NY Nurse: May 2022

nurse New York

New york state edition | may 2022

Celebrating Nurses:

Today and Everyday Your Contributions Are Not Forgotten new york finalized its budget: here’s what that means, pg. 6

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New York Nurse may 2022

Workers Fight for Respect on the Job, the Right to Bargain Collectively

By Nancy Hagans, RN NYSNA President

Advocating for patients. Advancing the profession.SM Board of Directors President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN nancy.hagans@nysna.org First Vice President Judith Cutchin, RN, MSN judith.cutchin@nysna.org Second Vice President Marion Enright, RN marion.enright@nysna.org Secretary Nella Pineda-Marcon, RN, BC nella.pineda-marcon@nysna.org Treasurer Jayne L. Cammisa, RN, BSN jayne.cammisa@nysna.org Directors at Large Matt Allen, RN, BSN matt.allen@nysna.org Reginalt Atangan, RN reginalt.atangan@nysna.org Marie Boyle, RN, BSN marie.boyle@nysna.org Seth B. Dressekie, RN, MSN, PMHNP, BC seth.dressekie@nysna.org Flandersia Jones, RN, BSN, MPH flandersia.jones@nysna.org Michelle Jones, RN, MSN, ANP-C michelle.jones@nysna.org Sonia M. Lawrence, RN, BSN sonia.lawrence@nysna.org Benny K. Mathew, RN, MS, CCRN, CEN, SCRN benny.mathew@nysna.org Ari Moma, RN, MSA ari.moma@nysna.org Jean Erica Padgett, RN jean.padgett@nysna.org Regional Directors Southeastern

Bruce Lavalle, RN bruce.lavalle@nysna.org

Southern Aretha Morgan, RN aretha.morgan@nysna.org Central

Catherine Dawson,RN,CNOR,MSN catherine.dawson@nysna.org

Lower Hudson/NJ Cynthia Caruso, RN cynthia.caruso@nysna.org Western

Steven Bailey, RN steven.bailey@nysna.org

Eastern

Bill Schneider, RN, CCRN bill.schneider@nysna.org

Editor Jennifer R. Farmer Executive Editor Pat Kane, RN, CNOR Executive Director Editorial offices located at: 131 W 33rd St., New York, NY 10001 Phone: 212-785-0157 Email: communications@nysna.org Website: www.nysna.org Subscription rate: $33 per year ISSN (Print) 1934-7588/ISSN (Online) 1934-7596 ©2022, All rights reserved

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ast fall, so many workers went on strike, or threatened to strike, that October 2021 was known as striketober. Workers had been increasingly vocal about how demoralizing it was to work hard only to struggle to survive. Facing rising inflation, fallout from a devastating pandemic and unsafe working conditions, many workers, including healthcare professionals, took to the streets in protest. Let’s be clear: Work stoppages are rarely a first option; they are often a last-ditch effort to secure safe work environments, living wages, quality health insurance and respect on the job.

The fall was epic. But now we are at a boiling point. Across industries, counties and states, workers are saying enough is enough. Those who belong to unions are increasingly working to ensure improved work environments. Those who do not enjoy a union’s protection are seeking the right to collectively bargaining. All are tired of employers who say one thing in public and another behind closed doors.

Public-facing branding campaigns project an open-minded and inclusive employer, while workers’ lived experiences testify to a different reality.

The pleas for respect at work may have begun as a whisper, but now they’ve reached a fevered pitch. In fact, workers at some of the nation’s largest employers are organizing for a voice on the job through union membership. With the support of a fired union organizer, Christian Smalls, workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island have come close to winning a voice on the job and forming a workplace union. They have endured formidable resistance and a well-

funded union-busting campaign.

While a follow-up vote on April 25 fell short, the organizing work of Smalls and others is inspiring.

Adam Serwer of The Atlantic characterized it this way: “The story of the campaign is almost cinematic: workers hailing from all around the globe running a multilingual campaign to defeat a corporate behemoth that subjects its wage workers to harrowing conditions.”

Notable Campaigns Additionally, workers at Starbucks have been organizing to form a workplace union. Like other companies, Starbucks has been accused of running anti-union campaigns. Some Starbucks employees say that the company’s retaliation has included cutting hours, threatening the workforce, harassment and terminations. Two Starbucks employees responded by filing complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging Starbucks violated federal law by retaliating against union supporters. The company has allegedly gone as far as closing some locations where unionizing efforts were underway.

Although the company calls its employees “partners,” the employer’s behavior shows anything but a fair partnership.

An Awakening To be clear, what is happening with Amazon and Starbucks is not divorced from the day-to-day reality of workers across the country. In a way that we have never seen before, more and more workers resigned from companies during the global pandemic. Others have sought to unite and bargain collectively.

Just 11.6 % of Americans belong to a labor union, and just 7% of

private sector employees are represented by a union, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

However, an increasing share of Americans see the value of uniting together at work via a union. In 2021, when there was a wave of organizing drives and strikes, the largest share of American workers since 1965 expressed a desire to form a union. Gallup Poll reported that 68% of workers wanted to join a union. The fact that union membership remains at 10.3% is less a function of desire and more a result of union busting.

What NYSNA Is Doing For our part, NYSNA continues to prepare for a record year of bargaining at facilities across the state. To hone our plans, the union has organized a series of bargaining conferences that unite workers across regions and systems. Additionally, NYSNA’s Labor Education Department will host a Contract Action Team/leadership training series to support bargaining across New York. The trainings are open to anyone who wants to refresh their organizing skills, even persons not in bargaining this year.

The trainings will offer tools to support healthcare professionals to better engage colleagues, prioritize units needing extra attention, identify leaders and win a strong contract. The series is set up in three sections: overview, general skill building and practice sessions. Each session will be offered multiple times. All trainings will occur via Zoom. To register, return this registration form https://bit.ly/ CATflyer to your NYSNA representative or sign up online: https:// bit.ly/CATtraining.

In addition to those training, we worked hard to advocate for a state budget that met nurses’ and healthcare professionals’ current and future needs. Positive upgrades to the retention and recognition pay program came after our advocacy.

We also continue to push for passage of the New York Health Act. We know that our work is far from finished, and we are excited to be in the fight.

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Union Power Works to Protect Members and Patients

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f all institutions, unions know the power of sticking together. When many people push for the same goal, their combined effort can make herculean tasks manageable. Having been on the front lines providing care in the direst of circumstances, healthcare professionals are clear that we rise or fall together. It was that spirit which brought New York’s healthcare unions together to form the Joint Union Staffing Implementation Committee, comprised of members of DC37, 1199SEIU, Communications Workers of America, the New York State Public Employees Federation and the NYSNA. The committee is tasked with helping to guide all unions in implementing the new Clinical Staffing Committee Law. Formation of the Joint Union Staffing Implementation Committee was a rare opportunity to unite unions representing hundreds of thousands of members across New York for the betterment of our facilities, profession, and communities. Over 500 members from five different unions

participated in a kickoff meeting in January 2022.

We’re Making Progress

determination of agendas, issues to discuss and meeting dates must be by mutual agreement. The Joint Union Committee is united in holding the line and pushing back. We contacted several members of the New York State Assembly, who sent letters to at least one hospital. We will make legislators aware if management continues to stonewall.

Employers initially tried to delay implementation of the Clinical Staffing Committee Law. NYSNA convinced the state government it was critical to move forward with the law as a means of protecting patients, workers and the broader community. Then some employers tried to undermine the law’s success.

For example, we learned that in some facilities, management attempted to select which members represented the union at staffing committee meetings versus union members determining their representatives. Some employers even attempted to bar union representatives from attending the meetings with members, a gross violation of the spirit and intention of the law.

Hospitals administrators have all sorts of resources at their disposal.

The union is the nurses’ resource.

Together with our labor partners, we will hold employers and the New York State Department of Health accountable to follow the law—in structure and operation of the committees and in ICU regulation. The five unions that comprise the committee wrote a joint complaint letter to the Department of Health documenting some of the issues they were seeing. We have subsequently made progress in some facilities and continue to pull management along in others.

Demands

We See Clearly

Management has no legal basis for dictating terms to union members’ side. Further, the law demands that the committee be governed by 50-50 representation, so the

As organizers, we do not see the world through rose-colored glasses. We knew then and we know today that even a good thing can be derailed. Passage of the Clinical Staffing Committee Law was a watershed moment. We are not surprised by the hospital industry’s attempts to sideline our staffing committees and weaken our collective power. Committee members understand their assignment and have been strategizing since January to ensure its success. In some of our facilities we already have agreement on portions of our staffing plans.

Working together with the frontline healthcare workers has brought some challenges as well as opportunities. For many of our labor partners, devising staffing plans is uncharted territory. But we know the time we spend in helping to educate our healthcare team members is critical to achieving our goal.

We know that backlash is an indicator of progress. We will not be deterred. We will continue to fight for all our rights according to the staffing law and for management to engage with us in good faith.

Assembly Member Karines Reyes, RN, New Rochelle, February 2021

By Pat Kane, RN NYSNA Executive Director

Ensuring Accountability

We know that backlash is an indicator of progress. But we will not be deterred.

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New York Nurse may 2022

Meet Your Board Members Continuing our trend of introducing our board members via the New York Nurse Magazine, I wanted to highlight three remarkable leaders. In this installment, meet Steven Bailey, Catherine Dawson and Bill Schneider.

Steven Bailey, RN (Western Region) has worked in the medical profession for over 40 years. He works for the Erie County Medical Center-Terrace View Long Term Care.

Steven Bailey, RN

Catherine Dawson, RN

What he wants you to know “I could write a book about what people should know about nursing and the conditions in which we work. Throughout my thirty something long career, employers have been cutting our staff more and more. The for-profit health model is killing people. Numerous health care choices are made for financial reasons, and while nurses do the best we can, with the proper tools we could have done better.”

Catherine Dawson, RN, CNOR, MSN (Central Region)

Bill Schneider, RN

there I progressed to nursing school at 18. My first time in nursing school, I was not successful. Being stubborn, I did not return for several years. I returned and in 1984, I graduated from Edna McConnel Clark school in NYC. From my basic nursing education, I have had many different careers. Currently, I am a certified Operating Room nurse at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, NY. I have been there for 6 years and have been in the OR more than 20 years.

Nursing has a place for all. We care for everyone from cradle to grave. We care for all cultures and ethnicities. We have room and love for all people.”

Bill Schneider, RN, CCRN

has been a registered nurse since 1984 and has had many different specialties over that time span. One of the things she loves about nursing is how with one education, a person can have a variety of professional options.

(Eastern Region) is a PACU staff nurse and sits on the Executive Committee of the LBU at Adirondack Medical Center. Besides representing his fellow nurses, his interests include protection of rural and public sector healthcare, and universal healthcare.

What she wants you to know “I have been in healthcare most of my life. I started as a Candy Stripper at the ripe age of 14 - from

What he wants you to know Nursing was a second career for me, I started nursing school at age 41. My eyes were opened to the

profession of nursing when I was immersed in medicine as my wife survived a three-year ordeal with breast cancer, and a close friend became a nurse. I feel privileged to be a nurse and I love our profession. Never forget that as nurses we get to make a real difference in people’s lives, often when they are in a time of desperate need!

As nurses working inside the healthcare system know, short staffing and lack of resources impede quality care. These issues create unsafe conditions for patients and nurses. Rural and public access hospitals face funding pressure, health systems are cutting services or closing facilities, and mental health treatment is desperately needed but not available. The situation before COVID-19 was bad, and the pandemic has exacerbated and exposed systemic problems in our healthcare system. Access to quality care shouldn’t be a privilege tied to a person’s zip code or economic status. I decided to run for the NYSNA Board of Directors to advocate for our members and our patients. We need to fight for better healthcare for all patients, and for better contracts and improved staffing for nurses. We also need to push our government representatives to provide high-quality universal healthcare for all.

What Would We Do Without Our Nurses

By Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN

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or the 20th year in a row, nurses win the prize as the most trusted profession in the United States. We’re celebrated, applauded, valued — even venerated — by the public.

We are “heroes,” “angels,” “irreplaceable.”

But the cold, hard reality is, we are mercilessly exploited.

“What would we do without our nurses?” we hear time and time again.

Well think about it, because that nightmare will come true if serious and massive changes don’t take place, and fast.

I’ve been working in this profession for most of my adult life and, like many nurses you’ve heard

already, we are overwhelmed, drowning, dying. The health care system has failed our patients and our communities — the most marginalized being the most devastated — and it has failed us as well.

Unique Impact Like climate change, the ravages visited upon our profession and the people who practice it, will be irreversible if immediate action is not taken.

This system, which eats up 19.7% of the GDP,* hasn’t figured out how to provide care commensurate with the amount of money we spend as a nation.

Hospitals and pundits have ignored our cries for health care equity, for a voice in the delivery

of care which is dependent upon enough staff to care for people, and adequate social supports for our vulnerable population — which COVID has shown to mean almost everyone these days.

Nowadays, most nurses advise family members to NEVER go to the hospital unless it is the absolute last resort. Does this scare you? It should. We should know.

Some of our stories are leaking out into the press due to the mushrooming of illnesses and the numeric decimation of active nurses, but the crisis: its germs, its seedlings and its evolution has been a long time coming.

But no one listened to us, to our warnings, to our predictions.

Continued on page 10

NEW YORK NURSE

nurses’ week

may 2022

NYSNA Celebrates Nurses’ Week

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YSNA was proud to celebrate Nurses’ Week, May 6 through May 12. We honor the sacrifices nurses make to keep patients and communities safe. We recognize the ways in which nurses lead in and outside of hospitals and health systems. We also express gratitude for nurses’ leadership in advocating for local and state polices to ensure Medicare for All, action on the climate crisis, improved working conditions, funding for safety net hospitals, and increased support for healthcare workers. Nurses routinely give of themselves, even when doing comes at great personal and professional costs.

“I would say that what they teach us in nursing school isn’t entirely correct,” said Margaret Bravo, BSN, RN, at Montefiore Nyack. “We are taught that nursing is both a science and an art. They left out the part about heart. It’s heart every time we advocate for a patient. In March of 2020, that heart showed true courage when nurses ran towards the unknown in the midst of the pandemic.”

Recruit and Retain

It is no secret that some healthcare workers have lost hope that working conditions will improve.

Consequently, many have left the industry while others are taking temporary traveler jobs because they offer much better working conditions.

We are clear about what needs to happen. To fix staffing shortages, hospitals and health systems must stop the exodus of nurses, try to win others back, and once again make nursing attractive and fulfilling.

We want to see a world where nurses do not have to unhealthily compromise themselves in pursuit of serving others. As we celebrate healthcare professionals, we vow to continue advocating for a world where nurses and healthcare workers are seen, affirmed, and supported.

We continue to urge legislators to: l Require

employers to follow the intent of the law with the creation of staffing committees;

l Expand

tuition support and nursing school capacity;

l Enact

If health systems want to honor nurses, they must do more to recruit, hire and retain them. Hospitals cannot meet “surge and flex” demands or even safe care standards when there are not enough nurses.

Moreover, healthcare professionals have faced traumatizing conditions. Many feel ignored and abandoned by the very agencies charged with protecting nurses and their patients from harm.

Ellis Nurses‘ Week 2021

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all provisions of the Nurse Practitioner Modernization Act;

l Create

a dedicated fund for hospitals to achieve safe staffing levels and provide competitive wages and benefits; and

l Reject

quick fix proposals that will lower practice standards.

Nassau Nurses‘ Week 2020

Statewide Bargaining Retreat Statewide bargaining retreats build members’ skills to organize, build power and bargain. They are especially important training for executive committee/ bargaining committee members whose contracts expire in 2022. Sign up with your rep for one or more of the upcoming online retreats: l T uesday, May 24, 2022, at 7:30

p.m. Register here www.tfaforms. com/4977924 l M onday, June 27, 2022, from

9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. (full day) Register here www.tfaforms. com/4977924 l T uesday, July 26, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. l T uesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at 7:30 p.m.

Save the Date Be sure to save-the-date for the next in-person bargaining retreat on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. at the Sheridan Hotel in New York City. Be on the lookout for registration information.

St. Joseph's Nurses‘ Week 2019

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Budget Update

New York Nurse may 2022

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New York Finalized its Budget.

Here’s What that Means for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals fter weeks of advocacy and action, we have a final state budget for FY2022-2023. The budget adds $4 billion to the original Executive Proposal, raising total state spending from $216 billion to $220 billion. The increases are the result of better-than-expected state tax revenues and the massive federal emergency funding for state and local governments passed in 2021.

NYSNA members took action to ensure the legislature passed a budget that recognizes frontline caregivers, fights healthcare disparities, and invests in communities.

We’re excited to see record investments in healthcare. However, we know our work is not done. We remain committed to fighting for healthcare justice priorities like the NY Health Act, fully enforced safe staffing standards, recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals, better public sector pension benefits, expanded nursing scope of practice, fair funding for safetynet and public hospitals, and more.

Highlights from the budget include:

Increased Focus on Recruitment and Retention l The

budget includes a new Nurses Across New York (NANY) student loan forgiveness program targeting direct care nurses who commit to work in healthcare shortage areas, with initial funding set at $2.5 million per year. The budget also added $2 million in funding for the Patricia K. McGee nursing faculty loan forgiveness program. l The budget includes state and federal funding to pay direct care health workers COVID recognition and retention bonuses of up to $3,000 under certain terms, which can be viewed on NYSNA’s website: https://bit.ly/22-23bonus l Tier 6 reforms: The vesting period for Tier 6 and Tier 5 pension plan participants is permanently reduced from 10 years to 5 years.

For the period from 4/1/22 to 4/1/24, overtime pay will not be considered for the purpose

NYSNA members lobby for safe staffing

of determining the amount of employee pension contributions to lessen the impact of COVID-19 overtime work. Overtime will still be counted toward determining “final average salary” for pension calculations. We will continue to advocate for further improvements to the Tier 6 pension plan to improve recruitment and retention of public sector nurses.

Improvements to Nurse Licensure and Scope of Practice l NYSNA

NPs and allies successfully advocated for the inclusion of some provisions of the Nurse Practitioner Modernization Act. The law is now permanent and expands NP independent scope of practice by removing the requirement that experienced NPs (3600+ hours of practice) maintain collaborative agreements and practice protocols with physicians. The budget does not include a provision NYSNA advocated to allow experienced NPs to oversee less experienced NPs, but we will continue to advocate for expanded scope of practice for NPs and for CRNAs. l NYSNA helped defeat the Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact proposal which was too broad and posed threats to patient care and nursing standards, while making it easier for employers to hire replacement nurses during a strike.

l Our

union defeated proposals to broadly expand EMS and “medication aide” scope of practice, which posed threats to patient safety and added burdens onto already licensed and unlicensed healthcare professionals. l NYSNA also defeated transferring oversight of RN and other licensed professions from the New York State Education Department (SED) to the DOH, which would have increased hospital industry influence on nursing licensure and scope of practice.

Safety-net hospital funding The budget also increases acrossthe-board Medicaid reimbursement rates by 1% and restored prior 1.5% across-the-board Medicaid reimbursement cuts. It also increases funding for safety-net and distressed hospitals by $990 million for FY2023 (with a commitment for $ 3.9 billion over the next four years). The budget language makes public sector hospitals eligible for funding. It remains unclear how the money will be allocated to eligible safety-net hospitals.

Includes $1.6 billion in funding targeted to safety-net provider capital projects.

Expanding access to care The budget includes various provisions to expand healthcare coverage, including expanding Child

NEW YORK NURSE may 2022

Health Plus to mirror Medicaid services, easing income restrictions for Medicaid eligibility for seniors and people with disabilities, extending Medicaid coverage to mothers and newborns for a full year after birth regardless of changes in income, and lowering premium contributions for low-income enrollees in the Essential Plan.

The final budget will also expand coverage under the Essential Plan to undocumented immigrants over age 65. NYSNA continues to push for the NY Health Act and to expand Essential Plan coverage to cover all uninsured New Yorkers.

Increased state funding for local health departments’ base grants, including fringe benefit costs. The budget bill did not remove the lower reimbursement rate for New York City (20% versus 36% for the rest of the counties), but NYSNA will continue to advocate to fix that unfair penalty.

Did not eliminate the “global cap” on Medicaid spending but includes an improved formula that increases the cap substantially, allowing for expanded coverage and providing more funding flexibility for our hospitals and nursing homes.

Keeps “prescriber prevails” rules for Medicaid patients, allowing drug prescriptions based on provider’s best judgement.

There were several positive initiatives to support green infrastructure, prevailing wages, and more.

Provides a 5.8% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for human services workers in non-profit providers who have not had raises in years.

Education Record investments in education, including increased foundation aid, support for public higher education institutions like SUNY and CUNY, and funding for mental health support for students and educators.

Childcare $7 billion for childcare over 4 years to increase childcare subsidy eligibility from 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to 300% FPL, making an additional 400,000 children eligible for subsidized care.

Substantial wage increases for providers and funding for capital improvements to childcare facilities.

Climate Several positive initiatives including funding for offshore wind projects and supply chain

investments; funding toward zero-emissions school buses; and a substantial investment in an environmental bond act to support green infrastructure, prevailing wages, and more.

For more information, visit NYSNA’s website: https://bit.ly/2223fy-summary.

This May is National

Let's bring awareness about the impact clean air can have on our lives and take positive steps to tackle air pollution, helping to protect the environment and our health too.

Employers Could Do More to Support Workers’ Mental Health

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ay is Mental Health Awareness Month.

Like physical health, everyone has mental health. It includes our thoughts, how we function, how we cope with life’s ups and downs, and how we relate to others. Good mental health enables us to deal with difficult situations. It should be considered as a continuum that can be influenced by life circumstances, stress, traumatic events, genetic makeup, upbringing, and predispositions. Mental illness is one aspect of mental health. But everyone is on the mental health continuum.

Few people understand the significance of stress and environmental factors on mental health than nurses. Nurses see patients when they are at their lowest; and they them-

selves have been pushed beyond the breaking point. While everyone struggles from time to time, conditions at workplaces across the country have exacerbated the mental health of frontline caregivers, including healthcare professionals.

A study of more than 600 nurses, across 18 states, found that at the beginning of the pandemic, nurses experienced sleep deprivation. The research revealed that almost a quarter of nurses reported being depressed and 52% reported having anxiety. This Mental Health Awareness Month, we have to do more to address the ways in which employers are compromising the health of their workforce. One of the ways they do this is by failing to hire enough nurses to meet current and anticipated demands.

What You Can Do This Mental Health Awareness Month, there are several things you can do to support your mental health: l Build and maintain good relationships; l Manage stress in healthy ways; l Seek help early and often; l Advocate for policies that improve working conditions and overall job satisfaction; and l Normalize conversations about mental health.

Stigma remains one of the strongest factors preventing people from seeking health early and when they need it. To the extent that we can normalize conversations around mental health, is the degree to which we can support ourselves and others.

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Climate action

New York Nurse may 2022

NYSNA Member Testifies at New York’s Climate Action Council Bronx CLCPA Scoping Plan Hearing

By Flandersia Jones, RN, MPH

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s nurses on the front lines of patient care, we have seen up close the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 40,000 people in New York City have died, and countless others have been left wounded, physically and emotionally. We have seen the deep impact the pandemic has had on low-income communities of color. The disparities are all-encompassing, affecting marginalized communities physically, mentally and economically.

We know that this is just a preview of what is ahead if we do not take climate change seriously. It is critical that we heed the warning.

We have already seen the destruction that climate change and envi-

Flandersia Jones, RN, testifies at the Climate Action Council meeting in April 2022

ronmental degradation have had on our patients’ health. Increases in heat have contributed to an increase in hypertension. Pollutants are being discharged into our city air, causing a steady increase in chronic asthma conditions in our most vulnerable communities. In addition, those communities also face environmental injustices like contaminated water supplies and tainted soil. They are also the ones hardest hit by catastrophic events such as Superstorm Sandy. That is not OK. The Bronx has the highest child asthma rates in New York City.

In fact, emergency departments in Hunts Point and Longwood are double the citywide rates. When discussing environmental racism, it is important to point out that there are 16 school bus depots in the Bronx — three in Hunts Point alone. There is a direct correlation between high asthma rates within these environmental justice communities and the high prevalence of bus depots. Disturbingly, 75% of the MTA-operated departments across the five boroughs are in communities where most residents are people of color.

The South Bronx also houses the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, which is the second-largest food distribution center in the world. Overall, the Hunts Point community experiences 20,000 diesel truck trips into and out of the neighborhood each week. It is not uncommon for those trucks to lay over for eight to 12 hours while waiting for goods or to comply with the U.S. Department of Transportation rest period requirements. They are emitting exhaust that compromises the surrounding community’s health.

Let me be clear: The NYSNA is 100% in support of a fossil fuelfree economy. We should be doing everything possible to make that a reality. We also need to ensure we are doing that in an equitable way. That includes giving special attention to the fact that we must prioritize environmental justice

communities. Additionally, workers must be transitioned into good, green jobs.

As a strong labor union that believes in fairness and equity, NYSNA will always advocate for workers to be treated with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, the Scoping Plan does not adequately address how to support displaced workers. The Climate Action Council must recommend creation of a Worker and Community Assurance Fund. That would provide support to fossil fueldependent workers as well as to communities who rely on fossil fuel-dependent industries. It would include wage replacement, pension support and expanded funding for communities that will be taking a huge hit. Stronger, detailed language must be used along with policies outlined to address labor standards. This is not an area that we can leave open and vague.

We also want to see the Scoping Plan advance Buy NY and Best Value Procurement policies to leverage the state’s purchasing and contracting power. That would be used to incentivize the creation of green jobs and prioritize local hiring and job access for traditionally excluded populations. The state should provide direct funding for training, workforce development, apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs across sectors. We ultimately want workers to be able to advocate for their health and safety and have good benefits such as affordable healthcare.

Ultimately, we need adequate funding for the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. We must figure out how to get a good funding mechanism is place so that we can fully do the work that the act prescribes. The health of our family, friends and neighbors can ill-afford anything less.

Flandersia Jones, RN, MPH, serves as director at large for NYSNA. She works at BronxCare Health System.

around our union

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may 2022

Save-the-Date: NYSNA Convention 2022 to be Held October 19 and 20 PAGNY YSNA’s 2022 convenCatskills Mountains. The casino Midwives Ratify tion, which will be an resort includes 12 restaurant expein-person event, will riences, a 332 room all-suite hotel, New Contract

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be held Oct. 19-20. It will be an important milestone in NYSNA’s 10-year history. The Delegate Convention will take place at the Resorts World Catskills and features two days of education, advocacy, solidarity and fun.

Less than two hours north of New York City and south of the Capital Region, Resorts World Catskills is easily accessible and offers scenic views of the stunning

a Crystal Life Spa, two fitness centers and an indoor waterpark.

Look for more details in the coming months, and be sure to share the flyer with fellow NYSNA members.

All members are welcome.

Convention delegates are a part of a core group of activists who help shape the union’s vision and work as well as lead in the fight for healthcare justice in our communities. We cannot wait to see you there.

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YSNA midwives of Physician Affiliated Group of New York (PAGNY) overwhelmingly ratified a new twoyear contract. The new agreement includes increased holiday pay, provided hours for administrative work and wage increases with retro pay from July 1, 2021. Congratulations, PAGNY midwives.

NYC Nurses Recognized on ‘Good Morning America’

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YSNA nurses showed off their NYSNA scrubs and union pride on “Good Morning America” on Thursday, April 28. The nurses were honored as part of a Mother’s Day “Steals and Deals” segment of the show, recognizing their dedication as

nurses and moms! New York City public and private sector nurses from NYC Health+Hospitals/ Elmhurst, NYC Health+Hospitals/ Kings County, Maimonides Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospital and NY-Presbyterian participated in the show, including Bernadette

Abraham, RN, Keisha Carrington, RN, Jessica Falkowski, RN, Janice Fana, RN, Tabitha Garomo, RN, Gale Glasgow, RN, Jennifer Masciotta, RN, NYSNA Southern Regional Director Aretha Morgan, RN, BSN, Samara Murdock, RN, and Ashleigh Woodside, RN.

AMC Nurse Speaks Out for Coverage for All

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YSNA nurse Tonia Bazel, RN, of Albany Medical Center, joined immigrant justice advocates, healthcare advocates, and community and elected leaders to demand New York lawmakers make Coverage for All — legislation to provide healthcare coverage to immigrants regardless of status — a reality. She said, “What we do as nurses is care for life. All life. We all deserve good healthcare coverage. These are human beings contributing to New York. No one should be left behind or scared of seeking care.”

Although the assembly and senate budgets include Coverage for All, the governor’s proposal only includes some expansion of the Essential Plan. Advocates escalated their campaign at the state Capitol to ensure that Coverage for All is enacted in the final budget.

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around our union

New York Nurse may 2022

NYSNA and 1199SEIU Co-Host AG James Campaign Kickoff Rally On Saturday, April 9, NYSNA and 1199SEIU co-hosted a campaign kickoff rally for Attorney General Letitia James (center, top right) in our Albany offices. We are proud to support James’ reelection as the “People’s Lawyer.” James is a champion of New York state’s health-

care workers and patients, helping expose the COVID-19 deaths and unsafe conditions in New York’s nursing homes, and advocating for fair wages and safe staffing standards. As NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, (above left at mic) said: “Letitia James is

a progressive leader committed to uplifting communities and fighting for frontline workers like nurses, who put their own health on the line to care for all New Yorkers.

NYSNA is honored to support her for a second term as our state’s attorney general.”

Healthcare Justice Advocates Rally to Pass the NY Health Act

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YSNA members and our friends at the Campaign for New York Health rallied outside NYC Health+Hospitals/ Lincoln to urge elected officials

to pass the New York Health Act — legislation to enact free universal healthcare coverage for all New Yorkers. Laura Sklar, RN, from NYC H+H/Gotham Health,

spoke out against the current disparities in our healthcare system and the need for a just health system where all New Yorkers can thrive.

What would we do without our nurses Continued from page 4

*https://go.cms.gov/3rP43TB

Remember: it’s one thing to hear a horror story, it’s quite another to become a victim in one.

We have solutions: accessible, affordable nursing programs; incentives for educators and active nurses to remain in and enter the profession; a funded health care system that provides quality care

for all; stringent workplace safety measures; easy pathways for front line caregivers to enter and grow within the system; a commitment to listen to, respect and implement the ideas and realities front line caregivers and providers share, including an enforceable mandate on the minimum numbers of nurses needed to provide care.

Surely some of that $4.1 trillion* spent on health care annually can be diverted from stockholders, big pharma, insurers, hospital top brass, consultants, marketers and manipulators of public opinion and knowledge — to provide care, education and resources to patients and the people who love them.

If there’s a will, there’s a way.

NEW YORK NURSE may 2022

Gun Violence Is a Public Health Crisis that Demands Public Health Solutions

By Dr. Antonio Cediel and Pastor Michael McBride

W

hile most conversations about gun violence focus on criminal justice remedies — more police, more jails, and a “tough on crime” mentality — many violence prevention experts have long understood violence as an issue of public health. According to the CDC, for more than 20 years, homicide has been the first and second leading cause of death for Black and Latino males, ages 15-34, and the second leading cause of death for Black females from 15-24.

The correlation between poor public health and increased violence has played itself out over the last couple of years. The COVID pandemic has brought not only sickness and death, but social isolation, economic despair, emotional trauma, and depression — factors which have fueled the highest numbers of shootings in over two decades (which is why the massive federal COVID relief package included a provision for violence prevention services).

Key Findings So, what have violence prevention experts learned about how to stem the tide of community violence?

First, studies repeatedly show that only a tiny fraction of any city’s population is truly at high risk for shooting someone — typically 0.2% or less. The goal then is to focus attention on this tiny fraction of individuals in order to address their physical, mental, and economic health needs before violence occurs. As when trying to stop the spread of infectious disease, this means intensive treatment for those who’ve been infected (most shooters have been victimized themselves) and ensuring that they do not infect others.

One example of this is through hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) which focus on preventing retaliatory violence.

It is often in the highly emotional moments after a shooting victim is brought to the ER that siblings, cousins, and friends make the fate-

ful decision to retaliate and, in health terms, further spread violence in the community. Whether they’re based in hospitals or on the streets, violence interventionists help individuals interrupt patterns of violence in their lives and plug them into a whole range of wraparound services to help them set a new path, including cognitive behavioral therapy, job training and placement, emergency housing, conflict mediation, and a range of survivor and victim services.

Invest in What Works Successful community violence intervention (CVI) models have reduced shootings by 30-60% in a number of cities, but most efforts remain woefully underfunded.

Effective initiatives which include a comprehensive set of wraparound services typically cost about $20,000 — 25,000 per year per program participant. This means that a city like Detroit with a population of about 675,000 should probably be spending at least $28 million a year on CVI. This may seem like a lot until one realizes that the taxpayer cost of a single nonfatal shooting in Detroit is over $1 million (and up to $3 million for a fatal shooting with two suspects). With 323 homicides and 1,065 nonfatal shootings in 2021, taxpayers are easily paying well over $1 billion for gun violence in Detroit. An investment of $28 million would pay for itself many times over.

In 2021, our organization worked with a broad coalition of over 150 organizations throughout the country to get the federal government to make proper investments in CVI throughout the country. While much of what we proposed has been stalled in Congress, one result is that the federal government made American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds — which included $350 billion in direct payments to cities, counties, and states — eligible for CVI. Some cities have made use of portions of this money to fund public health remedies like the ones described above to reduce gun violence, but most cities — even among the most violent — have not. In fact, recent

reporting confirms that big cities around the country have spent large portions of their ARP funds on policing rather than on addressing the psychological, medical, and economic concerns of the lowincome Black and Brown residents most impacted by the pandemic.

Maddening For frontline violence interventionists, the families of the victims, and those who are in the line of fire every single day, the continued lack of investment in proven strategies — even when cities have millions of additional federal dollars on the table — is maddening.

Mayors, county administrators, and governors — Democrats and Republicans alike — are quick to stand at a podium and decry the scourge of gun violence after a shooting. But making pronouncements at a press conference is different from making investments. In his Pulitzerwinning book, “Locking Up Our Own,” James Forman, Jr. shares the history of how even Black politicians got swept up into the “tough on crime” ethos of the 1990s and helped fuel the mass incarceration of millions of Americans.

Since then, we have learned a tremendous amount about what does and does not work in reducing violence. However, despite widespread support for alternatives, many politicians continue to echo the destructive rhetoric and policies of the past. A poll of likely 2022 voters demonstrated widespread support for investments in community violence intervention across party lines (including two-thirds of gun owners and NRA members) which suggests that the public is ready to support substantive investments in public health approaches. At this point, it’s up to politicians to learn from the failures of the past and make real investments in bringing peace to our cities.

Pastor Michael McBride is the founder and executive director of LIVE FREE. Dr. Antonio Cediel is managing director of LIVE FREE. The organization works to end gun violence, mass incarceration and the death penalty.

For frontline violence interventionists, the families of the victims, and those who are in the line of fire every single day, the continued lack of investment in proven strategies — even when cities have millions of additional federal dollars on the table — is maddening.

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NEW YORK NURSE may 2022

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INSIDE

Workers Fight for Respect on the Job..., p. 2

Union Power Works to Protect Members and Patients, p. 3

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