MAY 2019
A NEWSLETTER FOR NYSNA RNs AT NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/MAYORALS
Nurses Stand Up for Their Rights at H+H Annual Meetings NYSNA nurses began making their voices heard at H+H Annual Board Meetings in the boroughs. Dozens of nurses who serve the communities of the Bronx packed the room at Jacobi Medical Center on the evening of April 30 to speak out for safe staffing and respect. Nurses from Jacobi, North Central Bronx and Lincoln spoke passionately about the unacceptable staffing levels that leave them feeling like they are abandoning their patients. Thomas Riley, RN, from Jacobi’s ED said, “On most shifts, the AuBonPain café at Jacobi has more staff making sandwiches than we have in the ER. The admin knows about the safety issues and their response to the nurses has been anything from lukewarm to negligent.” On May 7, nurses from Elmhurst, Queens Hospital and Correctional Health packed the room and testified about unsafe staffing levels and workplace violence that is compromising the health of both patients and nurses. Elmhurst LBU President Pauline Williams, RN, played the Bob Marley classic, Get Up Stand Up to rally and energize the nurses.
“I have filled out 19 POAs since the beginning of the year,” explained Yau Li, RN, from Queens Hospital. “The new standard on my unit is 6 plus 1, or 6 plus 2 patients-per-nurse, and we believe this is an unsafe standard.” He then called on members of the H+H Board of Directors to sign onto our campaign for Healthcare Justice for the Other New York. NYC H+H Board members in the Bronx and Queens listened attentively throughout the meetings. Dr. Katz and four members of the board—Sally HernandezPiñero, Robert F. Nolan, Barbara Lowe, RN, and José Pagán—signed onto our contract campaign pledge.
Brooklyn nurses—now it’s your turn! Sign up with your Rep to testify at the next H+H Annual Meeting on June 18 at Woodhull Hospital.
WE ARE NURSES, WE ARE NYSNA!
Getting it Twisted Too often, members have misconceptions about how bargaining works, what bargaining is, how we win in bargaining, and what a contract campaign is. Sometimes we get it twisted. Here are some of the major things that we often get backwards. 1. “Let’s sit back and watch what happens and what contract the union brings us.” Getting a good contact isn’t a spectator sport. It’s not like watching the ball go back and forth in tennis. Every member needs to play a role in winning a better contract; because we all benefit and only in struggle can win more than is being offered. 2. “We can get this much for education, and this much for raises, and this much for uniforms, etc...” There is one pot of money that is settled upon and members decide where that money goes. 3. “If the negotiating team (or union) was any good, they could talk management into giving us x.” A contract struggle is not a debate or a matter of tricks. It’s about POWER. Magical thought is one of the big ways people get things twisted. The struggle between the city/management and the union is a struggle over resources and the direction of public policy. If we don’t have enough organized people to force the Elected Officials that control NYCH+H to do the right thing, it won’t happen. Starting on May 23, NYSNA is opening the office to NYC H+H member leaders on Mondays and Thursdays to organize and move forward our campaign. Email Henry.Rose@nysna.org for more details.
“At the banquet table of nature, there are no reserved seats. You get what you can take, and you keep what you can hold. If you can’t take anything, you won’t get anything, and if you can’t hold anything, you won’t keep anything. And you can’t take anything without organization.” - A. Philip Randolph Civil Rights and Labor Movement Leader
MAY 2019
A Newsletter for NYSNA RNs at NYC Health + Hospitals
“No one was happy about our schedule,” explained Agnes Obaji, BSN, RN. “I had to stop school before the end of the semester because I couldn’t fit my FNP education into my schedule. We started asking nursing administration almost a year ago if we could revert back to an alternate work schedule.”
Woodhull PACU Nurses Win Scheduling Change Several years ago, nurses in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) were changed from a 12-hour shift to an 8-hour shift. The long-time nurses on the unit did not welcome the change. The shorter shift also proved to be a retention problem for newer nurses, who would train in the PACU, and then move to another unit with a 12hour shift shortly after receiving their orientation.
Is This How You Treat Nursing Staff? In late April, a staff nurse in Elmhurst’s A5 unit, one of the eight psych units in the hospital, heard word-of-mouth that the unit was about to close in less than a week, and that nursing staff would be dispersed onto other units. The rumor was confirmed the next day when staff received an email about the move. The news came as a shock to the senior nursing supervisor, Noriss Brown, RN, especially because this would have been the fourth move for her unit in less than three years. It seemed that every time the census moved up or down, the unit would be moved—sometimes as a whole, and sometimes with staff being redeployed to other units. Although the doctors, social workers and other clinical staff had been informed of the plan and their new assignments, the nursing staff had not. Norris and NYSNA Reps contacted Elmhurst’s CNO and CEO—neither of whom had been informed of the plan. When one of the staff nurses saw her new assignment, she cried and wondered why she had no choice over her assignment.
The PACU nurses met with Administration several times, including in April with NYSNA Representatives and several PACU nurses from day and evening shift attending. The nurses successfully presented reasons to restore an Alternative Work Schedule to the PACU. Beginning with the May schedule, and for a trial period of 90 days, nurses will work a 10-hour shift. “The nurses sat down and created a schedule for 10hour and 12-hour shifts. Our CNO said it was the best schedule she’s ever seen—every area was covered, even if someone called out sick,” said Agnes. “We are happy to pilot the 10-hour shift, and we are hopeful that we can move to 12 hours, because it will help with nurse satisfaction, education and retention.”
“These nurses have been shuffled all over, and feel like they have no value,” explained Norris Brown, RN. “How can you provide patient-sensitive care when no one cares about you?” The nurses were not going to take this change sitting down. They scheduled a meeting with Elmhurst CEO Mr. Rocha the very next day. They described their concerns and emphasized how inappropriate and disrespectful to the nursing staff this plan was. The next day, an email was sent announcing the unit would no longer close down on Monday. “The plans for this unit really did not make any sense,” said Norris. “This move was not good for the morale of patients or nurses. We may have won this battle, but we are still prepared to fight for what is right for our patients and nurses.”
NYSNA Celebrates
WE ARE NURSES, WE ARE NYSNA!
Nurses Week! MAY 2019
A Newsletter for NYSNA RNs at NYC Health + Hospitals
WE ARE NURSES, WE ARE NYSNA!
Nurses Build Support with Elected Leaders Citywide, H+H nurses are strengthening our relationships with key NYC City Council Members before we begin bargaining with the City. In April and May, NYSNA nurses met with Councilmembers Mark Levine, Chair, Health Committee; I. Daneek Miller, Chair of Labor and Co-Chair, Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, Daniel Dromm, Chair of the Finance Committee; Carlina Rivera, Chair of the Hospitals Committee; and Diana Ayala, Chair of the Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addictions. All of the elected leaders we met with expressed strong support for public sector nurses. They listened attentively to NYSNA nurse leaders from throughout the city, who attended the meetings and described in vivid detail what it’s like to “do more with less” on a regular basis.
$120 million to hire the nurses and ancillary staff necessary to provide consistently safe and high-quality care. The next day, during a budget hearing at City Hall, Councilmember Dromm publicly raised the need for additional funding to hire nurses with NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Dr. Katz. In our meeting with Councilmember Carlina Rivera, it was mentioned that her office is presently seeking greater transparency on the NYC Care initiative. Harlem Hospital nurse Promise Nwankpa, RN, described how nurses from private sector hospitals who float on her unit are alarmed and unable to handle the high patient load currently expected of public sector nurses.
In the meeting with Daneek Miller, Coney Island Hospital nurse Ray Briggs, RN, explained that NYC has a twotiered healthcare system where the resources are going to the people and institutions who already have the most resources and clout. Lorraine Pierre, RN, and Sonia Lawrence, RN, of Lincoln described the predatory relationship between the private and public sector, where H+H resources are spent to train nurses who are then lured to work in the private sector for higher wages. In the meeting with Councilmember Dromm, nurses Rose Green, RN, and Kelli Cabrera, RN, discussed their experience working in private hospitals versus city hospitals. Harlem Hospital nurse Sara Dowd, RN, discussed the difficult decisions you have to make when understaffed, as well as the financial strains on the H+H system. As outlined in the NYSNA H+H NYC Position Summary, it is estimated that the system would need an additional
We are looking forward to continuing to build bridges with elected officials, as well as attending upcoming City Council Hearings and events to speak out for the resources and respect that public sector nurses and our patients deserve! RSVP to your Rep or to henry.rose@ nysna.org to attend the March 23 City Budget Hearing, or the June 12 Speak Out at City Hall.
MAY 2019
A Newsletter for NYSNA RNs at NYC Health + Hospitals
POAs Pay Off at Coney Island
Know Your Rights: Workplace Violence
Understaffing has been a persistent issue in several units in Coney Island Hospital. When understaffing happens in Intensive Care Units, it can become an especially troubling patient safety issue.
Assault is not inevitable, nor should it ever be considered “just part of the job.” The best way to deal with workplace violence is to prevent it from occurring by creating a safer workplace through space re-design, changes in policies and procedures and improved patient conditions.
“When you take care of critical cardiology patients, you may need a 1:1 nurse-to-patient ratio at times,” explained Stella Talisman, RN. “Some days I have to pray that we don’t need a balloon pump or other procedure. At no other hospital would I be asked to leave my patients without coverage to assist a physician with a procedure, but that happens at Coney Island. We need more nurses to be trained and working in our ICUs before a crisis happens.” On some shifts, there are only 2 or 3 nurses for 8 patients. With two nurses on Stella’s unit preparing to retire, and no full-time supervisor or clinician on the unit, she feared things could get even worse. That’s why she began filling out Protests of Assignment (POAs) whenever she was short-staffed on a shift. POAs not only protect your license when you take on additional patients, but they can provide evidence of chronic understaffing. NYSNA LBU President Ray Briggs, RN, presented the POAs at the last Labor-Management meeting and pressed for additional staff to be trained and hired in the ICUs, saying, “We needed more nurses yesterday!” “We are trying to improve our standard of care at Coney Island Hospital, but that is a challenge when we are not prepared with the proper staffing,” said Briggs. “If Administration only staffs for the best of times, what happens when the census goes up, or when a nurse calls in sick?” Briggs emphasized the critical need for cross-trained staff. Management committed to hiring 17 new ICU nurses. NYSNA nurses are also pushing for additional training opportunities, so that floor nurses can be trained in critical care specialties and advance in their careers. As management begins to focus more and more on HCAP scores, the need for adequate staffing must also become more of a focus.
Your employer is required to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards. Contact your NYSNA Representative or NYSNA’s Occupational Health and Safety Representatives at healthandsafety@nysna.org for assistance in assessing your workplace and creating a plan to reduce the risk of workplace violence. If you have been assaulted on the job, take the following steps: 1. Seek medical attention immediately. 2. Notify your supervisor and fill out an NYC H+H Workplace Violence Incident Reporting Form (form #2928) available on the intranet or through Hospital Police. 3. Notify your NYSNA Representative and the NYSNA Health & Safety Representatives at healthandsafety@nysna.org. 4. If you have sustained an injury due to the assault, file a claim for workers’ compensation. Notify your human resources department or directly contact the person in your facility who handles workers’ compensation claims. 5. Any assault can be traumatic, involving emotional as well as physical injury. As an NYC employee, you may be eligible for additional paid leave due to injury from an on-the-job assault. For more information contact your NYSNA representative. 6. If you wish to press criminal charges against your assailant, notify Hospital Police. Hospital Police does not have the right to tell you that the assault does not meet the criteria for a felony charge. That is up to the Assistant District Attorney. If you do not receive assistance from Hospital Police, you can go directly to your local NYPD precinct to file charges. If you have questions about any of the information provided here, please contact the NYSNA Health & Safety staff at healthandsafety@nysna.org.
UPCOMING EVENTS
(For more information or to register, ask your NYSNA Rep or visit www.nysna.org/events)
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GERONTOLOGICAL CERT. REVIEW May 21, NYSNA NYC Office
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SHOW US THE MONEY RALLY & HEARING
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CASE MNGT. NURSING CERT. REVIEW
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MEDICAL MISSION & DISASTER RELIEF
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CHARTING WITH A JURY IN MIND PT. I
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TELEMETRY MONITORING REVIEW
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MED-SURG CERTIFICATION REVIEW
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CHARTING WITH A JURY IN MIND PT. II
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MEDICAL MISSION & DISASTER RELIEF
May 23, NYC City Hall May 23 & 24, NYSNA NYC Office May 29-June 2, Dominican Republic May 30, Queens Hospital May 30 & 31, NYSNA NYC Office June 3 & 4, NYSNA NYC Office June 6, Queens Hospital June 9 - 15, Mexico
SAVE THE DATE! PUBLIC SECTOR
SPEAK OUT June 12 10:30AM City Hall
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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