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.
