MARCH 2019
A NEWSLETTER FOR NYSNA RNs AT NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS
Fighting for the Resources Nurses and Patients Need When Governor Cuomo released his proposed New York State budget, it included much-needed increases in Medicaid. But soon after, federal budget cuts to healthcare, combined with the impact of the federal tax cuts, left New York with a $2 billion hole in our budget. Not only did the federal tax cuts result in middle class families in New York seeing smaller tax returns this year; the large tax cuts for corporations and millionaires also meant much less revenue to spend on the needs of the majority of New Yorkers. Earlier this month, Governor Cuomo responded to the federal threat by amending the New York budget to remove $1 billion in Medicaid dollars. But after healthcare workers, nurses and hospitals spoke out loudly against the proposed cuts to healthcare, the Governor and state legislature decided to restore Medicaid funding and look for budget cuts elsewhere. Why should nurses advocate for more resources for public hospitals? According to Kittie McGee, RN from Harlem Hospital, “It’s about nurse practice. When our hospitals don’t have the resources, we are doing the work of clerks and social workers, on top of nursing work. We have to tell management all day long, ‘we don’t do that.’” Jovana Woodley, RN of Coler Specialty Hospital & Nursing Facility, said it’s about quality care: “If our facilities
aren’t getting the funding they need, we won’t be able to hire more nurses.”
Momentum for a Fair Contract We know when we build unity and strong coalitions we can win. In that spirit, we invited community, labor and elected leaders to local contract campaign kick-off events in several facilities. The kick-offs at Metropolitan, Bellevue, Lincoln, Jacobi, Elmhurst, Woodhull, Kings and Queens continued the momentum of our public campaign launch at the Schomburg Center on February 5. Our allies showed appreciation that H+H nurses are working for a contract that will strengthen our public system and benefit New York’s most vulnerable patients and communities. Members turned out to talk about the issues that matter most at their facilities, including retaining and hiring enough nurses and ancillary staff. Now is the time to make your voices heard by turning in your bargaining survey. The Negotiations Committee is pouring over the surveys and crafting proposals and a bargaining strategy this month. We also need more Contract Action Team members at each facility to collect surveys and spread the word on their units about what’s happening with our contract and beyond. Sign up at: http://bit.ly/hhvol
WE ARE NURSES, WE ARE NYSNA!
Nurses Improve MDS and Patient Care at Coler In long-term care facilities, MDS Coordinators fill an important and challenging role—evaluating the physical, mental and emotional health of patients, coordinating a multi-disciplinary team of healthcare providers and families, and developing care plans to improve health outcomes. That’s why nurses at Coler grew concerned a couple of years ago when the MDS department was taken over by nursing, and Head Nurses were assigned MDS duties in addition to their clinical duties.
“We were given three units and more than 90 patients,” explained Asia Malakhova, RN. “We were very stressed out, because we were wearing two hats. It takes time to do clinical work and MDS well—both can be very time-sensitive.” We filed a grievance about job function and also about hiring practices. Some nurses were transferred to MDS based on favoritism or hired externally without the proper internal job posting. After new management came to Coler and we moved the grievance to step 2, we won! MDS nurses are happy that they are now performing MDS functions exclusively, and that hiring practices have improved. They wear lab coats instead of scrubs, so they do not get pulled into clinical duties while on the floor. Asia concluded, “Being able to focus on one set of job responsibilities has helped us learn to do MDS better, and in turn, take better care of our patients.”
Midwives Make Gains in Second Contract Congratulations to the 39 midwives at Jacobi and North Central Bronx, who recently won a new contract that delivers a fully retro-active wage increase of 4.06%, new night shift differential pay, new leave for personal days, medical missions, and more. The midwives worked for three years to win the gains in their second contract. Their first contract took five years, and gave them benefits that they had never had, like annual salary increases based on experience. This time around, they tried something new. They joined with the CRNAs, who were bargaining a first contract with PAGNY, and issued a strike notice to bring PAGNY and NYC H+H both to the table. Mary Sampino, CNM and Midwives LBU President, explained, “With such a small unit, it’s hard to get attention. Joining with CRNAs made a difference—having the power of those numbers and that joint coalition.” “With any contract, there are gains and compromises,” Mary continued. “My message to H+H nurses getting ready to bargain is: “Stay strong. Stay united. With patience and compromise, you can make some gains.”
The midwives also wanted to send a message of solidarity and farewell to Pat Sheridan, BS, BSN, RN, long-time NYSNA representative at H+H. Pat will soon be representing public sector nurses a little closer to home—at Westchester Medical Center. We wish her the best!
A Newsletter for NYSNA RNs at NYC Health + Hospitals
MARCH 2019
Improve HCAP Scores? Try Safe Staffing Nurses at Queens Hospital are finding creative ways to advocate for our patients and our practice. Rasheda Henry, RN and Head Nurse, B4W Med-Surg, was asked to meet with the CNO and CEO about declining HCAP scores on the unit. When she asked to be joined by her union representative, management cancelled the meeting. Rasheda persisted. “My unit is chronically short-staffed, and we historically have not had much support, especially on staffing,” Rasheda explained. “I felt we should have a nonpunitive discussion about HCAP scores and how to improve nurse and patient satisfaction.”
Nurses Want Protection from Workplace Violence A finger jabs into your chest. A shove. A hair pull. A bite. Hands grasp at your neck, your body. Is this an episode of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, or a day in the life of a nurse? Unfortunately, this isn’t fiction—it’s the hard reality that too many nurses have to deal with. Acute and long-term subacute care hospitals have the highest rate of workplace violence of any work setting nationwide. At NYC Health + Hospitals, nurses are speaking out and saying, “Violence is not ‘just part of the job.’” At Bellevue Hospital, nurses gave support to a colleague who was brutally attacked (see NY Nurse https://www. nysna.org/“we’ve-had-enough”), and then organized to demand safety improvements. They talked to members in several units about incidents and risk factors for violence, they invited NYSNA’s Health and Safety Representative to do an onsite inspection and compile recommendations to reduce the risk of violence, they circulated a petition, and they met with management to present their safety demands. They intend to keep up the pressure until they see improvements. Last fall at Metropolitan Hospital, four Emergency Department staff members were assaulted in one month,
Rasheda put together a corrective action plan that was evidence-based and included four strategies to boost scores, focusing on patient communication and education. It highlighted short staffing and how even when staffing looks adequate on paper, nurses are floated to other units. “The nurses are working short staffed, and it’s a surgical unit, where we need dedicated one-to-one time with the patient,” said Rasheda. “Nurses have verbalized that they aren’t able to give the best attention to the patients, and that dissatisfies both the patients and the staff.” The corrective action plan was well-received by her fellow nurses. Although management has yet to respond to the action plan or rescheduled that meeting, they have begun recruiting more nurses to the unit. In the meantime, Rasheda is doing her best to boost morale on the unit.
prompting nurses there to say, “Enough is enough.” They scheduled a NYSNA Health and Safety inspection and came up with several recommendations to improve safety. They documented and submitted their concerns to the Director of Nursing. Management returned with a plan that begins to address several of the concerns, including improving visibility in the waiting room, changing enter/ exit protocols in the ED, and ensuring hospital police are walking the unit and buzzing in authorized visitors. After several incidents in the adult ED, nurses at Jacobi recently gathered signatures for a letter seeking information from management about what violence prevention protocols are in place. “We asked for data on emergency buttons, because we know that they don’t always work,” explained Kelly Cabrera, RN. “When you have a setting where you have five nurses on duty instead of 18, patients are more liable to get upset over long wait times. We need to know what equipment is working and what hospital police are and are not supposed to do.” All nurses deserve to work in a safe environment. To learn more about how your union can help you be proactive about safety, attend an upcoming workshop. The next one is May 15: https://www.nysna.org/events/tags/ health-safety-workshop-0
UPCOMING EVENTS
(For more information or to register, ask your NYSNA Rep or visit www.nysna.org/events)
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PAIN MNGMT NURSING CERT REVIEW
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MEDICAL MISSION & DISASTER RELIEF
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AMBULATORY CARE CERT. REVIEW
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MEDICAL MISSION & DISASTER RELIEF
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CRITICAL CARE CERT. REVIEW
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CARDIAC SURGERY CERT. REVIEW
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2019 SEMINAR AT SEA
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MEDICAL MISSION & DISASTER RELIEF
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WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
March 25, NYSNA NYC Office March 27 - April 3, Guatamala April 4 & 5, NYSNA NYC Office April 23 - May 9, Brazil April 25 & 26, NYSNA NYC Office May 2 & 3, NYSNA NYC Office May 12 - 19, Barcelona, Spain May 13 - 19, Cusco, Peru May 15, NYSNA NYC Office
NYC H+H nurses came out to support private sector nurses preparing to strike at a rally on March 18
NYC H+H & MAYORAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CHAIRS RNS: • Naomi Greene, Administration for Children’s Services • Todd Schultz, Bellevue Hospital Center • Jovana Woodley, Coler Specialty Hospital & Nursing Facility • Ray Briggs, Coney Island Hospital • Audrey Morgan, Correctional Health Services • Florence Exinor, Cumberland D & T Center • Keysha Morris, Department of Correction • Theresa Minarik, Department of Sanitation • Patricia Morris, Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Nursing & Rehab Ctr • Deborah Gatson, East NY D & T Center • Pauline Williams, Elmhurst Hospital Center • James Ambery, Fire Department • Kittie McGee, Harlem Hospital Center • Grace Lee, Gouverneur Healthcare Services • Peter Pacheco, Henry J. Carter Specialty Hosp. & Nursing Facility • Rivka Elyahu, HHC Health and Home Care • Yelena Levin, Human Resources Administration • Mary Simon, Jacobi Medical Center • Curlean Duncan, Kings County Hospital Center • Marsha Wilson, Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center • Charles Mighty, Metropolitan Hospital Center • Nicole Smith Ferguson, Morrisania D & T Center • Lynne Sanderson Burgess, Police Department • Sharon Greenaway, North Central Bronx Hospital • Lindella Artman, Queens Hospital Center • Stephen Nartey, Renaissance Healthcare Network • Kimberly Yeo, Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center & Home • Natalie Solomon, Segundo Ruiz Belvis D&TC • Judith Cutchin, Woodhull Medical & Mental Health Center
GET ANSWERS/STAY IN TOUCH 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 NYSNA NYC Office: www.nysna.org, 212 785 0157 NYSNA Board of Directors: www.nysna.org/board-directors
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