APRIL 2018
A NEWSLETTER FOR NYSNA RNs AT ERIE COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER
Get Ready for Negotiations! Negotiations at Erie County Medical Center are just around the corner, and NYSNA nurses have begun gearing up to show our unity and strength. We are demonstrating that when we work together, we are unstoppable. Hundreds of ECMC nurses signed cards to protect our scope of practice, which were delivered to state legislators earlier this month. As a result, the NY State Assembly budget did not include a “community paramedicine pilot project,” which would have lowered the standards of patient care and put patients at risk by replacing nurses with EMTs and Paramedics in non-emergency home care settings. NYSNA supports EMTs and paramedics in integrated health initiatives, but not this proposed pilot program. This was a huge first victory in the battle to defeat this attack on nurses’ scope of practice once and for all! ECMC nurses have also been signing up for the new NYSNA Member ID card. Signing up for the card ensures all of your contact information is correct, so you don’t miss important negotiation updates. The card delivers new benefits, too. You will be able to use your Member ID to quickly check-in at events, sign-up for free CE classes, and earn points towards NYSNA swag! The card also reaffirms your committment as a NYSNA
member, which is so important in these times of increased attacks on unions and healthcare. Nursing may be the most trusted profession as far as the public is concerned, but earning that trust and respect from hospital management often feels like an uphill battle. Nurses need a strong voice that comes from the unity of our colleagues and the backing of a union now more than ever in the era of “do more with less” healthcare. The “Janus” case being heard right now in the Supreme Court could also lead to a dramatic weakening of unions, and ultimately our power to advocate for ourselves and our patients. Wearing the new Member ID will show that we are united for our profession and for our patients. If you have not filled out your Membership card application yet, please get in touch with us at 716-204-8076.
Come to Lobby Day April 23 When nurses talk, people listen. When nurses talk in one united voice for their patients, hospitals, union and practice—legislators have to listen. Register for Lobby Day on April 23rd to make your voice heard: http://bit.ly/ nysnalobby2018 Lawmakers in Albany need to hear the facts from bedside nurses, not the hospital and special interest lobby groups who come out in full force. This is an important part of advocating for our patients, who deserve an RN at every bedside in a safe environment with a safe staffing ratio. This is how we make it happen.
WE ARE NURSES, WE ARE NYSNA!
NYSNA Board Member. “It was so energizing and so encouraging that healthcare unions came together and important public figures came out to support us and our patients.” Our advocacy worked! The state budget addresses many of the concerns that NYSNA and our allies raised with elected leaders in the last several months. The recently passed New York State budget: • Preserves New York’s Essential Plan, so that low- to middle-income patients can maintain health insurance.
Nurse Advocacy Protects Our Patients and Our Practice In the last year, nurses have seen unprecedented attacks on America’s healthcare system from the federal government. From the attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, to a tax plan that tried to defund it by reducing subsidies to the low- and middle-income patients, to a federal budget that slashes funding for our safety net hospitals, to the continued threats to Medicaid and Medicare—healthcare practitioners and patients have been on the defensive. We have seen threats at the state level, as well. A Community Paramedicine Collaborative proposal in the state budget would have eroded nurses’ scope of practice and compromised patient care by allowing EMTs and paramedics to deliver non-emergency care in peoples’ homes. Instead of shrinking in the face of these challenges, NYSNA patient defenders spoke out for our patients and our practice at every opportunity: we went to Washington, DC to protest in the halls of Congress and at the doors of Congress members; we contacted state legislators with our concerns; and we traveled to Albany for a Code Blue Rally with hundreds of other healthcare workers to speak in one united voice for patients throughout New York State “It was one of the biggest rallies I’ve attended,” said Sarah Chmura, RN, Erie County Medical Center and
• Enacts Enhanced Safety Net Hospital legislation, which will deliver supplemental funding to all public hospitals, rural “critical access” and “sole community” hospitals, and private safety net hospitals with high rates of Medicaid/uninsured patients and low rates of private insurance. The new budget includes $50 million in funding for covered hospitals and the possibility of additional federal matching money. Nurses and our union and healthcare advocate allies pushed hard for fair funding for safety net hospitals, and it is our expectation that with increased funding, our public hospitals will improve staffing and patient safety.
• Does NOT include the Community Paramedicine Collaborative proposal. We beat back the attack on our scope of practice! NYSNA nurses are demonstrating the power of our advocacy. The conditions in our facilities—particularly our public hospitals—are directly impacted by national, state and local public policies. By speaking out with our frontline experience, we are making a difference. According to Sarah, “As an RN, it’s important to be educated about the challenges our profession faces, as well as the challenges our patients face in accessing and affording healthcare. It’s inhumane to make people pay outrageous amounts of money for the basic right to healthcare. Our patients, many of whom are already disadvantaged, may not seek care because of these political decisions. Our jobs could be dramatically changed because of these political decisions. Nurses being educated about what’s going on and advocating will make us a more powerful force—both for ourselves as nurses and for our patients.”
APRIL 2018
A Newsletter for NYSNA RNs at Erie County Medical Center
Steve saw horrendous conditions—homes were in disrepair and infected with mold, the majority of homes still had no power, and those that did were using noisy and expensive generators, which could not run at night because of noise ordinances.
A Life-Changing Medical Mission to Puerto Rico In January, Steve Bailey, RN, made a quick decision that would change his life—he volunteered to go on a Medical Mission to Puerto Rico with NYSNA and the New York Recovery Network (NYRN). It had been more than six months since Puerto Rico was battered by hurricanes. Steve did not know what to expect, but was told, “Prepare for anything.” “The first clue that things weren’t going to be pretty was when we were flying into San Juan,” said Steve. “The first thing you see is blue roofs everywhere. That’s when we realized that all these homes still have tarps on them.”
Many of the people who stayed home after the hurricanes were elderly and had serious medical conditions. A woman with sleep apnea was not able to run her CPAP machine at night. One family had an elderly cerebral palsy patient, two young children with influenza, and a household infected with scabies. One senior was bedridden because FEMA delivered a walker, but no one set it up and showed him how to use it. One woman’s g-tube hadn’t been replaced in so long it was no longer functional, so her husband was using a blender to liquefy and feed her whatever food he had. They delivered care to an elderly patient with pneumonia and endstage dementia. “Everywhere we went, people needed help,” said Steve. “I did the trip with nurses and NPs who had lots of critical care experience. I was happy to find out that my long-term care skill set was valuable. Falls, bedsores and feeding tubes are big issues there. They needed everybody. You’d be surprised how your knowledge and experience rises to the need there.”
After an orientation joined by SEIU healthcare workers, TWU transit workers and teachers, the nurses split into groups and headed to their field assignments. Each team took a share of medicine and medical supplies. Nurses and doctors set up local clinics and began home visits. They teamed with local church volunteers and union members, who translated and helped navigate dangerous streets that had no street lights, signs or traffic signals, or were impassible. Steve was stationed in the mountainous Aibonito area. “Pretty much every day I went on home visits,” he said. “We probably did 60 visits a day, and got more efficient as the week went on. I didn’t visit a home where neighbors weren’t concerned about one another. We shared information on families we thought were high risk with the local groups, so there could be follow up from aid agencies.”
Steve, who has undertaken a wide range of nursing in his 30-year career, continued, “I would encourage any nurse to volunteer for a medical mission, because it was such a pure form of nursing. There was no billing or time clocks—it was just getting people the help they need—the way nursing should be.” To learn more and to volunteer, visit www.nysna.org/ disaster-recovery
UPCOMING EVENTS (For more information or to register, ask your NYSNA Rep)
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MED SURG CERTIFICATION REVIEW
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LOBBY DAY
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MULTI-UNION LOBBY DAY
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SINGLE PAYER LOBBY DAY
April 17 & 18, ECMC April 23, Albany May 8, Albany June 5, Albany
ECMC nurses with State Senator Tim Kennedy
NURSES GET ACTIVE IN ALBANY Western New York nurses were part of a delegation of 80 NYSNA nurses that attended the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus’ annual Legislative Conference in Albany February 16-18. “I’m so grateful to have been part of the first-year NYSNA members from Western New York who participated in Caucus Weekend,” said ECMC’s Valeta Dunn, RN. “It was such an incredible experience to meet nurses, union members and politicians from across the state who support quality patient care.”
NYSNA Nurses Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Downtown Buffalo
Stay connected: join our Facebook group! http://bit.ly/ eriecountynysna
Nurses spoke out against the attacks on healthcare coming from Washington, and urged state legislators to take action to protect New York’s patients. We also focused on ensuring our state budget will provide full and fair funding for healthcare, particularly mental and behavioral healthcare, which is threatened by steep cuts nationally. “Any cuts to care will have devastating effects in our communities across the country and the state,” explained Dana Bellido-Clark, RN. First-time Caucus Weekend attendee Sherry Thomas, RN, is already looking forward to next year. “It’s amazing to see legislators and labor unions from across New York State come together in solidarity to fight back against threats to our patients,” she said.
GET ANSWERS/STAY IN TOUCH Your NYSNA Representatives: Michael Graham michael.graham@nysna.org 716-467-0449 Jennifer Valentin jennifer.valentin@nysna.org 716-445-6319 NYSNA Western NY Office: www.nysna.org, 716-204-8076 Dental benefit questions: www.Aetna.com, 877-238-6200 Prescription benefit questions: www.optumrx.com, 888-691-0130 For all other benefits: www.ASOnet.com, 888-692-7671
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