June/July 2017 Special Edition "The scourge of gun violence must end"

New York

nurse special edition | june/july 2017

the official publication of the new york state nurses association

Dr. Tracy Sin-Yee Tam

The scourge of gun violence must end

Officer Miosotis Familia

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New York Nurse

gun violence

june/july 2017

Surge of gun violence must end

W “It was really disturbing. We waited and stood quiet.

Everyone was texting their loved ones. We put our phones on vibrate so they wouldn’t make noise. Our main mission was to save our patients. There was a woman with an infant, and I knew no matter what—that baby had to live. That was my mission.”

ithin the span of 6 days, June 30 to July 5, two exceptional women — one a medical doctor, the other a New York Police Department officer — were gunned down while working in the South Bronx. The loss of Dr. Tracy Sin-Yee Tam, 27, of Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center and Officer Miosotis Familia, 48, from NYPD 46th Precinct, shocked the communities of the South Bronx where these professionals dedicated themselves.

Officer Familia was, in fact, a responder to the Bronx-Lebanon shooting just days before her death.

Their names are now added to the roll of victims of senseless gun violence, acts of killing that have come to define daily life in this nation. Gun violence took the lives of 13,286 individuals in 2015. Of these, 372 were mass shootings, with a death toll of 475. Sixty-four gun incidents were at schools.

America is immersed in gun violence, a public health threat that

Ruth Velazquez HIV Counselor, Bronx-Lebanon

“I think our government has to do more to prevent gun violence. This was a terrible tragedy.”

Natalie Cruz, RN Bronx-Lebanon

reaches into virtually every community in the nation.

Shootings at BronxLebanon For Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center the shootings of June 30 were not the first in recent memory.

In November, 2011, a Bronx man entered the Emergency Room, discharging his gun in what reports described as a “wild shooting”.

A nurse and security guard were wounded.

One killed, six wounded

But the shootings of June 30 were on a different scale, as young doctor Tam was killed and six wounded, one seriously. The mayhem that followed sent shudders through the hospital, as police scrambled to search throughout the facility, uncertain as to whether other armed killers were inside.

Officer Familia was shot to death in her vehicle by a man with a recent history of mental illness. Dr. Henry Bello, the shooter at Bronx-Lebanon, also suffered from mental illness.

“How could somebody like this get a gun?” asked Dr. Ahmed Baiomi, doctor at Bronx-Lebanon.

“Everything was so strange. I’ve been here 34 years, and it’s a family. We’re trying to console each other. The counseling has been very helpful. Each time I see the staff on those floors I give them a hug.

I thought gun violence was just an issue out there, but now…. This is horrendous.”

“I came back in to work, and everyone was just numb. It was like a ghost town. Yesterday, I handed out water to the 46th precinct and gave my condolences.

There are too many guns around.”

Agnes Deyro, RN

Sidney Flores

Bronx-Lebanon

Housekeeper, Bronx-Lebanon

NEW YORK NURSE

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Still, the men who killed Dr. Tam and Officer Familia were able to acquire guns, an indication of the ease with which firearms can be purchased — legally and illicitly — in the U.S. Huge demand for guns

More guns were sold in 2016 than in any year in the history of the U.S. The FBI carried out an astonishing 24,767,514 background checks last year, 160,000 more than in 2015. But the market for guns in the U.S. is notoriously porous, as comprehensive checks in the face of massive demand difficult to carry out, not to mention black market sales. That leaves the population vulnerable and

task of stopping gun violence formidable.

“It’s surreal. You have to take it day by day. We need stronger regulations for guns,” said Francys Simons, RN, who works on the 15th Floor at Bronx-Lebanon, just two floors below where the gunman carried out his carnage.

“They give you training, but in the moment, you’re scared,” said Elida Ramirez, a Certified Nursing Assistant at Bronx-Lebanon and member, 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers East. “Every day there is gun violence in this country. They’re not doing enough.

Sometimes something bad has to happen to make people care.”

Continued on page 4

President SheridanGonzalez, RN, on gun violence Every day, nurses and other caregivers in our facilities are cursed at, threatened, spit upon, slapped, punched, kicked, pinched and, as we have seen, stabbed and shot. Violence is endemic in our society and if we don’t tackle the root causes, these incidents will only increase. While management are in their offices, it’s we who are on the frontlines that face the brunt of patient frustration that sometimes ends in violence.

Workers must be respected, supported and recognized for what we do; yet we are understaffed, lack necessary equipment and resources to do our jobs. Our patients—many of whom are poor, are people of color, lack social capital, are immigrants who speak different languages, who do not receive adequate care to begin with—are subjected to interminable waits, overcrowding, the impact of understaffing and a system that is anything but seamless.

Many of us are victimized by the impossible-to-navigate bureaucracy that is healthcare today—and could actually become much worse if federal proposals are implemented—and its thrust to dehumanize caregiver and patient alike.

On stage at the June 30 Vigil

The frustrations that these obstacles to healthcare promulgate serve to aggravate any situation. And then someone loses it. And there we are.

“What happened was tragic. The only way to cope is if we all come together. The nurses and doctors are coming together and helping each other cope. I’m completely against the culture of having arms.”

“It’s overwhelming. It’s just a lot to deal with. It’s very, very sad. There’s a lot to be done about gun violence, especially with this being so close.

This is like, right in your backyard.”

Danial Shaikh, MD

Cheryl McLune, RN

Resident, Bronx-Lebanon

Bronx-Lebanon

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New York Nurse june/july 2017

Ending gun violence Continued from page 3

Vigil attended by thousands

“It was horrifying. It’s just hitting me now.

We come here to feel safe, and now there is none here. Now, every time an alarm goes off or there’s an announcement, my heart jumps out of my chest. The access people with mental health issues have to guns is a real problem.”

Three unions with members at Bronx-Lebanon came together to help members in the immediate aftermath of the shootings. NYSNA worked with the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU and with 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers East, arriving within hours of the shootings to listen to members and express profound concern, coordinating counseling for respective members and, the following day, giving out lunch to all hospital staff.

The unity of the unions was very significant in these days of healing.

A Vigil for Peace & Reconciliation and against Gun Violence was conceived by and organized by the three unions, including NYSNA, and held outside Bronx-Lebanon on July 6, drawing in total thousands during five hours of prayer, comment, sharing and support.

Doctors, nurses and caregivers were able to attend at shift changes.

Their emotions are still raw, but the words of religious leaders, fellow union members and leaders, city and state politicians, and Congressman Jose Serrano helped to start the healing. “There is too much violence and hatred in our country,” said Rep. Serrano. “I will do whatever I can to keep guns out of

the hands of people who should not have them.”

New York State has taken significant steps to control access to weapons and our state laws are considered among the toughest control measures in the nation. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, Governor Cuomo signed the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act (referred to as “NY SAFE Act”). It limits the sale of high volume ammunition magazines, for instance. It calls for background checks for purchases and bans on direct sales of ammunition via the Internet. The Act amended the state Mental Hygiene Law to mandate reporting of individuals likely to “engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to self or others. Sentencing was made harsher for gun-related murders.

Some protection

We must make certain that our hospitals are secure, that security is professional and our working conditions protected from all forms of abuse and violence, the worst being what occurred at Bronx-Lebanon.

But, as we know, nurses are assaulted or under threat of assault on a regular basis.

In 2010 the NYS Penal Code Section 120.05 was amended by

Beatriz Torres, RN Bronx-Lebanon

Vigil Memorial carried to within Bronx-Lebanon Hospital

adding RNs and LPNs to the occupational protected under the law. It allows certain assaults, previously classified as misdemeanors, to now carry a felony charge. This law, in effect, “lowers the bar” on the degree of injury that must be suffered in order for an assailant to be charged with a felony. However, even under the amended law, not all assaults will result in felony charges and we must continue to call for strict enforcement of this law.

Firearm-related deaths

Nurse, doctors and caregivers are on the frontlines in caring for the victims of gun violence, and that is no small task. Between 2000 and 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 468,758 firearm-related deaths.

Casualties from gun violence are in greater numbers. Our emergency rooms, operating rooms and medsurg floors are taxed beyond limit in many places, including hospitals in NYS where NYSNA members work.

This fundamental condition makes gun violence central to our profession and ability to care for patients and communities. We support all efforts – as well as new, stepped up enforcement – to end the scourge of gun violence. This violence is senseless and overwhelming.

Trust in our profession is the greatest in the nation and we must use that heralded voice to denounce gun violence in all its forms.