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.
