OCTOBER 2018
A NEWSLETTER FOR NYSNA RNs AT NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS
H+H Nurses Get Ready to Bargain! On September 28-29, our recently elected NYC H+H Bargaining Committee gathered for an in depth training to review the timeline and next steps in bargaining a new contract. We had a lively conversation about the considerations and challenges of bargaining in the public sector. “We need to get organized and get the power to win improvements in our contract,” said Judith Cutchin, RN, NYSNA NYC H+H/Mayorals President and NYSNA Board Member. “This is really the theme of our campaign and why we need all nurses to take an active role in bargaining.” “It’s not just what we say at the bargaining table and how good our proposals are, but how we show up and demand what we want throughout this contract campaign,” added Sean Petty, RN, when he reportedback on the bargaining training at the October 3 H+H/ Mayorals Executive Council Meeting. Judith and Sean outlined our immediate next steps, including sending leaders back to each H+H facility with bargaining surveys. Members set the priorities for bargaining, so it’s vital that all nurses complete a
bargaining survey and return it to your facility leaders or a NYSNA Representative as soon as possible. If you cannot find any surveys on your unit, please contact henry.rose@nysna.org. Beyond filling out a survey, we are looking for nurses to volunteer to join the Contract Action Team (CAT). CAT leaders are central to getting us organized, collecting surveys, mobilizing for actions to win our demands, and spreading the word to our colleagues about what’s happening through every step of the campaign. To join CAT, talk to your facility leaders or Rep. We have a lot to do between now and June 5, when our contract expires. Stayed tuned for another opportunity to get involved—by attending a daylong Bargaining Conference for all members. You will receive a Save the Date notice soon. Harlem Hospital’s Kittie McGee, RN gave this feedback at the Executive Council meeting: “I’ve been a nurse at H+H and an active member of this union for years, and I love the new enthusiasm I see. To me, bargaining is all about fighting for nurses and winning for patients.”
WE ARE NURSES, WE ARE NYSNA!
Fortunately, quick thinking on the part of nurses got our union involved. Health & Safety at NYSNA was informed of the looming issues and responded immediately. NYC H+H/Mayorals Executive Council President, Judith Cutchin, RN along with CPEP nurses, NYSNA Health and Safety Representative Lisa Baum, and NYSNA Reps Deidre Darden-Jennet, RN and Elizabeth Atkinson, RN, conducted two walkthroughs and assessments of the space in June and early September, before it opened.
Safer Nurses = Safer Patients The Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) at Woodhull was relocated to a space on the fifth floor of the hospital in order to increase patient capacity in the CPEP and to allow for expansion of the adult emergency department. With relocation came many design challenges that could compromise nurse and patient safety, including a nurses’ station facing the patient waiting area with no Plexiglas partition in place, blind spots on the unit, too few panic buttons and intercoms, and an old, poorly-designed nurses’ station.
Change is always difficult, but when we learned about the move to the 5th floor, nurses were really apprehensive because of the safety flaws we saw. Some nurses and staff had already been injured on the job this year, so it was really a collaborative effort of all the nurses to improve the safety of our new space right away.” - Maureen Almirez, RN
Judith Cutchin, RN explained, “The Code of Ethics for Nurses requires nurses to advocate for patients and for each other. Speaking up about health and safety issues is part of practicing our code of ethics.” We submitted our recommendations to management and won many safety improvements to the space. When the unit opened on September 18, it opened with panic buttons and intercoms in every room, a Behavioral Health Assistant and Hospital Police Officer stationed in the patient waiting area, a magnetometer in the new CPEP search room, and office furniture rearranged to allow for safe staff egress in case a patient becomes violent or threatening. However, the Plexiglas partition for the nurses’ station that was supposed to be installed before the unit opened was not in place. Nurses and our union quickly informed management of the danger of an open nurses station. Management advised us that the partition would be installed at the end of the week, but we insisted it be installed sooner. Because of the union’s intervention, the partition was in place by 9:00 am the next morning. Now that the unit is open, nurses at Woodhull are continuing to assess their space and make recommendations for improvements. “We were happy to get our patients what they need, and that includes a safe working environment for nurses,” said Judith Cutchin, RN. “Our working conditions are the patients’ treatment and healing conditions, so it’s important that nurses’ perspectives on the patient care environment are taken into account.”
A Newsletter for NYSNA RNs at NYC Health + Hospitals
OCTOBER 2018
Coney Island Hospital Head Nurses are Victorious
I’m definitely happy about how things worked out, because we have a dedicated team that is fighting for us. If we bring forward an issue, we can see it through and be victorious. The union works!”
Have you ever gone above and beyond, taking on some extra responsibilities when your unit was short-staffed? Because your manager asked you nicely, or said it would be temporary? Because your manager implied your schedule or work life would be worse if you didn’t do it? Because your manager threatened your job? Starting around 2008, Head Nurses at Coney Island Hospital were asked to cover more units than usual. Instead of the two units Head Nurses are supposed to cover, they were told to cover four or more units, rotating to work the occasional weekend shift. They were told that this was part of the job, and if they didn’t agree, they would be scheduled to even work more weekends, or worse. Margaret Santos, RN, a Head Nurse who started her career at Coney Island Hospital 34 years ago, explained, “We were initially told we would only be scheduled a weekend once a year, but as time went on and nurses retired and weren’t replaced, we worked weekends much more often. I ended up working one weekend a month for a year.” Nurses were concerned about being too stretched and the impact that would have on patient safety. “It was really stressful,” explained Sandra Nau-Brazela, RN. “Not only was I expected to be responsible for my unit, and work like a regular staff nurse because it’s usually only me and another nurse on a unit, but I was also
- Sandra Nau, RN Coney Island Hospital Head Nurse expected to cover other units. It was a common practice that had been going on for years. Managers threatened us—either you do it, or you give up your Head Nurse title, or you leave.” Covering more units entailed extra responsibilities, but not extra pay. NYSNA filed and won our grievance, claiming nurses were working out of title. Six Head Nurses are now slated to collectively receive more than $100,000 in back pay. In reflecting on the experience, Margaret said, “Remember to stick up for your rights. Do research and find out for yourself, instead of trusting someone who’s telling you they’re doing you a favor.”
Community Board 3 Supports Safe Staffing
Judith Cutchin, RN with Woodhull Hospital CEO Gregory Calliste
In a packed meeting room of over 130 community members, elected officials’ representatives and leaders of NYC Health + Hospitals, NYSNA NYC H+H/ Mayorals President Judith Cutchin, RN delivered an excellent presentation on safe staffing and the current patient safety crisis in New York’s hospitals. In response, Brooklyn Community Board 3 voted unanimously for our Safe Staffing Resolution! CB3 now joins a growing list of Community Boards throughout the city to show strong public support for nurses and our patients.
Vote November 6 The midterm elections will shape the lives of nurses, our patients and our communities for years to come—they’re just too important to sit out. Visit http://www.elections. ny.gov/ to find your polling site, learn about voting by absentee ballot, and more.
UPCOMING EVENTS
(For more information or to register, ask your NYSNA Rep or visit www.nysna.org/events)
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NEW! STRESSED OUT, ACTIVE SHOOTERS, VIOLENCE IN HEALTHCARE
October 23, NYSNA NYC Office
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MEDICAL MISSION TO VIEQUES, PR
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CHARTING WITH A JURY IN MIND
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PERIOPERATIVE NURSING CERT. REVIEW
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PROGRESSIVE CARE CERT. REVIEW
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NEONATAL NURSING CERT. REVIEW
November 7, Puerto Rico November 9, NYSNA NYC Office November 15-16 NYSNA NYC Office November 27, NYSNA NYC Office November 29-30, NYSNA NYC Office
LAST CHANCE: Must-have FREE course October 29-30 for Psych Nurses looking to become certified. Visit http://bit.ly/psychcourse
Save the Date: NYSNA Convention December 7 & 8, 2018 RSVP to: mcp@nysna.org
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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