nurse New York
New york state edition | july/august 2020
Mount Vernon Hospital Nurses say
We are fighting for our community! pp. 8-9
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New York Nurse july/august 2020
NOW WHAT?
‘‘W By Judy SheridanGonzalez, RN, NYSNA President
Advocating for patients. Advancing the profession.SM Board of Directors President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, MSN, FNP judy.sheridan-gonzalez@nysna.org First Vice President Anthony Ciampa, RN anthony.ciampa@nysna.org Second Vice President Karine M. Raymond, RN, MSN karine.raymond@nysna.org Secretary Tracey Kavanagh, RN, BSN tracey.kavanagh@nysna.org Treasurer Nancy Hagans, RN nancy.hagans@nysna.org Directors at Large Anne Bové, RN, MSN, BC, CCRN, ANP anne.bove@nysna.org Judith Cutchin, RN judith.cutchin@nysna.org Seth Dressekie, RN, MSN, NP seth.dressekie@nysna.org Jacqueline Gilbert, RN jackie.gilbert@nysna.org Robin Krinsky, RN robin.krinsky@nysna.org Lilia V. Marquez, RN lilia.marquez@nysna.org Nella Pineda-Marcon, RN, BC nella.pineda-marcon@nysna.org Verginia Stewart, RN verginia.stewart@nysna.org Marva Wade, RN marva.wade@nysna.org Regional Directors Southeastern Yasmine Beausejour, RN yasmine.beausejour@nysna.org Southern Sean Petty, RN sean.petty@nysna.org Central Marion Enright, RN marion.enright@nysna.org Lower Hudson/NJ Jayne Cammisa, RN, BSN jayne.cammisa@nysna.org Western Chiqkena Collins, RN chiqkena.collins@nysna.org Eastern Vacant 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 ©2020, All rights reserved
hen will we go back to normal?” This is the question many schoolchildren are asking in New York, now that the rate of COVID infection and death plummets. As we continue to recover and attempt to orient ourselves to “Phase IV,” the unknowns that we face, as caregivers, students, parents, sons and daughters are daunting and terrifying. Not only are vacations on hold—school plans are altered, home purchases are tenuous, even marriage arrangements are unclear. Many of us wake up wondering if it’s all a bad dream… But life goes on and human beings have an amazing capacity to adapt. The challenge is: when does adaptation become complacency? When does willingness to work through disaster become a weapon for those who would exploit us? Nurses and “essential workers” bent over backwards during the height of the pandemic—at no small price to our own health, well-being and sanity. We worked in unfamiliar areas, showed up for unusual shifts, lacked critical tools, were horrifically understaffed, illprepared and untrained, and, worst of all, were not given the protective equipment essential for our own survival. Rather than “adapt” to this new level of exploitation, we fought back! Using the skills our Covid Action Teams and LBU Committees possessed, we organized, petitioned, rallied and publicized the violations and abuses our employers subjected us to. We exercised our union power, synchronizing our efforts with NYSNA central leadership on all levels: in LBUs, surrounding communities, with elected leaders, the sympathetic media, and working closely with union allies. This carefully coordinated effort and the willingness of members to fight back got us PPE, staff, ventilation, scrubs, food, housing, bonus pay (still elusive for the public sector due to “austerity”), time off, avoided some layoffs and furloughs, recouped lost time and engaged with the Workers Comp Board to
recognize COVID-19 as a workplace hazard. What’s the reward for our sacrifices? Tragically, instead of providing for our needs, employers continue to lean on these so-called “emergency provisions,” floating us, changing hours, engaging in “direct dealing,” and walking all over our contracts. That must stop. The fight now centers on not allowing them to circumvent our legal agreements. We’ve put forward a universal set of COVID Demands that can be a template for LBUs. Management can’t cherry pick between emergency provisions and business as usual. To date, they’re not forthcoming with data and refuse to partner in most units to prepare for a second wave or even to develop a humane training program for members. Employers, especially the major wealthy systems, are taking advantage of the current disarray to push through heartless schemes to close essential but unprofitable services, particularly in mental health, but also in Peds and OB, even closing hospitals in our most vulnerable communities (see Saving Mount Vernon Hospital, pp. 8-9 ). This is a betrayal of the public’s trust, as these “Non-Profits” (who pay no taxes, but receive government funds to provide services) double-dip, fatten their bankrolls and earmark resources for executive salaries, exorbitant fringes, overpriced consultants, excessive marketing, and inflated payroll for “business” administrators. They squeeze direct care providers, demanding we do more with less. The ultimate victims are our vulnerable patients, the staff that care for them, and public hospitals that serve as the only place patients can receive such services, along with ERs everywhere, soon to be
Don’t Let Fears Paralyze You into Not Trying overwhelmed with patients with nowhere else to go. Nurses and workers everywhere are tired of being told there’s no money in the budget. We pay taxes—we deserve services, salaries, benefits and supports from our employers and our government. This “austerity” agenda we’re told we must stomach, along with draconian budget cuts are unconscionable and deadly. Community organizations, unions and the general public are uniting around a demand to tax the billionaires and the ultra-wealthy. Finally, many legislators are listening. There are multiple bills in both houses of the NY State Legislature to reimpose small taxes on billionaires’ wealth, insignificant to them, but life-saving for our people. Wealth disparities are so huge that returning to even half of the tax standards of 30 years ago would generate enough money to support schools, mass transit and hospitals. It’s time for the rich to pay their fare share! (See Our choice is clear, p. 3.) We need to be vocally, visibly and vigorously promoting these bills. With federal cuts in the HEALS Act, hunger, eviction, bankruptcy and foreclosure will be the rule. Let’s ensure Governor Cuomo understands: These state tax initiatives are truly a matter of life and death!
I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept. Angela Davis
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Our choice is clear
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s nurses, we put the health and well-being of our patients first every time we’re at the bedside. Despite the enormous challenges, we saved the lives of over 73,000 New Yorkers during the COVID19 surge this spring. Now we’re facing a different kind of threat to public health— economic austerity. In April, at the height of the pandemic, lawmakers in Albany pushed through $2.5 billion in Medicaid cuts. With deeper cuts now looming, Kenneth Raske, head of Greater New York Hospital Association, warned of layoffs and cuts to critical services at a joint legislative hearing of New York’s response to COVID-19 on August 12. The economic impact of this pandemic has been staggering, and budget cuts will only exacerbate the situation. More than 3 million New Yorkers have been thrown out of work. By April, nearly 1 in 4 households were reporting they didn’t have enough food to eat. And an estimated 1.5 million people across the state have already lost their employer-provided health insurance, with most falling back on Medicaid.
Federal inaction could cripple economy Despite this unprecedented economic collapse, Congress has failed to reach agreement on a new COVID stimulus package as the New York Nurse goes to press. Critical benefits, including the weekly $600 unemployment supplement and the federal eviction moratorium, lapsed at the end of July, putting millions of New Yorkers at risk. Senate Republicans are also standing in the way of major aid to state and local governments, which could mean up to $13 billion in budget cuts across New York state this year, and a staggering $61 billion in cuts over the next four years. Governor Cuomo has warned that an immediate 20 percent acrossthe-board cut may be necessary if Congress doesn’t come through. This will decimate vital services across the state, services that have already been cut to the bone over
the last two decades. Everything from hospitals and health clinics to summer camps and state parks could be on the chopping block.
City and county budgets are at greatest risk Albany is warning that $8 billion may be cut from local aid, which will be a double whammy for cities and towns already swimming in red ink. New York City, for example, cut $5 billion from the proposed city budget and still faced a $5 billion shortfall heading into the next fiscal year. This could mean up to 22,000 layoffs for civil servants across the city. Nurses working in New York City’s Mayoral agencies were warned that layoff notices would start arriving next month. So far, New York City Health + Hospitals has been spared, but if Governor Cuomo implements his across-theboard cuts this could translate into a 10 percent cut to the Health + Hospitals budget. The picture is no better in other parts of the state. Westchester county, for example, is facing a double-digit budget deficit and has started offering voluntary buyouts for county employees. They are also looking to install 50 red-light cameras across the county, hoping that more traffic tickets might cushion the blow. Erie County is also staring down a deficit of over $100 million, and the Governor’s proposed across-the-board cuts would mean painful cuts for the public hospitals in both regions.
Richest New Yorkers can afford to pay their fair share Faced with federal inaction, and a population reeling from the effects of the deadly coronavirus, it’s more important than ever that lawmakers in Albany reject austerity and take common sense revenue raising measures to plug our state’s yawning budget gaps. The most obvious place to start is raising taxes on the rich, who’ve seen their fortunes swell during this pandemic. According to a new report for Americans for Tax Fairness and Health Care for America Now, New York’s 118 billionaires saw their wealth increase by $77 bil-
lion, or 14.8 percent, between March and June. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for example, saw his fortune increase by $12 billion between March 18th and June 17th this year, enough to cover New York’s entire budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year. This widening gap between the rich and the rest of us is why NYSNA is joining with union and community advocates throughout New York state to demand that the super-rich pay their fair share for New York’s recovery, including raising taxes on people making over $1 million, taxing second homes for the super-rich, closing the carried interest loop hole, and cutting subsides to large-scale real estate developers. These proposals would not only generate billions in revenue and avoid cuts to vital services, but
we could finally start to reverse a generation of skyrocketing income inequality and clear the way for even bolder policies, including the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act and the New York Health Act. The state’s millionaires and billionaires used to pay a much larger share of the taxes that funded our healthcare, schools, and the services we all need, and they can do it again. New York is at a crossroads unseen in generations. We can watch as billionaires trample on the lives of millions of New Yorkers, at the cost of untold economic hardship and suffering to working New Yorkers. Or we can reject austerity, and make the super-rich finally pay their fair share so we can rebuild a caring economy that meets the needs of all New Yorkers. As nurses, our choice is clear. NYSNA is going to stand united, and fight back against the cuts threatening our livelihood and the health of our communities.
By Pat Kane, RN, NYSNA Executive Director
NYSNA nurses are urging the state to raise new revenue by taxing the rich.
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Brooklyn Breakthrough !
Three hospitals moving to reusable respirators
Switching to elastomeric respirators can reduce PPE expenses more than 10 fold each month!
Image of an elastomeric respirator $40, lasts for thousands of patient encounters
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or months, NYSNA has been pushing hospitals around the state to move to reusable respiratory protection, including powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs) and elastomeric respirators, to address the continued shortage of singleuse N95s and other disposable PPE. Our organizing is finally paying off with our first breakthrough in Brooklyn! At the end of July, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center announced plans to provide reusable elastomeric respirators to all hospital staff, and fit-testing has already begun. Immediately following the news, Interfaith Medical Center, also a part of the One Brooklyn Health System, made a similar announcement. Respirators are scheduled to arrive the first week of August.
Nurses see need for reliable, reusable PPE
Image of an N95 $5, good for 1 patient encounter Costs up to $150/day treating COVID patients
On August 5, NYSNA members at the Brooklyn Hospital Center joined New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at a press conference announcing a pilot project that will bring 300 elastomeric respirators to frontline healthcare professionals at their hospital. “We are now preparing for a possible second wave, and we need to do it right,” Williams told
the press. “We need to provide frontline health care workers with reusable PPE that is effective and protective.” Tansia Freeman, an Emergency Department nurse at Brooklyn Hospital echoed these sentiments. “The first surge was a bad dream, and we need to be prepared for
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, speaking at a August 5 press conference in front of Brooklyn Hospital.
COVID-19. In a letter to city and state officials Williams pointed out: Judy Johnson, an RN at Rutland Nursing Home, is fitted for an elastomeric respirator. Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, which operates Rutland Nursing Home, is providing reusable respirators to all hospital staff.
another one,” Freeman said. “RNs are still on the front lines, doing what we do best. We need the best PPE possible in order to do it.” The Brooklyn Hospital pilot project was spearheaded by a coalition including NYSNA, the NYC Public Advocate’s office, physicians from Brooklyn Hospital and the non-profit organization COVID Courage. Physicians at the hospital had obtained a small number of elastomeric respirators during the COVID-19 surge, and found them more comfortable when used for long periods of time, compared to the N95s. The doctors also felt that it lessened their risk of contracting the virus.
Public Advocate pushing for reusable equipment
Nurses at the Brooklyn Hospital Center speak out in support of the pilot project.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is pressing both the city and state Departments of Health to make reusable elastomeric respirators part of New York’s preparedness plan for a resurgence of
“The order for every healthcare facility to have its own 90-day supply of PPE poses extreme challenges. Hospitals will stock according to rationing protocols that allow for limited distribution of PPE among healthcare workers and extended use of N-95, rather than stocking to levels that would provide adequate coverage and safety for all healthcare workers. “We urge you to include and promote the partial replacement of N-95s with durable and sustainable reusable PPE for our frontline health care workers in city and state-level procurement initiatives.”
We can’t let this happen again On August 5, NYSNA member Pat Mitchell, a MICU nurse at Brooklyn Hospital, said expanding this program is a top priority. “Nurses showed up during the crisis and we were given one N95 and a brown paper bag. We cannot have a repeat of the first wave, when we did not have adequate PPE to keep ourselves, our patients, our families, safe. This pilot program could help us solve one part of the PPE problem by providing reliable, reusable respirators for RNs, limiting needless exposures and even deaths. We need this now.”
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Outrage at Northwell LIJ Valley Stream
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n August 12, more than 100 nurses, elected officials, community, labor and religious leaders gathered in front of Northwell LIJ Valley Stream hospital to picket and put forward their demands: safe staffing, respect for COVID nurse heroes, and equitable treatment for patients in the Valley Stream community. “The COVID-19 surge was a terrible time, but also a time when nurses felt celebrated. There are still signs everywhere in the hospital: heroes walk these halls,” said NYSNA Board Member and LIJ Valley Stream nurse, Yasmine Beausejour, RN. “We just want Northwell to mean what they say. If you believe we’re heroes, treat us like heroes. Bargain a fair contract that respects our work and our sacrifice. Guarantee safe staffing in our contract, so we can deliver quality care to all of our patients.” The event began on a somber note with a prayer for a LIJ Valley Stream nurse who is in the ICU with
COVID-19, as well as a nurse from Syosset Hospital, who lost her battle with COVID on August 9. Several elected officials came out in support of NYSNA nurses, including Assembly Member Michaelle Solages, Assembly Member Taylor Darling, and State Senator Kevin Thomas.
Should never happen again The Valley Stream community was hard hit by COVID-19, including 44 LIJ Valley Stream nurses who fell ill with the coronavirus— fully 20% of NYSNA members at the hospital. During the COVID-19 surge, nurses were working under incredibly stressful and hazardous conditions. Due to the influx of coronavirus patients and nurses falling ill, staffing in the ICU and the Emergency Department was dangerously low, provoking serious concerns for quality patient care. There were instances in which an ED nurse cared for eight patients at once and one ICU nurse cared for four patients. There were so many patients that intubation was carried out in triage.
These are the conditions experienced in the first surge of the pandemic that nurses say should never recur. What’s more, nurses disparaged the discriminatory treatment Northwell administration gave to nurses and their patients these past months. “We’re out here today because nurses are still struggling. We had
NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane, RN, picketing with LIJ Valley Stream nurses.
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Speak out at Hudson Valley Hospital
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ecently hospital management at NYP-Hudson Valley Hospital awarded themselves and non-union staff a raise—the second in 18 months. NYSNA members spoke out on July 30 against management’s prolonged campaign of disrespect. These are members who battled the coronavirus—losing a nurse to the virus—and who have negotiated a first contract in good faith. The corporate parent was recently ranked as the #4 hospital in the nation. Below are the comments from two nurses whose determination is truly extraordinary. “As RNs at NYP/Hudson Valley Hospital, we pride ourselves on providing the community with excellent nursing care. In our contract, we are seeking to uphold that practice, while advocating for additional staffing and a way to hold NYP accountable for the staffing issues that are central to our ability to be patient advocates, which our RN licensures require.
“We were looking forward to our scheduled bargaining sessions in March, but as our hospital and the rest of the state were ravaged by COVID-19, our staff focused all of their energies on caring for our community during this pandemic. At the peak, our community hospital was at almost at 120% capacity, with an overwhelming majority of patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
We are united as frontline nurses “Many RNs were working in areas outside their practice; there were concerns over the reuse of personal protective equipment and of course the fear that due to conditions we would not be able to give the excellent care we have always given at our hospital. We were also
in fear for our own health and the health of the families to whom we returned home to after work. During these long and trying months, many RNs became ill themselves and sadly some staff members even succumbed to the virus. As RNs, we remained united and continued to give the best patient care to our ability; we also relied heavily on each other to navigate this pandemic. As frontline healthcare professionals, I have been moved by our strength and perseverance. “We are now asking that NYP address ongoing issues and settle a fair contract with the RNs so we can refocus our energies on the anticipated second wave of COVID-19.”
“It is now more important than ever that the nurses at Hudson Valley Hospital receive a fair contract negotiation. The delay is wrong. A second pay increase was withheld from us recently—one handed out to everyone at the hospital, except for nurses. These frontline caregivers deserve job security and protections. They were here during the worst of the pandemic, giving their all to provide care to any and all who entered the hospital. They deserve a fair contract.” –Rosa Tyo, RN
“I was a vocal and outspoken nurse for my unit but was wrongfully terminated by NY-Presbyterian just as the peak of the monstrous pandemic was arriving in mid-March. I have a pending hearing at the National Labor Relations Board which already has ruled in my favor once, finding that I was in fact wrongfully terminated. I expect to be reinstated. If we had a contract at Hudson Valley Hospital, I would still be working with my OR family.” –Sue Beck, RN
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Nurses join national action for black lives
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n July 20, NYSNA nurses joined tens of thousands of fast-food, ride-share, nursinghome and airport workers in more than 25 cities across the U.S. for a day of action billed as a “Strike for Black Lives.” For those who could not walk off the job, activists made sure to stop and kneel in solidarity for over eight minutes - the amount of time Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin had the full weight of his body on George Floyd’s neck when he killed him May 25. Floyd’s death has sent shockwaves the world over.
Racial and economic justice
(Above and below) Essential workers link racial justice to economic security
Participants demanded that corporations and governments recognize that “Black lives matter”. They also called on elected officials at every level to use executive and legislative power to pass laws that guarantee people of all races a society in which all can thrive. Protesters recognized the connection between racial and economic justice, calling for higher wages, support for workers unionizing their workplaces, and the need for better healthcare, sick leave and childcare support. At the Manhattan rally, nurses also linked the calls for racial justice to the continued exploitation of essential workers of color, who continue to experience PPE shortages, are often excluded from hazard pay and COVID sick leave provisions, and face retaliation for union organizing. NYSNA nurses called for passage of the federal HEROES Act to address these interconnected
Eric Adams, Brooklyn Borough President stood with workers pushing for racial and economic justice on July 20.
crises for workers. “Essential workers—and all workers—must be protected from the virus, from the economic crisis and from the racial inequities that have dominated our nation since its inception,” said NYSNA President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN. “Passing the HEROES Act is one small step, but the challenges we face require a sea change, one that will dramatically alter the way we function as a nation, so that it will truly stand for justice for all.”
NYSNA takes action across NY Members at 11 hospitals participated by holding simultaneous moments of silence at 12 noon, including Rikers Island, Jacobi Medical Center, St. John’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Bellevue Hospital, Ellis Hospital, Interfaith Medical Center, Woodhull Hospital, Montefiore, Harlem Hospital, and Lincoln Hospital. Many nurses also joined a rally in front of the Trump Hotel in Manhattan. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the American
Federation of Teachers, United Farm Workers and the Fight for $15 and a Union, which was launched in 2012 by American fast-food workers to push for a higher minimum wage, also joined the action. Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, a strike organizer with the Movement for Black Lives, said corporate giants that have come out in support of their movement amid nationwide protests over police brutality have also have profited from racial injustice and inequity. “They claim to support Black lives, but their business model functions by exploiting Black labor— passing off pennies as ‘living wages’ and pretending to be shocked when COVID-19 sickens those Black people who make up their essential workers,” said Henderson, co-executive director of Tennesseebased Highlander Research and Education Center. “Corporate power is a threat to racial justice, and the only way to usher in a new economy is by tackling those forces that aren’t fully committed to dismantling racism,” she said.
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With psych units closing, nurses speak out
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t the height of the COVID surge, psych and detox units around the state were converted to treat COVID patients. They now sit empty as the surge has subsided. However, these units have not been reopened. Many major health systems are using “COVID Surge Plans” to keep them closed, effectively denying inpatient mental healthcare to numerous communities. It's part of a longstanding effort by hospitals to shed their psych facilities, deemed a drag on the bottom line. The Berger Commission, committed to socalled “right sizing” hospital care, ushered in a decline in psych beds. By 2014, NY underwent a 20% reduction in inpatient psych beds. That trend has continued.
No place for vulnerable patients Lisa Landes, RN, formerly a psych nurse at Health Alliance Hudson Valley (HAHV) in Kingston, was one of 35 nurses who lost jobs in June, as the acute unit was completely shutdown. “Current events have exacerbated the unseen mental health epidemic, compiled with the closing of inpatient behavioral health beds. More than ever, behavioral health services are needed. To properly serve a community, we need the full spectrum of behavioral health services, i.e. inpatient, partial, and outpatient and other community services. To remove or decrease access to these services is detrimental and dangerous.” Less profitable psych and detox care are becoming unavailable to a vulnerable patient population, while lucrative surgical services are reopening. The COVID-19 pandemic and the related economic fallout will undoubtedly increase the need for inpatient psych services, and advocates are concerned that these services will not be there at the very time community need is mounting. These closures represent a longtime pattern of fewer beds, centralization of care away from communities and, ultimately deinstitutionalization. NewYork- Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital eliminated
Irving Cooper, RN, NYP Methodist
50 beds. Hospital administration claims that half of the psych beds will be closed for 12-18 months, and the remaining 25 beds longer. “All government and health experts have pointed to the need for increased psychiatric beds and services as we see a dramatic increase in anxiety, depressive disorders, suicidality, domestic violence and substance use disorders. Our patients, many who are from the community and neighboring underserved communities are being transported from our emergency rooms elsewhere. Here at their local hospital we have built trust and confidence with the healthcare team,” said Irving Campbell, RN, Methodist Hospital. “We are seeing many of our patients in the streets in acute state when they should be receiving care in the hospital. Many are remaining in the ER for lengthy periods of time and then discharged back out without services.”
Emergency rooms no substitute “Since COVID 19 restrictions have been lifted, there has been an increase in psychiatric visits to HAHV ED,” said Deborah Barton, RN. “Patients had been afraid to come to the hospital and are now experiencing distress and bothersome symptoms such as increased anxiety, depression, and loneliness, from a lack of follow up health care as a result of months of home isolation. I’m advocating for the
entire Ulster County community, especially the underserved populations, and the need for return of psychiatric and detox inpatient beds to HAHV. Now Ulster County, population 200,000, has no inpatient psychiatric care.” Barton says that HAHV patients are mostly being transferred out of the area to Westchester Medical Center, a disruption in continuity of care and resources for discharge planning as well as the ability for family participation and support in the healing process, all critical in psychiatric care.
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[I]n the climate of COVID, issues have been magnified due to stay at home orders, closing of businesses, self-isolation, loss of income, savings dwindling, food issues, unable to fill prescriptions, self-medicating, shortages of various products in stores and supermarkets, lack of socializing, bills piling up, depression rates increasing, overdoses and related deaths are increasing, and the list goes on….” Lisa Landes, RN, former psych nurse at HAHV
Many end up in jail Nurses from NYSNA and mental health advocates from National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) are speaking out to protect patients and to say to hospital systems: stop exploiting COVID care to shutter psych and detox services. In NYC, over 50% of 911 mental health callers end up in the hospital, and many wind up in correctional facilities. “What has truly outraged me is the blatant disregard for black and brown incarcerated individuals with serious mental illness by the providers who are entrusted to deliver their care,” said Alicia Butler, RN, Rikers Island. “The quality of care is subpar and irresponsible. This is unacceptable and has become a personal fight for justice for me.”
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Community psychiatric units need to be reopened. Healthcare needs to be provided not just to the highly insured outpatient surgery patients but to all patients. Lives are being lost. We are an essential part of the local healthcare web. Our commitment as nurses and professionals is to provide care that is needed. This is a crucial societal bedrock of health. We are tasked to advocate for our patients and we will endeavor to so. Larry Wills, RN, Syosset Hospital
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Saving Mount Vernon Hospital
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“They are not treating us fairly, not treating the community fairly. We need justice,”
Kameisha Brown, Mount Vernon ICU nurse
ust weeks after COVID19 peaked in Westchester County all signs indicated Montefiore Medical System was moving forward with plans to shutter Mount Vernon Hospital (MVH). Some 1,400 COVID-related deaths county-wide had not been persuasive. The ICU was now on the chopping block and 16 nurses were to be laid off. The nurses learned the news on Facebook. This was a particularly devastating blow to a community hit hard by COVID. There were 2,700 cases in Mount Vernon alone, and Mount Vernon Hospital was the area’s only full-service facility. The nurses at MVH responded swiftly with strong support from the community. On July 8, a car caravan and rally sounded the cry to #SaveMVH with State Senator Alessandra Biaggi and NYSNAendorsed Democratic nominee for Congress, Jamaal Bowman, committed to attend.
Undermining a vulnerable community Montefiore had announced its pending shutdown in October 2019, facilitated by $41 million from the NYS Department of Health. In the wake of COVID, staff and the public – who had not been consulted about the MVH closure—were hoping for a sea change. Instead, Montefiore has left them wondering: who will tend to the health of the community? Where will patients go if COVID makes a comeback? “They are not treating us fairly, not treating the community fairly. We need justice,” said Mount Vernon ICU nurse Kameisha Brown. Mount Vernon is a dense community with 70,000 residents, 65% percent of whom are Black and 16.5% Latino, a majority-minority community, especially vulnerable
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joins nurses in a rally to "Save Mount Vernon Hospital".
to the threat of COVID. Nearly 15 percent of all residents live in poverty. Mortality rates in the black community are high. Montefiore is seemingly indifferent to the challenges of a community already battling for better health, and has offered as an alternative to MVH an off-campus Emergency Department.
The undermining of public health began in Mount Vernon in 2017, when the Bronx-based Montefiore acquired MVH, and initiated a prolonged campaign to take apart the hospital.
Montefiore's broken promises Thirty years ago, MVH was a full-service hospital, Med-Surg
"This is the worst possible time to be shutting down intensive care units. This is the problem with a health care system that values profit over human lives – particularly Black lives," said Jamaal Bowman, Democrat candidate for US Congress.
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nurse Bernetta Urquhart said. “Obstetrics, cardiology, pediatrics, oncology, we had it all. You name it, we had it. But over the years, I’ve seen all the services stripped away.” “When Montefiore took over,” said Urquhart, “they promised to bring specialists and diagnostics to the hospital to make MVH more feasible and tempting for the community. But all they did was change some light bulbs, make some small changes, that kind of thing. They did not embrace us.” What’s more, said Urquhart, “if Mount Vernon patients need to be transferred to more specialized care, Montefiore often doesn’t accept their insurance.”
Sacrificing patient safety Montefiore claims the ICU closure is a result of “underutilization” by the community. The lack of investment made “underutilization” a self-fulfilling prophecy. The health needs in the Mount Vernon community haven’t gone away. It’s quite the opposite— they’ve increased. With the ICU shuttered, any patient needing surgery or admission will have to go to Montefiore New Rochelle, three and a half miles away. “By the time a patient gets to New Rochelle, they could bleed out or have a cardiac arrest,” explained Urquhart. “The time is a big issue. This change is not about the umbrella of ‘do no harm,’ patient safety first. It’s about money.” “Some of our patients need dialysis, have diabetes, or need cardiac care, and are emergency cases,” added Brown. “The ICU is essential to the community.”
Winning progress against closure plans The community needs and deserves a fully functioning hospital. That means restoring alreadyclosed units, implementing safe staffing, and making meaningful and sustained investment in MVH. Two days after NYSNA’s first rally, Montefiore agreed to rescind the layoffs of the 16 nurses. Having successfully beaten back the layoffs, nurses and supporters held another rally. On July 19, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and NYS Senator Jamaal T. Bailey spoke outside MVH.
State Senator Alessandra Biaggi also questioned State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker about the closure of Mount Vernon during a hearing in August.
Stalwart supporters Alessandra Biaggi and Jamaal Bowman were also there. “In the face of the greatest public health crisis we’ve had in 100 years, where it has deeply impacted the Black community, you do not close down hospitals and restrict access to healthcare,” said Senator Schumer.
Closures are a statewide crisis Montefiore said it was reconsidering the ICU closure, though nothing official has been announced. Without a doubt, reversing the layoffs and potentially halting the ICU closure are wins. But Mount Vernon nurses know that they need to press on. Their slogan—“save MVH”—now includes “transform MVH”. The campaign to save MVH is part of a larger effort against closures. In New York City, as a result of dozens of mergers and closures in New York City in the past decade, the outer boroughs that saw the most coronavirus cases also had the least bed capacity. While Manhattan has 5 hospital beds per 1,000 patients, there are only 1.8 per 1,000 residents in Queens, 2.2 in Brooklyn and 2.4 in the Bronx. It’s part of a plan around boosting revenue at rich hospital sys-
tems. When the richer hospital systems consolidate to make more money, they leave struggling safety net and public hospitals to care for low-income patients. The areas abandoned by wealthy hospital systems include low-income communities of color, like Mount Vernon. When Medicaid dollars are reduced, there is even greater incentive for hospital systems to close community hospitals, dumping low-income patients from their portfolios. The result: so-called “healthcare deserts.”
Moratorium on closure and more The progress in stopping the RN lay-offs and impeding the ICU closure at Mount Vernon demonstrates how nurses joined by community advocates have the power to protect critical healthcare services. What’s next? Nurses see that a moratorium on hospital closures must be passed on the state level, as well as reversing cuts to Medicaid. Ultimately, a single-payer system will alter the dynamics away from a profit-making system to one all about patient care. Whenever a unit or hospital is threatened with closure, nurses, coworkers, the community, and allies banded together can turn the tide.
Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard joined rallies to keep MVH open.
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ECMC RNs demand safe staffing
E Outrage at Northwell LIJ Valley Stream Continued from page 5
such a difficult time during the pandemic and we’re still struggling—for PPE, for basic supplies, for safe staffing, and for respect,” said Lydie Alexandre, RN, cochair of NYSNA’s Executive Committee at LIJ Valley Stream. “We are not a demographic. We are human beings. All nurses and all patients deserve to be treated with dignity and respect—and that’s the message we’re sending Northwell today.”
Nurses demand that every patient receive the best care “There’s a feeling Northwell doesn’t value this community,” said Sandra Marion-Armstrong, RN, Grievance Chair at LIJ Valley Stream. “When we’ve asked the hospital to invest in upgrades and safety protocols like at other Northwell facilities, they say they can’t. They say ‘the demographics put us where we are.’ What they are really saying is that the wealthier, whiter patients they serve at other facilities on Long Island deserve safer staffing and better infection control than our patients. I find that sentiment despicable. It goes against our principles as nurses who value every patient, and it should go against the principles of every healthcare institution.”
rie County Medical Center and Terrace View Long Term Care in Buffalo were hit early and hard by the COVID-19 crisis. By early June, the COVID case load was way down, along with the rest of the census. ECMC instituted sweeping staffing cuts, which impacted other members of the healthcare team, but not NYSNA nurses due to our layoff protections. However, those cuts have still reverberated, impacting nurse practice and safe patient care, along with other short-sighted decisions ECMC has made.
Staffing is still the issue At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses were not fully staffed. There were dozens of vacant positions, including positions that ECMC/TVLTC nurses won in their last contract yet to be filled. Inadequate staffing hindered the response to COVID19 and left more nurses sick and burned out at surge’s end. The vacancies may have insulated nurses from the sweeping staffing cuts at ECMC, but the fact is, nurses are still working short or at the bare minimum of what staffing levels should be. With the COVID surge over, nurses are demanding that ECMC turn its attention to safe staffing. “June is beginning of trauma season, so as a Level I Trauma Center, safe staffing is essential right now,” explained ER nurse Lona Denisco, RN. “We are feeling the loss of ancillary staff, who usually help with triage, charting and labs. Now nurses are running, doing extra tasks, and terrified something will happen to our patients.” It did not help that ECMC opened a new, expanded 65-bed ER on June 2 without hiring enough nurses. NYSNA nurses had warned for months that adding another 20 beds and radically changing the layout of the ER without adding more nurses would negatively impact patient care.
Med-Surg feels the heat The ER is so overwhelmed with patients that nurses from MedSurg are being floated down on a
ECMC nurse Lona Denisco, RN spoke out on the news in spring about the need for better PPE.
regular basis to help out in the ER, without adequate training. The ER nurses are thankful for the help but want to see ECMC focus on hiring, training, and retaining ER nurses. Floated Med-Surg nurses are also caring for patients in the old ER, which has become a makeshift Med-Surg unit for overflow patients. The unfamiliar layout, charting and equipment makes it harder for nurses who are floated down to manage care for patients. Instead of hospital beds, patients remain on stretchers. With too few nurses, there have been backlogs of patients waiting to be admitted, causing concerns about delays in care. At one point, there were patients languishing in the hallway. “The hallway patients may have only happened once, but even once is one time too many,” said MedSurg nurse Dylan Deabold, RN. “Patients can’t be provided the dignity and privacy they deserve under those conditions.”
Nurses take action Nurses spoke up right away about the understaffing that was threatening quality care. In the ER nurses called an emergency
meeting with Administration and Department Heads to voice their concerns and demand more nurses be hired. “They made 14 new hires in the ER and we’re looking at adding another 6 agency nurses,” said Denisco. “We also need support and mentorship for new nurses, so we implemented a staff retention team that includes NYSNA nurses and managers. At the end of the day, we all want a better ER and better staffing.” In Med-Surg, nurses also held an emergency meeting about staffing. In an unprecedented move, 12 unit managers, concerned about the risk to their staff’s licenses, got together and signed a Protest of Assignment (POA) about unsafe staffing levels. “When you’re not hiring in the ER and you’re pulling Med-Surg nurses down there and off our unit, you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul,” said Deabold. “We need to continue to push for safe staffing throughout the hospital, in every unit, and for our ancillary staff to come back. I know we can do it, because NYSNA nurses at ECMC are strong, and together, we can do anything!”
“We need to continue to push for safe staffing throughout the hospital, in every unit, and for our ancillary staff to come back. I know we can do it, because NYSNA nurses at ECMC are strong, and together, we can do anything!” –Dylan Deabold, RN
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NYSNA presses for comprehensive covid response, safe staffing
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awmakers in Albany have only met sporadically since the COVID-19 pandemic slammed New York, but NYSNA continues to push our major legislative priorities. First and foremost, legislators need to take care of every essential worker who fell ill during the first wave, with adequate sick leave and workers’ compensation. New York must also prepare for a resurgence of the virus, securing adequate PPE for the frontlines, strengthening Department of Health infection control standards, and bolstering testing and tracing in hard hit areas. COVID-19 has also underscored the need for safe staffing and an expansion of our safety net infrastructure.
Testimony from the frontlines This month NYSNA brought these priorities directly to the New York State Legislature, testifying in a series of joint hearings to evaluate New York’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. NYSNA leader Judy Johnson, a nurse at Rutland Nursing Home, part of Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, testified at the August 3 hearing on COVID’s impact in long-term care settings. As Judy told the hearing: “I work on the most acute unit, caring for very sick people who are on chronic life support vents, with 30 beds. Our unit used to be staffed with 5 RNs at all times, but the ratio was recently worsened, with the RN staff mix now including 40% of LPNs. A similar thing happened on the step down units, which used to have 4 RNs for 34 beds, but also reduced the RNs by adding up to 40% LPNs. “On the regular units the situation was even worse, and there were no RNs assigned to direct patient care—the only RNs assigned to those units are the managers who don’t do direct patient care. RNs, and our LPN and Aide colleagues all work hard, but reducing staff is not helpful for maintaining the quality of patient care.” NYSNA also testified in midAugust hearings on COVID-19’s
In August, State Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assembly Member Richard Gottfried led a series of joint legislative hearings on the impact of COVID-19, starting with the effect on New York nursing homes.
impact on the state’s acute care hospitals, and the impact of COVID-19 on workers across the state.
Taxing the rich to raise needed revenue Although we have made some modest headway with the legislature this spring, including securing death benefits for essential public sector workers, and defeating an effort to undercut due process within New York’s RN licensing review procedures, the looming $13 billion budget shortfall has stalled progress
Staffing study overdue In July, NYSNA joined four other unions demanding that New York Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker release the study of health care staffing “enhancements and initiatives” that was mandated as part of last year’s state budget. The study was supposed to be released in December, but until August we hadn’t heard any updates from the Department of Health. During his testimony at the August 3rd Legislative hearings, Commissioner Zucker was pressed on the status of the staffing report and he reported that it would be released on Friday August 14th. The study was released at 7 PM Friday, and as the New York Nurse goes to press we are currently reviewing the 93-page report. We will be publishing a complete analysis in the next issue.
on most major legislation. Indeed, Governor Cuomo has said he may be forced to cut state spending by 20 percent if Congress fails to provide much-needed state and local aid. As nurses, we know that cutting Medicaid and other vital services at a time when New Yorkers are facing elevated risk for a second surge would be disastrous for the public’s health. This just underscores the need for lawmakers in Albany to reverse decades of tax cuts for the rich, and make corporations and the wealthiest New Yorkers pay their fair share.
Judy Johnson, RN is a NYSNA leader at Rutland Nursing Home in Brooklyn, part of Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. She testified in the August 3 hearings.
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Staff announcements NYSNA
would like to congratulate the following staff, who have been promoted into new roles thanks to their hard work and dedication to members. From successful contract campaigns, to organizing to reduce overcrowding in our hospitals, to winning family leave policies and fighting to save threatened Psych units, these organizers have proved themselves fighters for the issues nurses care most about. We’re excited to see what they can achieve for health justice and the nursing profession in their new roles.
Nancy Kaleda Deputy Executive Director
“My career has been dedicated to nurse power, nurse advocacy, and ensuring members and their families have meaningful health insurance and adequate retirement benefits.” Nancy Kaleda
Nancy Kaleda has dedicated 31 years to the members of NYSNA and to the growth and power of the union. Hired in 1989, her positions have run the gamut: from labor rep, associate director, Senior associate director, area director and, today, she holds the position of deputy executive director, second to executive director. “Working with Pat Kane is tremendously fulfilling. I cannot think of anyone more capable in these times of profound crisis.” Nancy is a long-term trustee on the boards of NYSNA pension and benefit plans, including: Methodist, Maimonides and New York-Presbyterian VEBA, RUMC Pension, NYSNA pension, NYSNA benefits, and she is the liaison and assistant plan administrator for NYC H+H tuition fund and childcare and elder care funds. Her knowledge of NYSNA—the many contracts, human resources, finance, administration and planning—is sweeping, with bargaining, organizing and mobilizing members under her belt. “My career has been dedicated to nurse power, nurse advocacy, and ensuring members and their families have meaningful health insurance and adequate retirement benefits,” she says. Over the years, she has been to every acute care hospital—public and private sector—on Long Island, in Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island and Westchester, wherever NYSNA members care for patients. Nancy traveled to all corners of New York State in service of NYSNA, from Erie County Medical Center, to Catskill Regional Medical Center in Sullivan County, to Watertown and to Somers Point, New Jersey. “The best time for me were the many years I worked with the nurses in H+H and Mayorals, who I so greatly admire.”
She has much gratitude and respect for NYSNA members on Long Island where, over the last five years, she worked as area director, bringing her expertise to the communities where she has lived her entire life. The NYSNA board of directors has her utmost respect. “They display fortitude and intelligence in the face of the most profound challenges. I am fortunate to serve under this distinguished body.”
Rachel Feldman Area Director–NY Presbyterian Rachel Feldman, recently promoted from Lead Program Representative to Area Director for NY Presbyterian members, originally hails from a union family in Michigan. She started out organizing low-wage, immigrant workers in Michigan and then worked for many years in community and faithbased organizing. Rachel made her way to NYSNA in 2017. As Lead Program Rep, she helped organize a system-wide campaign for paid family leave, achieve major improvements to staffing, and has been a crucial resource for nurses in contract negotiations. In her new role as Area Director, she’ll be pushing NY Presbyterian to prepare for a second wave of COVID-19, fighting to preserve mental health services at Allen and Methodist Hospitals, and building a pipeline of nurse leaders in NYSNA. “We’re a union that’s in the most important social movement fights
in the state while also advocating at the bedside for patients everyday. I am inspired by our nurses and their love for their communities,” she says. “NYSNA has the opportunity to transform healthcare for all New Yorkers and I’m excited for nurses throughout the NYP system to help lead that work."
Odetty Tineo Downstate Political Director, Political and Community Organizing Odetty Tineo has served the labor movement and NYSNA in countless capacities. She started her career in labor at 32BJ SEIU, first as a coordinator for their Youth Brigade and later leading efforts to organize non-union workers to join SEIU. She began at NYSNA in 2017 in Political and Community Organizing, where she helped lead the Save Allen Psych campaign as part of a fight against mental health closures that continues today. For the past two years, she’s been a rep with the NY-Presbyterian Columbia team, during which time she helped nurses negotiate their recent contract. Now she’s returning to PCO as Downstate Political Director, where she’ll support nurses by strengthening our political power. That means both advocating for policies backed by nurses in Albany, and organizing for power in hospitals and communities. “As frontline staff, nurses understand the healthcare needs of our communities and should be leading the efforts in reshaping our healthcare system,” she says. “I’m excited to be back in PCO as we build leaders within our political platform, including growing our membership, improving our contracts, and doing our part in fighting racial and social injustices.”
nysna in the house Glenn Bouldin Area Director–Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and New Jersey Glenn Bouldin’s experience in the labor movement is wide-ranging. His commitment to the values and goals of working people is deep in a career of almost 30 years. Glenn recounts his position with AFSCME Local 1707. Based in Albany, he traveled upstate New York organizing workers in
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daycare, the Head Start program and other human services programs. Later, he spent two years with 1199P in Pittsburgh. Back at AFSCME he was appointed Director of Organizing, Council 67. “Working for unions,” says Glenn, “is a chance to help someone every day. We need labor, more than ever, to build relationships with communities at the grassroots.”
The campaign to save Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn is a source of great pride to him. The campaign required all of NYSNA to succeed: hospital members, NYSNA Board Members and staff, as well as the community and politicians. “It was a fantastic team,” recalls Glenn. “It is not easy to build trust,” said Glenn, “but the relationship between NYSNA and Interfaith built that trust.” State’s North Country, Kristi was part of a working class, union, and immigrant household. She has a deep commitment to social, racial and economic justice.
Marlena Fontes Montefiore Area Director
Kristi Barnes Manager, Communications Dept.
Marlena Fontes has been in the labor movement for ten years. She began with the Committee of Interns and Residents, before becoming an organizer for 32BJ organizing airport workers for better wages and conditions. Marlena came to NYSNA four years ago, during which time she’s worked as a Program Rep for Montefiore Bronx Hospitals. Her proudest moments include working with Montefiore’s Contract Action Team and supporters to end hallway patients and overcrowding. “Organizing nurses is so important to me because they are the fundamental backbone of healthcare and one of the greatest driving forces in fighting against a profit-driven healthcare system,” she says. That spirit led to her promotion to Montefiore Area Director. Her vision is to build unity across the Montefiore system to improve conditions for nurses and patients, and to build nurses up as stewards for local and statewide issues. “We’re up for a big challenge when it comes to COVID-19, austerity, and structural racism and inequality,” she says, “But I believe the moment has never been better, in terms of the strength of the members and our leadership, to take on those fights and win.” Marlena does all this while being a mom to one-year-old baby boy Ignacio, saying: “I look forward to the day when all our families can all be together in the same room!”
Kristi Barnes has nearly 20 years of experience building the communications and strategic campaign capacity of advocacy and labor organizations. Before her promotion to Manager of the Communications Department at NYSNA in February, Kristi served as Communications Coordinator at NYSNA for nearly five years. During that time, she built out NYSNA’s digital strategy and was proud to work closely with nurses from the public sector to make their voices heard. Prior to joining NYSNA, Kristi served as Deputy Director and Communications Director of ALIGN, a New York based community and labor coalition. She directed multiple state and local coalition campaigns, and was proud to help drive ALIGN’s successes, including: winning greater transparency and a precedent-setting local hire program in the Superstorm Sandy rebuilding; winning greater accountability in corporate subsidies, as well as community benefits and a path to unionization in several large development projects; keeping NYC Walmart-free; winning a permanent increase in the City budget for home care services for low-income and undocumented seniors; and improving worker and environmental standards in NYC’s commercial waste industry. Born in Canada and raised mostly on the border in New York
Magda Guillaume Lead Representative–Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and New Jersey Ten-year NYSNA vet Magda Guillaume, BS, was appointed Lead Representative for the BrooklynQueens-Staten Island-New Jersey Team. She continues in the role of Rep at Maimonides, as well. For Magda there is a homecoming quality to her new job as she was raised in Queens. Prior to NYSNA, Magda was on a team organizing healthcare workers in the home care sector. Her first year with NYSNA was in the Organizing Department. After a year she transitioned to Program Representative with the Westchester Team. Her assignments at NYSNA have been many and include: St. Joseph Medical Center in Yonkers, Mount Vernon Hospital, New Rochelle Hospital and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. Magda thrives on the challenges her work presents. “To work in support of nurses today, to build the union and to use our voice in seeking social justice—all these efforts to fight for better conditions in our society and support equality are what I have always wanted to do,” she says.
St. Anthony’s RNs join the NYSNA family We are delighted to announce that the 100 nurses at St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick, New York have voted to join NYSNA. St. Anthony nurses contacted NYSNA at the height of the COVID-19 surge, when the urgency of protecting healthcare professionals' rights became more apparent than ever. Some of the top issues for St. Anthony nurses include a safe staffing model that takes into account patient acuity and gaining a greater voice in patient care decisions. They're also looking to protect and improve retirement benefits, and negotiate competitive pay that will effectively recruit nurses to the Warwick community. As St. Anthony nurse Victor Marceano, RN, says, "As nurses, we are an incredibly powerful force, and by joining NYSNA, we can collectively advance our profession. With our collective voice we can be more effective advocates for our patients and ourselves." They are excited to begin their campaign for their first contract, and to join our statewide movement for safe staffing and healthcare justice!
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Additional NYSNA endorsed Last month, we reported a short list of election night results. In this unprecedented primary election, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers voted by mail. The monumental task of counting absentee ballots left many races undecided in the days after June 23. Now, more than a month after the election, we have more substantial results to report. In more instances than not, NYSNA-endorsed candidates came out on top. As COVID-19 exposed the deep dysfunction of our profitdriven healthcare system, New Yorkers looked to nurses and the candidates we chose for solutions. Our votes and advocacy will help build power to achieve policies like safe staffing, universal healthcare, and a pandemic response informed by science and frontline workers. We hope that these nominees will continue on to Congress and the New York State legislature after the general election in November.
US Congress
Jamaal Bowman CD 16 NYSNA is excited to announce Jamaal Bowman’s historic victory in the primary for District 16 of the Bronx and Yonkers. In addition to being an ardent supporter of Medicare for All, Bowman has demonstrated that he shows up for nurses in times of crisis. In April, he joined our protest outside St. Joseph Medical Center in Yonkers, amplifying our demands for adequate PPE and a stronger federal response. In July, he spoke at two rallies defending Mount Vernon Hospital against Montefiore’s plans for closure. “This is the problem with a healthcare system that values profit over human lives—particularly Black lives” he said. ‘That’s why I’m standing with nurses who are fighting for justice and demanding that every possible medical resource be available for the people of Mount Vernon as we battle this deadly virus.” From fighting a rigged economy that sacrifices public health for profits, to advocating for safe staffing and healthcare justice, we can count on Bowman to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
US Congress
US Congress
Jackie Gordon CD 2
Carolyn Maloney CD 12
In Long Island, Army veteran and retired guidance counselor Jackie Gordon prevailed in the race to replace retiring Rep. Peter King, with 71% of the vote. In November’s general election, she’ll face NY Assemblyman Andrew Gabarino, the winner of the Republican primary for the district. We’re proud to offer our continuing support to Gordon, who has pledged to be a strong voice for nurses in Congress.
NYSNA endorsee Carolyn Maloney has been declared the winner in a tight race, gaining the most votes in a threeway contest. Maloney was the first woman elected to represent her district in 1992. She will continue to use her voice in Congress to advocate for greater health and safety protections, union rights, and for passage of the HEROES Act to address the COVID19 crisis.
Yvette Clarke CD 9 With absentee ballots tabulated, Yvette Clarke won the Democratic primary in her central Brooklyn district with 62.3% of the vote. She’s in a strong position to win the November general election, and we’re excited to support her continued advocacy for healthcare justice in the House.
Jerry Nadler CD 10 Rep. Jerry Nadler, running for reelection to New York’s 10th district, finished with a comfortable lead on Election Night. That lead was confirmed by absentee ballots, bringing Nadler to victory with 62% of the vote.
NY Senate Michael Gianaris SD 12 As Deputy Majority Leader in the NY State Senate, Michael Gianaris has been a steady supporter of the New York Health Act. That support was rewarded this primary. Election Night saw Gianaris with 74% of the inperson vote; absentee ballots brought it to an 86% lead.
Jessica Ramos SD 13 We’re excited to announce Jessica Ramos’ overwhelming victory, with 84% of the vote, in the primary election for State Senate District 13. As chair of the Senate’s Labor
Committee, she’s been a staunch defender of union workers, and an advocate for safe staffing and universal healthcare.
Julia Salazar SD 18 North Brooklyn’s Julia Salazar won her primary reelection bid with 76.78% of the vote. As a cosponsor to safe staffing legislation, she intends to continue fighting for universal healthcare and against destructive Medicaid cuts.
Diane Savino SD 23 State Senator Diane Savino has cosponsored legislation classifying COVID-19 as an occupational disease and rallied with NYSNA leaders for greater protections of essential workers. She won her primary with 72.3% of the vote.
Robert Jackson SD 31 Robert Jackson has been a voice in the State Senate for the New York Health Act and safe staffing, and joined numerous town halls with NYSNA during the COVID crisis. He is the winner in his primary with 76.7% of the vote.
Luis Sepulveda SD 32 This safe staffing and NYHA supporter won the primary election for State Senate District 32 with 52.9% of votes.
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primary winners Alessandra Biaggi SD 34
Ron Kim AD 40
Dan Quart AD 73
Alessandra Biaggi looks set to win a second term on the State Senate representing her Bronx and Queens district, with a formidable primary victory of 86.1% of votes. In addition to being a supporter of NYSNA-backed legislation, she’s been a vocal presence in our fight to save Mount Vernon Hospital from closure.
With all districts reporting, Ron Kim declared victory in his primary, winning 60.53% of votes. As one of the first politicians to sound the alarm about the crisis in long-term care, we expect Kim to continue to push New York State to prepare for an anticipated second wave of COVID-19.
Dan Quart has used his seat to advocate for safe staffing and the New York Health Act. In the wake of COVID-19, he’s advocated for frontline workers’ right to workers’ compensation when they’re exposed to coronavirus at work. Quart won with 65.96% of the vote.
NY Assembly Laura Jens-Smith AD 2 In Suffolk County, Laura Jens Smith declared victory with 78% of inperson ballots. Though some absentee ballots remain to be counted, it’s unlikely they would change her substantial lead.
Jeff Aubry AD 35 Jeffrion Aubry has served residents of District 35 in the Assembly since 1992, and looks set to continue, having won his primary election with 59% of the vote. With Aubry, NYSNA priorities like safe staffing and NYHA will be elevated in Albany.
Catalina Cruz AD 39 Catalina Cruz won a commanding lead in her Queens primary with 84% of the vote. Cruz has campaigned against cuts to healthcare, and insists that “universal, singlepayer healthcare can be a reality in New York.”
Diana Richardson AD 43
Amanda Septimo AD 84
Central Brooklyn’s Diana Richardson was the primary winner for District 43 with 67.11% of the vote. Since her initial election to the NY Assembly in 2015, she’s been consistently on the side of unions and working families, and we’re excited to see her continue that track record.
Amanda Septimo became the Democratic nominee for Assembly District 84 in the Bronx after her opponents were disqualified from the ballot. Septimo is a union organizer who has been a champion of the South Bronx, especially as it has suffered disproportionately from the effects of COVID-19.
Yuh-Line Niou AD 65
Karines Reyes AD 87
Yuh-Line Niou clinched victory in AD 65 with 56.77% of the vote. Niou has championed our priorities, from cosponsoring safe staffing, rejecting cuts to our lifesaving public services, and supporting healthcare for all. She’s also pushed for reforms to reduce the influence of corporate interests like insurance companies in Albany.
Before her election to the Assembly in 2019, Reyes was a leader in our union, serving as vice chair of the bargaining unit at Einstein Hospital. She’s since succeeded in bringing nurses’ issues to the legislature. Now, she’s won her primary victory with 78.9%, putting her on track to reelection in November.
Al Taylor AD 71 Al Taylor, running for reelection to Assembly District 71 with NYSNA’s endorsement, won 73.3% of primary election votes.
As COVID19 exposed the deep dysfunction of our profitdriven healthcare system, New Yorkers looked to nurses and the candidates we chose for solutions.
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Non-Profit US Postage Paid NYSNA
july/august 2020
131 West 33rd Street, 4th Floor New York, NY 10001
INSIDE
Hold the Date! NYSNA virtual CONVENTION 2020 October 20
Psych units closing, RNs speak out, p. 7
Convention education and orientation workshops start the week of September 14th so sign up today! Register online: bit.ly/2020conventionregistration
Saving Mount Vernon Hospital, pp. 8-9
Additional NYSNA endorsed primary winners, pp. 14-15