NYSNA A nn ua l Report
2020
A Year Like No Other
Table of contents Introduction: A Year Like No Other
p. 4
Sounding the Alarm
p. 6
Confronting the COVID-19 Surge
p. 8
Fighting on the Frontlines for Patients and Caregivers
p. 10
Standing Up for Science
p. 12
NYSNA in the Spotlight
p. 14
Preparing for Resurgence, Fighting Layoffs
p. 16
Keeping Hospitals and Essential Services Open for Care
p. 18
Fighting for Safe Staffing
p. 20
Standing Up for Racial Justice
p. 22
Nurses Leading the Way in Albany and Washington
p. 24
Democracy in Action: NYSNA’s First Virtual Convention
p. 26
Striking for Safety
p. 28
The Most Trusted Profession
p. 30
NYSNA Board of Directors
p. 31
Remembering NYSNA’s Fallen Heroes
p. 32
2020 a year like no other
3
NYSNA members swept into 2020 following a string of victories, but in the first two months of the year we had little inkling of just how much our world would be transformed. 4
2020 a year like no other
2020 A Year Like No Other NYSNA members swept into 2020 on the heels of a successful one-day strike at Shore Memorial Hospital in New Jersey and a breakthrough contract at New York City Health + Hospitals that established staffing ratios across the system. NYSNA also took a big organizational step forward, with one of our own, Pat Kane, a 30-year NYSNA member from Staten Island University Hospital, taking the reins as Executive Director. Of course, 2020 also began with a host of challenges, including the fight to save and transform Mount Vernon Hospital from Montefiore’s planned closure and the push to restore billions in proposed Medicaid cuts. But in the first two months of the year, we had little inkling of just how much our world would be transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic and our country’s long overdue racial reckoning, or just how fitting it was that 2020 was
designated as the international year of the nurse and the midwife. Collectively, this past year has been one of the most challenging and painful times in our professional careers. But throughout it all NYSNA members have demonstrated extraordinary courage and compassion.
LOOKING AHEAD Your steadfast commitment helped save over 147,000 New Yorkers from COVID-19, and together, we’ve made NYSNA an indispensable voice defending the public’s health. The arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine in the closing weeks of December was a welcome conclusion to an unprecedented year. But no matter what 2021 holds, we know NYSNA members will be ready to protect our patients and fight for the healthcare New Yorkers deserve.
2020 a year like no other
5
Sounding the Alarm In January, even before the first confirmed case in the U.S., NYSNA began preparing for COVID-19, sounding the alarm to our employers and the New York State Department of Health. Despite the many unknowns, NYSNA’s earliest recommendations for personal protective equipment (PPE) have become standard practice for protecting healthcare workers from COVID-19, including the use of N95 respirators, face shields, gloves and impermeable gowns.
Airborne Precautions and Better PPE From the beginning, NYSNA’s health and safety experts also stressed the need for airborne precautions, and pushed for better administrative and engineering controls in our hospitals to protect both patients and healthcare workers. By February, NYSNA members were turning this critical information into action—pressing for better patient screening and cohorting procedures, requesting information on PPE stockpiles, and advocating for improved ventilation and the use of negative pressure rooms to stop the spread of the virus. Unfortunately, federal foot dragging, coupled with delays at the state and local level, left New York unprepared for COVID’s springtime surge. On March 1, New York identified its first COVID-19 patient and by March 7, the Governor had issued a state of emergency. Despite case counts doubling every day, and the containment zone established around early COVID-19 hotspot New Rochelle on March 10, lawmakers continued to resist aggressive suppression measures and sent mixed messages to the public. Alarmed by the slow response, NYSNA held a press conference on March 11, to share the reality of what was unfolding in hospitals around New York. Results from our early-March survey 6
2020 a year like no other
NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane, RN, sounds the alarm about the slow state and federal response to the COVID threat.
demonstrated just how unprepared we were for COVID-19, and NYSNA leaders warned that the relaxed infection control protocols recently issued by Centers for Disease Control would put more healthcare workers at risk.
A CALL TO PROTECT NURSES AND PATIENTS Within a week we were also calling on state officials to reverse relaxed quarantine standards from the New York Department of Health and implement testing protocols for healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19. We also urged the Governor to coordinate PPE procurement and distribution across the state and to impose a moratorium on hospital closures and healthcare budget cuts. Despite our calls for more staff, for better PPE, for stronger infection control standards from the CDC and the New York Department of Health, as well as more aggressive measures to suppress the virus, it wasn’t until March 20 that the Governor issued the state-at-home order. Three days later New York City reported 35% of all COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and Governor Cuomo ordered hospitals to expand bed capacity by 50 percent. By the end of March more than 1,500 New Yorkers had been killed by COVID-19.
NYSNA Preparedness Survey (released March 11, 2020)
94% of members surveyed were not confident in their facility’s COVID-19 plan 56% of respondents rated management’s care of COVID patients as inadequate
56% report that their facility has not implemented or enforced a visitor control policy
Above: Queens Hospital nurses don their PPE to battle COVID-19. Below: The line for COVID testing extends around the block at Elmhurst Hospital.
Nearly half of all respondents report that the facility did not have enough N95 respirators to properly treat COVID patients
2020 a year like no other
7
Confronting the COVID-19 Surge Despite reassurances from state and local leaders, and the outpouring of support from New Yorkers everywhere, conditions on the frontlines continued to deteriorate and NYSNA members stepped up their calls to action. On March 28 nurses at Jacobi Medical Center, part of New York City Health + Hospitals, held a speak out about PPE shortages so severe that healthcare workers were forced to wear the same N95 respirator for five days. They also shared their shock and grief over the loss of colleague Freda Ocran, who passed away from COVID-19 earlier that morning.
Taking Action On April 2, NYSNA members at Montefiore Medical Center held a speak out, warning the public that the hospital was leaving nurses and other healthcare professionals unprotected, calling for better PPE, COVID testing for healthcare workers, and for hospitals to allow workers on the frontlines to utilize the same two weeks of paid sick leave available to every other New Yorker. That same day, NYSNA members in Western New York helped kick-off a unionwide campaign calling on the federal government to invoke the Defense Production Act and get critical
8
2020 a year like no other
Above: Members at HealthAlliance Hudson Valley speak out for safety. Below: New Yorkers salute healthcare workers.
supplies to the frontlines. “Why is it that during wartime, our country can mobilize, essentially overnight, to mass produce weapons, ammunition, guns, bullets?” asked Rachel Larkin, a nurse and NYSNA member from Erie County
Medical Center. “But during a time when we need to step up and protect our own citizens, we have waited months to even begin to mobilize to produce adequate PPE and ventilators and testing kit supplies?”
Above (left & right): NYSNA members at Harlem Hospital and Westchester Medical Center mobilized for adequate PPE and safe staffing. Below: Nurses at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center speak out in Smithtown.
NYSNA also stepped into the breech to address staffing shortages, to coordinate temporary housing, and to get much-needed PPE to the frontlines.
2020 a year like no other
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Fighting on the Frontlines for Patients and Caregivers In April, leaders across the state sprang into action. We filed thousands of COVID protests of assignment, lodged OSHA complaints, marched on hospital COVID command centers, and appealed directly to the public. NYSNA members organized speak outs, press conferences, and other public events at Harlem and Lincoln Hospitals in New York City, in Long Island at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, in Central New York at Ellis Hospital and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, as well at Westchester Medical Center and Staten Island University Hospital, along with many other facilities. Not only did we continue to press our demands for the federal government to invoke the Defense Production Act, for proper PPE and widespread testing for healthcare workers, but we also carried a message of solidarity, calling for the same protections for other frontline essential workers, from bus drivers to grocery store clerks to food delivery workers.
A Helping Hand NYSNA also stepped into the breech to address staffing shortages, to coordinate temporary housing, and to get muchneeded PPE to the frontlines. Working with our longtime partner on disaster relief, the Afya Foundation, NYSNA volunteers, including family members and retired nurses, helped collect, sort and distribute tens of thousands of pieces of PPE to hard-hit areas. We worked with AirBNB and hotels across the region to house hundreds of NYSNA members worried about carrying the virus home. And our union also organized the Upstate COVID-19 Nurse Corps, helping redeploy nurses from less impacted parts of the state to the virus epicenter. Thanks to relentless organizing and pressure from frontline nurses and health professionals, we forced Governor Cuomo 10
2020 a year like no other
Nurses at Lincoln Hospital, Jacobi Medical Center, Staten Island University Hospital and Montefiore Medical Center speak out for adequate PPE.
to issue an Executive Order on April 7 that empowered him to commandeer the PPE stockpiles, especially N95 respirators, from industries like construction, shipbuilding and manufacturing. And one week later, the Governor’s COVID Task Force issued a PPE directive requiring that “When a direct care giver in a hospital asks for a new N95 mask they will receive one at least once a day.”
Our high-profile lawsuits against Montefiore Medical Center, the New York State Department of Health, and Westchester Medical Center also resulted in substantial on-the-ground improvements such as proper N95 fit testing, guarantees of legally required sick time and restoration of sick bank time, and expanded COVID-19 testing for exposed healthcare workers, despite the courts’ ultimate ruling.
Thanks to relentless organizing and pressure from NYSNA members, we forced our hospitals, and Governor Cuomo, to take action and protect frontline nurses and health professionals.
2020 a year like no other
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Standing Up for Science From the beginning, NYSNA nurses and health professionals worked tirelessly to make sure science and the precautionary principle weren’t casualties of this pandemic. Early evidence made it clear that this virus required airborne precautions and appropriate respiratory protection for any healthcare worker in contact with COVID-19 patients, not just during aerosolizing procedures.
Through town hall meetings and well-researched fact sheets, NYSNA’s health and safety experts helped members push for more effective engineering controls, including better ventilation and expanded use of negative pressure rooms, as well as improved administrative controls, like expanded telehealth consultations, outdoor screening tents, and separately cohorting COVID-19 patients. We
consistently fought for our institutions to use PPE as the last line of defense, and follow the well-established hierarchy of controls for dealing with workplace hazards. NYSNA was an early and outspoken proponent of reusable respiratory protection such as elastomeric respirators, and powered air purifying respirators. We also educated members on the dangers of “decontamination” techniques for N95s, and laid out the science of airborne transmission months before the Centers for Disease Control acknowledged the risks.
Mobilizing on the Job Hundreds of NYSNA members joined COVID Action Teams, organizing to improve PPE, testing, staffing, and ensure safe workplaces and fair treatment. And when hospitals thrust more and more staff nurses into critical care, we provided hundreds of NYSNA members with Med-Surg and ICU practice workshops, and helped them collectively advocate for more training and appropriate delegation of assignments. We also deployed cutting edge digital organizing tools to engage tens of thousands of NYSNA members, documenting conditions on the ground through member surveys, helping protect our practice and report exposures through COVID Daily Diaries, and helping close to five thousand members notify their employers of potential workers’ compensation claims from COVID-19 exposure.
Albany Med frontline nurses don their PPE and get ready to save lives! 12
2020 a year like no other
Using town hall meetings, on-the-job organizing, and timely, well-researched materials, NYSNA members forced health and safety improvements at hospitals across the state.
Documenting the Springtime Surge
APRIL 6, 2 020
Mar 22
Apr 5
Apr 12
Definitely Exposed
40%
73%
79%
Possibly Exposed
84%
92%
94%
Have Adequate PPE
25%
33%
35%
Tested for COVID-19
7%
18%
28%
Showing COVID-19 Symptoms
–
27%
38%
COVID-Positive
2% 18% 19%
A Guide for Fro
ntline Staff Dur
ing the COVID
-19 Crisis
COVID-19 PR OTECTIO
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NYSNA believe porhal SCIors (EHIC ts fCDC’s curren ENTIF FRsFIN s the are dan ). 25,26 GS t 14-day that can resu Accse ording to ager ous practicDIN quarantine per rece lt in furt es nt Nationa her spread iod.” l Academies of Scie to healthcare Bet ter nce of COVID equ s, Eng ipm inee -19 colleag ent ring is slo —Science Dail and ues and wly Med ma Prentli icin pat fro side kin e ient lette g nt itsrway s. nesTru to to the y, March 10, 2020. mp’s Offi , wh a ce ofitive pos Sciedev nology Policy, ich is nce elo andpm Techmultiple stud ies have supporent. airb orne (aeroso Res earc ted h shows lize d) transmissio Figure 1. When that VID-19 viru POWan nvide ERED of the COCon Rs pro aeroso AIR l is reve and PURIFYIN d on initially even fromEHF clustered neartinue acceptas,ble” emitte (time= d RESP source at locatiorse>>dG 0), IRAT the particl ORes(PAP alternatbre alon27e.1 a “feasible B) may receive the are R) n A. Someone iveathi large-particle to ng near the source workers “can N95 spray and inhale s. (location Healthcare particles of all This evidencebe rapidly fit-t A Guide sizes. for este con d and trainedFrontline Staff the tradicts the CDC sable elastom tionreu to Du ’s that use ring con wor eric tenthe COVID-19 kers only neehalf face resp me dica d to wear an irator.”28 One Cri centect high sis ter ion er lpro reporte that an EHFR N95 or respdirato resp prosolgenirato vides “better ry pro erating tection, cosr during aero pro effic ht as consuming for ceduresissuc ient intu , and bati on. is less time fit testing. All persons in dire care The mo rece des iveofan ct patient tranelas smi ssio tomneric of anhalf disease with infe -ma ctio N95dete skus respirator rmi part neate icul thefilte con rs.trol cannpre mea Car sure tridg whe ven thatchange es sare dirty , t its spread.with Undfluid d erstand SARS-CoV-2saturated ing how s, thro difficult tothe ugh, or dam virus is transmi aged, or dur tted venting CO key to pre- breathe ingis ann VID-19 dise For indi ual fit ase in healthc als unable to ers andvidu are work-testing. Figure 2. After some time in the gen wear half ma PAPRs eral (time=1), the particl sk pop are ava larger particles resp ulat irators, particl ilable on site ion. es begin to disper begin to settle from the air. Person se and . . .”29 es of all sizes. B will continue to inhale There are 3 mo des of transmi ssion in which inhalation is a concern:
n/CIDRAP
E ROAD
Getting and Conserving Respirators and Protectiv e Equipmen t
Carlyn Iverso
More than ten thousand NYSNA members participated in NYSNA surveys in March and April, documenting conditions during the first COVID-19 surge. Below are some key findings:
RULES OF TH
usable Resp irators
Droplet Transm ission: Large respiratory droplets are gen 5 erated when a person cou sneezes, or talk ghs, s. Large droplet idly and travel s descend raponly short dist ances. Inhalatio of large droplet n s may also be possible.2 Droplet transmi ssion is underst mary mode of ood to be a pritransmission of the SARS-C oV-2
PAPR FROM THE
BACK
COVID-19 This pandem ic has expose d a number nesses in the DEMONSTRA of kTES One sign nation’s emergency preparednwea ess. ificant proble TH E m N has been hos EE ability to pro D Get the latest FO pita vide R ls’ fron inCOVID update tline hea enough resp Last Revised: s: nysna.org iratory equipm lthcare workers with April 11, BE /covid and 2020ER TT ent that is safe effective. , clean ALTERNATIV Thi s failure stem ES 1 on just s from a sing le-mind one Figure 3. After more persed and more time (time = 2), the small particles are unifor of B and C will inhale the larger particles have mly dissettled from the particles that air. Persons range, and are are generally smaller, have at a lower conce a smaller size ntration than at time = 0.
ed reliance type of respirat ory protection posable N95 : the dis.
NYSNA believe s that now is our total reli the time to aba ance on disp ndon osable N95 and increase respirators the use of reu sable elastom purifying res pirators and eric air powered air respirators (PA pur PRs). ifying This equipm ent can provide tection and higher levels improved com of profort during use sessions. extended At the same time, it could the N95 trea get us off dmill and on the path to gre iency during ater resiltimes of cris is.
Above: NYSNA members at Brooklyn Hospital mobilized for reusable PPE. Right: NYSNA Health and Safety bulletins provided hands-on tools and cutting-edge information. 2020 a year like no other
13
NYSNA in the spotlight It was clear from the beginning of the pandemic that hospital administrators, public health officials, and lawmakers were unprepared for COVID-19, and that frontline healthcare workers, along with our patients, would pay a heavy price. For years nursing has ranked as the most trusted profession. But as New York struggled to respond to the exponential growth in COVID cases, and the people charged with protecting the public’s health continued to relax safety standards and ignore science, NYSNA members became an even more critical source of information and expertise.
A Critical Voice And NYSNA’s influence with the public, along with elected leaders, has never been greater. During the early months of the pandemic, NYSNA leaders were in regular contact with the Governor’s office and New York’s COVID-19 Task Force, letting them know that no matter
14
2020 a year like no other
what they were hearing from hospital CEOs, conditions at the bedside weren’t improving fast enough and frontline healthcare workers were at risk.
NYSNA in the Spotlight We also worked closely with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Health + Hospitals CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz to target relief efforts to the facilities most in need, to find temporary housing for caregivers who needed it to protect their loved ones, and to cut through management resistance so bedside nurses could get the PPE they needed. U.S. Senators and Congressional leaders, along with dozens of members of the State Assembly and State Senate, joined NYSNA town hall meetings to hear about conditions on the frontlines and what they could do to help. Equally impressive was NYSNA’s outsized media presence during the pandemic.
In March and April alone NYSNA leaders were featured in over 2,500 newspaper stories, television segments, and radio broadcasts. The biggest names in TV news—from Oprah and Anderson Cooper, to Don Lemon and Dr. Phil— interviewed NYSNA leaders, and our campaigns were front-page news everywhere from the Daily News to the Wall Street Journal. NYSNA leaders were also profiled in national outlets like USA Today and Time magazine, which featured NYSNA member and Wyckoff ED nurse Amy O’Sullivan on the cover as part of their 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
Springtime Remote Operations by the Numbers In mid-March NYSNA quickly moved to remote operations and ramped up digital communications on every front. During the first three months of the pandemic alone we: Hosted 667 town hall meetings, educational workshops, and information sessions for elected officials Texted 35,026 NYSNA members, over 400,000 messages total, with 46% engagement Sent 2.4 million individual emails, opened 34% of the time, on average
19,733 members filed COVID protests of assignment 10,356 COVID Daily Diary entries were submitted 9,646 members responded to text surveys
1,101 members participated in wellness and other trainings from our peer assistance program 568 members trained to be COVID Action Team leaders
516 members participated in our MedSurg and ICU clinical workshops Coordinated housing for over 800 members who needed temporary accommodations Managed over $20,000 in food donations to facilities across the state Processed over 164 arbitrations remotely
NYSNA had an outsized media presence during the pandemic, including interviews with the biggest names in TV news, and front-page stories in the nation’s leading newspapers. 2020 a year like no other
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Preparing for Resurgence, Fighting Layoffs As summer approached, the COVID surge was subsiding—but far from over. While continuing to care for COVID patients, NYSNA members were also battling on several other fronts—against layoffs in less-impacted regions of the state, keeping hospitals—and essential health services like mental healthcare and maternal and child health—open for care, and preparing for a COVID resurgence by demanding that hospitals,
public health officials, and local authorities reopen with care. In May we celebrated a Nurses Week like no other, with NYSNA members across the state taking action. We also released NYSNA’s reopening plan, spelling out how New York could responsibly reopen the economy, and highlighting what nurses still needed to battle the pandemic. We launched the Nurses Week release of our reopening platform with a rally at Brooklyn Hospital,
iNYC H + H, Riker’s Islandi
iAlbany Medical Centeri
iWestchester Medical Center Vigili
iSt. Joseph’s and St. John’s Vigili 16
2020 a year like no other
iChamplain Valley Physician’s Hospitali
followed by a rally of NYC H+H nurses outside of Rikers Island, demanding New York center its recovery efforts on the hardest-hit communities. We also spent the spring and summer fighting against layoffs—and we won! At St. Elizabeth Medical Center nurses spoke out against Mohawk Valley Health System’s plans to cut staff. After a hard fight, we prevented furloughs, preserved our contractual rights, and brought back laid-off nurses.
At Champlain Valley Physician’s Hospital, when the hospital threatened layoffs, COVID heroes fought back and came up with innovative solutions to save jobs. And at Albany Medical Center, NYSNA members called out the hospital’s shortterm plans to save money and cut staff, pointing to the millions of dollars in CARES Act funding the hospital received. Albany Med members also fought back against the hospital’s shell game with PTO, filed a grievance and winning back more than 11,000 hours of benefit time for over 600 nurses. And when the Brooklyn Hospital Center announced plans to lay off 44 nurses, member swung into action and prepared to launch a public campaign. In less than 72 hours, management rescinded layoff notices and agreed to work with the union to fill several vacant positions.
iMontefiore Medical Center members protest on Wall Streeti
iSt. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Uticai
iBrooklyn Hospital Centeri
iAlbany Medical Centeri 2020 a year like no other
17
Keep Hospitals and Essential Services Open for Care Over the summer, NYSNA also fought to keep hospitals open for care and protect essential services. We shifted our campaign against Montefiore’s proposed closure of Mount Vernon Hospital in the heart of Black Westchester into high gear, and have once again succeeded in keeping the hospital open for care.
iHealthAlliance Hudson Valleyi
iNorthwell Health-Syosset Hospitali 18
2020 a year like no other
In June, Montefiore New Rochelle closed its Maternal and Child Health units in order to redeploy nurses to care for COVID patients. This left families without essential care, and NYSNA nurses and elected officials fought back and won a reopening of these services for the community
When hospital systems used COVID as an excuse to shutter essential—but less profitable—inpatient mental health services, NYSNA members were there to speak out for our patients and communities. In June, we rallied at New York-Presbyterian in Brooklyn and at NYP’s Allen Pavillion in Manhattan.
iNew York Presbyterian-Brooklyn Methodist i
At Northwell Syosset Hospital, nurses, counselors and mental health advocates also spoke out after a behavioral health patient languished in the ER for four days following the hospital’s decision to close its inpatient mental health services. When HealthAlliance Hudson Valley RNs mobilized to stop the closure of the county’s only inpatient psychiatric beds, their struggle was featured in a front
iMontefiore New Rochellei
page story in the Wall Street Journal. In December, NYSNA members across the Hudson Valley joined with community and elected leaders at a holiday car caravan to raise awareness. As Irving Campbell, a psychiatric RN at New York Presbyterian-Brooklyn Methodist, said, “Mental healthcare is under attack in New York at a time when patients need it most.”
NYSNA members fought the wave of closures to inpatient psychiatric beds and services.
iNew York Presbyterian-Allen Pavilioni
iMount Vernon Community Forumi 2020 a year like no other
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Fighting for Safe Staffing For years, NYSNA members have been fighting for safe staffing, in Albany and at the bargaining table. But the COVID-19 pandemic has made it painfully clear what nurses and healthcare professionals have always known, that safe staffing saves lives. Since the beginning of this crisis, NYSNA members have continued their fight to make sure hospitals and nursing homes had the bedside staffing that New Yorkers deserve. Before the first COVID case appeared in New York, for example, we were pressing hospitals to make plans for increased staffing on critical care units, and for coverage should nurses and other staff fall ill. And during the springtime surge, NYSNA members were outspoken about the fact that
short staffing was putting patient safety at risk and contributing to the stark racial disparities in hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.
Frontline Expertise In August, NYSNA members testified in front of the state legislature, documenting the way staffing cuts eroded patient care in nursing homes and hospitals. NYSNA leaders also called for more transparency from both healthcare institutions and the New York State Department of Health, including releasing critical facility-level data required for an independent assessment of the state’s response to the COVID-19 surge. NYSNA members were also organizing facility by facility, to enforce safe staffing
standards in our contracts and address acute staffing shortages on key units. For example, in July nurses at Erie County Medical Center forced their hospital to fill vacant positions they won in their last contract, including hiring 14 new nurses in the ER. After Westchester Medical Center nurses spoke out about staffing shortages in the new Children’s Hospital, they secured 10 new positions and spread their staffing campaign to other specialty areas. NYSNA members at NYC Health + Hospitals also got a jump start enforcing the groundbreaking staff ratios in their new contract, document staffing problems and convening local nurse practice councils to ensure hiring targets are identified and recruitment begins well in advance of July 2021, when their staffing ratios are fully implemented.
Safe Staffing Legislation And following our success in the November elections, NYSNA is preparing to make a major push in the 2021 legislative session for safe staffing. COVID-19 has made it clear that uniform statewide staffing standards are essential to improving patient outcomes, reducing racial disparities, and saving lives.
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Above: NYSNA leader Judy Johnson, RN, from Rutland Nursing Home testified before the legislature on staffing conditions in New York’s nursing homes.
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iStrike for Black Livesi
Standing Up for Racial Justice The COVID crisis has laid bare the deep social and racial disparities in our country. Black and Latinx New Yorkers, for example, have faced much higher rates of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 compared with their white peers. And communities of color were hit much harder by the pandemic’s economic fallout, from job losses and business closures to risk of eviction and foreclosure.
healthcare, housing, schools, and other vital services.
members joined demonstrations taking a stand for racial justice.
And in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police, and the surge of protests against police brutality, NYSNA nurses across the state took a stand to fight against the devastating effects of the pandemic, police violence, and systemic racism.
A Permanent Commitment
Over the summer and fall, hundreds of NYSNA members also participated in educational sessions examining the social determinants of health driving racial disparities in a broad range of health outcomes, and discussing why the fight for racial justice—on the job and in our communities—is a strategic imperative for our union.
From the beginning, NYSNA centered our education and organizing efforts around the racially disparate impacts of COVID-19, working with our allies to ensure recovery efforts are targeted on the hardest-hit communities, and begin to reverse decades of disinvestment in
On May 30th, NYSNA’s Board of Directors released a statement in remembrance of George Floyd, in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and recommitting NYSNA to end systemic racism. More importantly, in the following weeks thousands of NYSNA
And at our October Convention, NYSNA’s elected delegates committed the organization to a broad program of internal education and action to promote racial justice—in our workplaces, in our professional practice, and the social and economic lives of all New Yorkers.
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iNYC H+H, jacobi Medical Centeri
iErie County Medical Centeri
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iPuerto Rican Day Paradei
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iReclaim Pride Marchi 2020 a year like no other
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Nurses Leading the Way in Albany and Washington The pandemic thrust nurses and other health professionals into the national spotlight, and NYSNA’s outspoken advocacy for the safety of our patients and communities has elevated our political profile to new heights. Since the beginning, NYSNA has engaged elected officials at all levels, spelling out what frontline caregivers need to protect ourselves and our patients.
Lawmakers Listen Elected leaders from Long Island to Buffalo were eager to champion NYSNA’s legislative and policy program, joining town halls, showing up in the streets to fight cuts to essential services and keep hospitals open for care, launching innovative programs like a reusable elastomeric pilot project, and passing much needed policies like whistleblower protections and enhanced line-of-duty death benefits to protect frontline healthcare workers.
NYSNA leaders host a town hall meeting with U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, so she can hear firsthand what’s happening on the frontlines.
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NYSNA members were also called upon to provide key testimony when legislators in Albany evaluated the state’s
response to the first COVID surge in both nursing homes and acute care hospitals.
At the Ballot Box Of course, too many elected leaders in Albany and Washington were unwilling to take the bold action required to protect caregivers and our communities, which is why NYSNA was heavily engaged in both the June primaries and the November general election. NYSNA members got out the vote in several priority electoral races, partnering with labor and communitybased organizations to talk to voters on the street and organize virtual phone banks and text banks to get out the vote. Partnering with National Nurses United, NYSNA nurses reached out to approximately 200,000 voters in battleground states this fall. We helped elect nurse and patient champions who will move a bold
agenda to protect the public’s health and help heal the communities hardest hit by the pandemic. And we mobilized before and after November 3rd to ensure that every vote was counted and democracy prevailed. As a result, we are already seeing our priorities move on the federal and state level, with the new Biden-Harris administration prioritizing COVID relief and the state legislature taking up safe staffing legislation.
New York Public Advocate Jumaane Williams launches our joint elastomeric respirator pilot project in front of the Brooklyn Hospital Center.
From top: U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer joins healthcare workers pushing to keep Montefiore Mt. Vernon open for care. Jamaal Bowman, elected to Congress in November, joins Sen. Schumer, Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, and state Senator Jamaal Bailey standing with NYSNA leaders at Montefiore Mt. Vernon. NYSNA leaders march November 7th to ensure every vote is counted.
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Democracy in Action
NYSNA’s First Virtual Convention During the first two months of the pandemic NYSNA’s Board of Directors met weekly, and since then every two weeks, to help coordinate the union’s response to this unprecedented challenge.
virtual platform provided the perfect opportunity to expanded education and training on the overlapping crises we’re facing—from the COVID-19 pandemic, to a massive economic collapse, to the country’s long overdue racial reckoning.
A central goal for our statewide leaders was continuing to put rank-and-file members at the center of our union work and to preserve democratic debate and decision-making in these unprecedented times.
Extensive Education Program
Hosting our annual convention virtually was a top priority. And the
In the five weeks prior to our first virtual convention we held 47 workshops attended by 633 members, covering everything from a clinical review of COVID-19, including the multi-system nature of the disease and best practices
for treatment, to understanding why promoting racial justice is key to building a strong union, to identifying strategies for building NYSNSA’s political power in New York and beyond.
Huge Turnout for Convention On October 20, 480 elected convention delegates and 352 guests participated in NYSNA’s first virtual convention. In addition to passing proposed bylaw changes, and addressing resolutions and other convention business, NYSNA leaders were able to share their experiences on the frontlines, honor our colleagues taken by COVID-19, and hear tributes from elected leaders, honoring our professionalism and commitment throughout the pandemic.
NYSNA leaders Kelley Cabrera, Aretha Morgan, Patricia Armand, Dee Lacey, and Lenore Granich-Berghela join Executive Director Pat Kane to discuss their experiences on the frontlines.
NYSNA President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez conducts debate during the business meeting. 26
2020 a year like no other
NYSNA’s Virtual Convention by the Numbers 47 workshops attended by 633 members 480 delegates participating on October 20th
352 guests and observers in attendance
Clockwise from top left: NYSNA First Vice President Karine Raymond reports via Zoom on our campaign for PPE and proper infection controls. NYSNA Treasurer Nancy Hagans presents a resolution promoting racial justice. NYSNA President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez confers with the convention producer during a commercial break. NYSNA Deputy Director Nancy Kaleda moves speakers “on stage” during the business meeting. The Stanford Talisman chorus virtually performs “Lift Every Voice and Sing”. NYSNA Board member and NYC H+H Executive Council President Judith Cutchin leads the invocation. 2020 a year like no other
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Striking for Safety No one should have to go on strike for safe working conditions during a pandemic, but that’s exactly what nurses at Albany Medical Center and Montefiore New Rochelle had to do in December. For two years, nurses at both hospitals have faced stalled contract negotiations and hospital administrators who refused to listen to nurses’ concerns about serious understaffing and unsafe COVID conditions. At Albany Medical Center, nearly 2,000 nurses launched a one-day strike. Ahead of the nurses’ strike, OSHA announced an investigation of Albany Medical Center regarding their neglect of safe
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PPE protocols and widespread COVID infections amongst patients and staff.
On the Picket Lines At Montefiore New Rochelle, nurses launched their two-day strike demanding a fair contract and safe working conditions. NYSNA members chanted “Nurses over Billboards!” condemning the hospital, which had bought billboards, newspaper and television ads applauding their nurses as heroes while refusing to bargain in good faith and provide safe staffing resources. Both strikes grabbed national headlines, from U.S. News and World Report to
the Financial Times, and blanketed local TV news. But in a shameful move, both hospitals locked out their nurses at the end of their strikes, rather than returning to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair contract for these COVID heroes.
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The Most Trusted Profession As 2020 drew to a close, hopeful signs were on the horizon. On December 14, the first COVID-19 vaccines were administered in New York, and vaccine distribution continues to ramp up across the state. That same day, the Electoral College certified Joe Biden’s election as the 46th President and Kamala Harris’s election as the nation’s first female, as well as the first African American and first Indian American, Vice President. Across upstate New York, NYSNA closed out 2020 by settling strong COVID contracts with Adirondack Medical Center, Alice Hyde Medical Center, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center and Massena Memorial Hospital. Not only
will these agreements provide solid improvements and see members through the pandemic, but they give us a chance to leverage our collective power across the region in future negotiations.
Setting the Standard Throughout 2020, NYSNA members have demonstrated why this year was declared the international year of the nurse and the midwife. Despite being one of the most challenging and painful times of our professional lives, the extraordinary courage and compassion of frontline healthcare workers is what will see New York through this crisis.
NYSNA Treasurer Nancy Hagans receives the COVID vaccine at Maimonides Hospital. 30
2020 a year like no other
And thanks to our collective efforts, over 147,000 New Yorkers have recovered from COVID-19 this year. Together, we’ve made NYSNA an indispensable voice defending the public’s health, and our standing with the public and elected leaders is at an all-time high. As we look for brighter news in the new year, NYSNA members will continue to fight for safe staffing, for adequate funding, and for the healthcare all New Yorkers deserve.
NYSNA volunteers continued to collect and distribute PPE as COVID cases crept back up in November and December.
Board of Directors PRESIDENT
DIRECTORS AT LARGE
Regional Directors
1. Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, MSN, FNP, Montefiore Medical Center, Moses Division
6. Anne Bové, MSN, RN-BC, ANP, CCRN, NYC H+H, Bellevue Hospital (retired)
14. M arion Enright, RN, Nathan Littauer Hospital (Central Region)
7. Judith Cutchin, MSN, RN, NYC H+H, Woodhull Hospital, Executive Council President of NYC H+H/Mayorals
15. Yasmine Beausejour, BSN, RN-BC, Northwell-Long Island Jewish Valley Stream (Southeastern Region)
8. Jacqueline Gilbert, BSN, RNC-NIC, NYC H+H, Harlem Hospital Center
16. Jayne Cammisa, BSN, RN, Westchester County Healthcare Corp. (Lower Hudson/NJ Region)
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT 2. Anthony Ciampa, BSN, RN-BC, New York Presbyterian Hospital
SECOND VICE PRESIDENT 3. Karine M. Raymond, MSN, RN, Montefiore Medical Center, Weiler Division
9. Robin Krinsky, DNP, RN-BC, CCRN, Mt. Sinai Medical Center 10. Lilia V. Marquez, RN-BC, CCRN, NYC H+H, Bellevue Hospital Center
17. Sean Petty, BSN, RN, CPEN, NYC H+H, Jacobi Medical Center (Southern Region)
11. Nella Pineda-Marcon, BSN, RN-BC, Mt. Sinai Morningside and West
18. Chiqkena Collins, BSN, RN, Erie County Medical Center (Western Region)
TREASURER
12. Verginia Stewart, RN, NYC H+H, Metropolitan Hospital Center
Executive Director
5. Nancy Hagans, BSN, RN, CCRN, Maimonides Medical Center
13. Marva Wade, RN, Mt. Sinai Medical Center (retired)
SECRETARY 4. T racey Kavanagh, BSN, RN, CNOR, Flushing Hospital
Patricia Kane, RN, CNOR, NYSNA
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Remembering NYSNA’s Fallen Heroes COVID-19 has touched each and every New Yorker, but nurses and health professionals have been on the frontlines since the beginning of this pandemic. Tragically, more than two dozen active NYSNA members made the ultimate sacrifice caring for their patients this year, joining hundreds of other frontline essential workers who fell in the line of duty. In March, the NYSNA Board of Directors established a Fund for Fallen Nurses, to help the families and loved ones of NYSNA members taken by COVID-19. And on April 28, hundreds of NYSNA members gathered for a Workers Memorial Day remembrance, to pay tribute to the colleagues we’ve lost. At our 2020 convention, we also honored our fallen colleagues, along with everyone we lost this year, loved ones, family members, neighbors, co-workers and friends.
Romeo Agtarap, RN
Yaw Asante, RN
New York Presbyterian Hospital
NYC Health + Hospitals, Lincoln Hospital
Nicanor “Nick” Baltazar, RN
Virdree Burns Jr., RN
Gresmor BlackmanDouglas, RN
Ingred DennyBoyce, RN
Irene “Rene” Burgonio, RN
Maimonides Medical Center
Brooklyn Hospital and Past Member, NYSNA Board of Directors
Long Island College Hospital and Fresenius
New York City Department of Sanitation and Wellcare
Marlino Cagas, RN
Mavis Charles, RN Long Island College Hospital
Marie Lourdes Coupet, RN
Ernesto “Audie” DeLeon, RN
Phoebe Gladstone, RN
NYC Health + Hospitals, Kings County Hospital
NYC Health + Hospitals, Harlem Hospital
Richmond University Medical Center
NYC Health + Hospitals, Bellevue Hospital
Flushing Hospital,Queens
Emma Goolsby, RN
Renee French, RN
Aleyamma John, RN
Kious Kelly, RN
New York Presbyterian Hospital
NYC Health + Hospitals, Queens Hospital
Mount Sinai-West
Erwin Lambrento, RN
Angela Lewis, RN
NYC Health + Hospitals, Bellevue Hospital
Long Island Care Center
Maria “Mama Guia” Cabillion, RN
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Roxanne Bent, RN New York Presbyterian, Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
2020 a year like no other
NYC Health + Hospitals, Elmhurst Hospital
Visiting Nurse Association of Staten Island
William Lo, RN
Theresa Lococo, RN
Mt. Sinai Hospital
NYC Health + Hospitals, Kings County Hospital Center
Gloria Minor, RN NYC Health + Hospitals, Metropolitan Hospital
Mary Ellen Porter, RN
Evelyn OchoaCelano, RN NYC Health + Hospitals, Lincoln Hospital
Azinet Pudpud, RN
Richmond University Medical Center
NYC Health + Hospitals, Lincoln Hospital
Loida Tobais, RN
Svetlana Vinokur, RN
NYC Health + Hospitals, Harlem Hospital
NYC Health + Hospitals, Coney Island Hospital
Maureen Lunney, RN
Steven Malagraph, RN
Stephen Marrone, RN
Richmond University Medical Center
Montefiore-Nyack Hospital
Mount Sinai Hospital and Long Island University
Freda Ocran, RN
Winsome Owen, RN
NYC Health + Hospitals, Jacobi Medical Center
Montefiore Medical Center
Robert V. Piemonte, RN
Supee Pojjananuvat, RN
NYSNA Past President
Montefiore-New Rochelle Hospital
Maria “Bambi” Roaquin, RN
Jacqueline Rowe, RN
Susan Sisgundo, RN
Estelita Atienza Solomon, RN
Hudson Valley Hospital
NYC Health + Hospitals, Bellevue Hospital
Lollie Mae Watson, RN
Rebecca Yee, RN
Rose Zubko, RN
Mount Sinai Hospital
St. Joseph Hospital
NYC Health + Hospitals, Bellevue Hospital
Thyce Mattis, RN Montefiore Medical Center
Wycoff Heights Medical Center
NYC Health + Hospitals, Harlem Hospital
2020 a year like no other
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2020 a year like no other
