've also heard from people who've twisted the facts and distorted the truth.

Every nurse, doctor and healthcare worker has a story: Now, they need to hear healthcare stories from front-line caregivers and other healthcare workers about their patients, their families and even themselves.

SEIU, as part of the Partnership for Quality Care, is sending surgical scrubs to nurses and health care workers across the country. We're asking them to write their stories on the scrubs and send them to Washington. At the end of the month, we're going to welcome Congress back to Capitol Hill by delivering the stories that have been written on scrubs to their offices.

Sign up now to receive your scrubs: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/scrub

The scrubs we've already collected, like one from a nurse in Nevada, show the clear need for health care reform. She wrote that after being diagnosed with severe kidney disease, she was almost driven into bankruptcy by the cost of her treatment. Though she has insurance now as an SEIU member, she is still trying to pay her previous medical bills. Others wrote about their patients who delayed care until it was too late, or were unable to receive any care at all because of their insurance situation.

Join thousands of nurses and health care workers and share your stories today: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/scrub

Americans--health care workers in particular--know that there is too much at stake to put reform off. That know that being forced to choose between filling your prescriptions and filling your refrigerator isn't a choice anyone should have to make. Make sure that your member of Congress knows that as well.

Quick hits: Around the union this week...

• Tea-bagging conservatives continue blaming SEIU for perpetrating the violence surrounding a St. Louis health care town hall--but now you can finally hear both sides of the story. Listen to SEIU staffer Reverend McCowan's interview correcting the record on incidents surrounding a Missouri town hall.

• Spread the truth about the right-wing's fear campaign being funded by anti-healthcare forces: SEIU counters "death panel" noise with real facts about healthcare.

• SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger took the main stage at the Netroots Nation Convention this weekend to talk about building a 21st century economy that works for all Americans. More here about other SEIU panels at the annual gathering of progressive activists and political bloggers.

• Watch three short videos of Workers United members who are dealing with John Wilhelm, UNITE HERE's raids, and interference in their workplaces.

• "We spend more time at patients' bedsides than anyone else in the hospital, and have a better understanding of patient needs than hospital executives. Despite this, our executive officers essentially refuse to include us in discussions regarding patient care." In a Billings Gazette op-ed, registered nurse J. Curt Jensen makes the case for why nurses and all Montana workers need the Employee Free Choice Act.

• Will American children grow on "fat, salt, and corn-sweetener-laden government subsidized surplus"? Read Iowa City chef Kurt Michael Friese's commentary at Grist Magazine.

• Check out the story of a Detroit college freshman fighting to stay in the U.S. and find out how you can help defer her deportation.

• Major advertisers like Geico, Proctor and Gamble, and Lexis Nexis are pulling their ads from Glenn Beck's show in response to his disgraceful rhetoric...but not Wal-Mart! Tell Wal-Mart to end their financial support of Glenn Beck's televised hate.

• Be a part of SEIU's mobile alert list. Text SEIU to 787753 (PURPLE) right now, or click here to sign-up for our new mobile alerts program.

Front-line caregivers see the results of our broken healthcare system everyday. They see too many patients lose coverage because they lost their job. They see patients who bought insurance on their own for years suddenly unable to afford it. They see sicker patients and more crowded ERs.

That's why nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers across the country have launched the Every Patient Matters campaign with the Partnership for Quality Care to ensure the voices of frontline caregivers and the stories of their patients are heard in the debate over healthcare reform.

Providers are partnering with their hospitals and healthcare facilities to sign surgical scrubs with stories and messages about our broken healthcare system and why healthcare reform is needed.

Here's one message from SEIU District 1199 New England member Wendy Laprade, a nurse at Woman and Infants Hospital in Providence, RI.

"Woman and Infants is where almost all Rhode Islanders enter the world and we see firsthand the impact that SCHIP and RIte Care has made in getting prenatal care for woman and newborns here in our state. Good preventative and primary care saves money for the system and results in better quality of life for the patient. We need to extend this to ALL of our people. That is what this debate is about."

Rep. James Langevin will join members at a scrub signing event in Rhode Island in early September.

And in Nevada, SEIU Local 1107 members launched their campaign this week at Catholic Healthcare West St. Rose Hospitals. Already, they've signed nearly 200 scrubs with story after story illustrating why healthcare reform is critical to improving patient care.

When lawmakers return to Washington next month, nurses, doctors, and other caregivers will deliver tens of thousands of these signed scrubs to the Capitol with one simple message: Every Patient Matters. Pass Healthcare Reform Now.

In the movement to fix health care, we've just entered into a new phase. Health care legislation passed huge hurdles in the House and Senate last week, and experts predict a full vote within weeks. The New York Times declared, "this is a bill worth fighting for," but threats to this legislation appear to be growing with each day.

Because of this, Dr. Howard Dean has issued an emergency conference call on Wednesday, July 22 at 6:30 p.m. ET with nurses and doctors to discuss elements of the House and Senate bills, and how they will impact health care professionals. Most importantly, Dr. Dean wants to talk directly to nurses and doctors about the role they must play during this critical moment.

Are you a nurse or doctor? If so..... Click here to join the call.

In the fight to fix health care, Dr. Howard Dean is a stand-alone figure. A doctor, governor, and currently, a vocal advocate for a public health insurance option--Dr. Dean has brought fresh ideas and leadership to the often stale air of Washington, D.C. For the past year, he's been rallying Americans to band together to fix health care - and now he wants to talk to you.

President Obama recently said, "few understand why we have to pass reform as intimately as our nation's nurses." It's true. We see the emergency room care, the short-staffing of nurses and aides, the burdensome amount of paperwork, and the denial of coverage by insurance companies. We're the eye witnesses to the best and worst of our health care system - and now it's our job to speak up.

With nurses and doctors working together, there's no limit to what we can do. RSVP for this week's call with Dr. Dean: http://action.seiu.org/drdean

On Wednesday as Senator Jeff Bingaman joined his colleagues on the Senate HELP Committee to vote for sending a comprehensive health care bill to the Senate Floor, he was joined by dozens of New Mexico doctors, nurses, and health care providers assembled to show support for a robust public health insurance option in 2009. Seventy-two percent of Americans say they want a public option that competes with private insurance companies and keeps them honest--and that number includes 50 percent of registered Republicans.

"One thing we've learned from our patients is that they don't want the government doing everything when it comes to health care," said Dr. John Winters, an Internal Medicine physician and CIR member. "But they do think government should advocate for them, and that it should set and enforce the rules so that private insurance companies can't put profits before our health."

Senator passes check-up with flying colors! Outside of his Albuquerque district office, the doctors and activists presented the Senator with a "Health Care Reform Check-up," an examination of Sen. Bingaman's progress to date. Based on the positions the Senator has taken in the Senate, the healthcare providers awarded him with a 'clean bill of health.'

"In New Mexico, two insurance companies hold 54% of the market," said Dr. Shadi Battah, an Internal Medicine physician and CIR member. "So it's no wonder that premiums have skyrocketed 92% over the past 7 years. No one's holding their feet to the fire. I want my patients to have a choice between public and private - and I'm glad to see Sen. Bingaman wants to give us the choice as well!"

In the debate over health care reform, those on the frontlines of this crisis - namely, our nation's nurses - provide valuable insight. President Obama, who remarked this year at a townhall, "I just love nurses," has publicly addressed the importance of RNs as frontline caregivers, noting that in some rural areas, nurses are a community's only provider of health care. He's also pointed out that it's often nurses, not doctors, who make critical health care decisions for patients.

So when a registered nurse of 25 years - SEIU 1991 President Martha Baker, RN - recently pens an op-ed in the Miami Heraldon fixing our health care system, it's worth considering as part of our national debate. Says Baker:

Our system -- which brings the uninsured to our emergency-room doors at the point when they must receive the most expensive form of care at the most advanced stages of illness -- is broken. Our patients who can pay end up paying more than they can afford because an easily treatable condition has escalated to a crisis. More than the financial care, the suffering of patients and the risk of mortality or permanent disability increases when chronic conditions are allowed to develop untreated....

Today's health system, which leaves more than 47 million Americans -- more than 600,000 of them in South Florida -- with no healthcare coverage at all, drastically distorts the entire system and adds enormously to the cost of healthcare for everyone else. As the costs in the system rise, more people are pushed into the ranks of the uninsured, which forces them to go without the primary care that in most cases would keep them healthy.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to be covered by insurance plans still know they can be expensive, complicated and loaded with trap doors. A recent report by the American Medical Association has documented that fully 60 percent of Americans who declare bankruptcy are forced to do so by healthcare costs. A public health-insurance plan is necessary to ensure adequate coverage, foster choice and competition and bring down costs.

Fortunately there is a way out of this vicious cycle. With a healthcare-reform package that ensures affordable coverage, includes a strong public health-insurance option and requires employers to share in the responsibility of covering workers, we can avoid an even more disastrous future.

Now is the time to get healthcare reform right and actually produce workable choices for all, including a public health-insurance option.

As a registered nurse, Baker speaks directly from personal experience, and bears witness to the challenges Floridians encounter with our health care system every day. As a union leader, she understands the financial burdens inflicted on working Floridians by an inefficient, badly broken system.

As the battle for health care reform comes down to the wire doctors and nurses represent an invaluable voice in this debate. And with this week's endorsement of the health care reform bills before Congress by the American Medical Association, it's clear that nurses and doctor's alike agree that we cannot afford to wait.

Beginning today -- July 1st, 2009 -- mandatory overtime is a thing of the past for any healthcare worker in Pennsylvania providing direct patient care. This victory is the culmination of a 7-year struggle by nurses and other healthcare workers who repeatedly marched, called, emailed and lobbied their legislators to support this important patient safety legislation.

With the exception of true emergencies and unforseen events, the law protects all nurses and health care providers from discipline by their employers for refusing to work overtime. Nurses and other caregivers will no longer have to worry about making mistakes or falling asleep while driving home because we had to work over our regularly scheduled shift. This is a monumental day for patient safety in Pennsylvania.

SEIU Healthcare PA has been working to educate caregivers on the legislation and how to implement it at their facilities. Now it's up to our hospitals, nursing homes, State facilities and other health care employers to begin adhering to the new law. If you have questions about how the law is being followed at your facility, you can fill out this form on the SEIU Healthcare PA website. Read more about what is covered in the legislation and how it applies to your facility by downloading Your Guide to Act 102.

Two new TV dramas about registered nurses - Nurse Jackie on Showtime and Hawthorne on TNT - premiere during the month of June. They join a host of TV programs that are set in hospitals, such as Grey's Anatomy, House and Scrubs.

The portrayal of the medical profession on TV: I've heard this topic discussed on more than one occasion by people going through residency themselves, or that work in a hospital. They've all said that Scrubs--unlike many other medical TV shows--does capture the training process, the profession, and the essence of a hospital setting with surprising accuracy. On the surface, Scrubs may seem like 30 straight minutes of slapstick comedy, absurd fantasy sequences, and slightly inappropriate jokes. However, the show is also about what happens at hospitals between life-and-death crises--the thought processes and insecurities of being a young doctor in training, the way doctors and nurses handle ordinary cases and never knowing what kind of case will come through the doors.

Tell us what you think: Do any of the programs accurately depict the lives of healthcare workers, and is your situation reflected in any of these programs? Share your opinion in the comments section (below).

Yesterday, workers at Boston's Caritas Carney Hospital, part of Caritas Christi Health Care and the largest community-based hospital system in Massachusetts, voted overwhelmingly to join 1199SEIU. This election comes on the heels of an April vote in which more than 800 healthcare workers at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston also voted to unite together with thousands of healthcare workers in 1199SEIU.

The successful vote was hailed by community leaders as a win not just for caregivers, but also for patients and the community. "Carney is so much more than just a community hospital - it's a real part of the community," said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in a statement. "Generations of Dorchester families have turned to Carney for quality care, good jobs and a ray of hope...Why can't every hospital in the city of Boston have 1199?" (Our thoughts exactly!) Since 2006, 1199SEIU has more than tripled in size in Massachusetts.

1199SEIU's bargaining unit will represent respiratory therapists, radiology technicians, LPNs, nurse assistants, dietary and clerical workers, and housekeepers at the 159-bed hospital. Read more about the election at the Boston Herald, Boston Globe, and CNBC.

Last week, Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) laid the first steps toward the Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act (H.R. 2381). Direct care nurses have a higher rate of injury than laborers, movers and truck drivers from repositioning, moving and lifting patients, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.This legislation will require that healthcare facilities provide safe patient handling using mechanical lifts and develop injury prevention plans for healthcare workers who move patients.

Nurses advanced on Capitol Hill last week for a National RN Day of Action the same day H.R. 2382 was introduced, lobbying members of Congress for passage of the legislation that would leave nurses better able to tend to the real heavy lifting of nursing - patient care. Read the core provisions of the legislation.