JULY/AUGUST 2018
A NEWSLETTER FOR NYSNA RNs AT WESTCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER
WMC Nurses Launch Penalty Pay Campaign Nurses went all out this state legislative session to improve conditions for our patients and for our fellow nurses. We rallied, we lobbied lawmakers in Albany and in district, we signed petitions and made phone calls, and we had a breakthrough! At the end of the session, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his support for safe staffing, and made a commitment to sponsor legislation and regulations setting safe staffing levels for nurses and caregivers in hospitals and nursing homes in early 2019. In the meantime, the Governor directed the State Department of Labor to strictly enforce existing state law that protects nurses from involuntary overtime and guarantees the right to penalty pay for missed meal breaks and extra hours worked. This announcement could not have come at a better time. Nurses in several units have been reporting an increase in mandation. “Across the board, we’ve been asking for staffing,” said Jared Birnbaum, RN, in the OR. “People are getting exhausted. If you work five days a week and you’re mandated three times in a week, it takes a toll. We’re doing something to document it and make sure we’re paid correctly.” According to our contract, nurses must be paid doubletime every time after the third time you are mandated to
work overtime. Some units have documented the extra time and have made sure payroll is processing it correctly for years. But now, buoyed by Governor Cuomo’s announcement, NYSNA nurses at Westchester Med are launching a campaign to thoroughly document and win penalty pay—including for missed breaks and meal times. Jared explained, “I think many managers realize we shouldn’t use mandation as a crutch for staffing, so we’re starting to see a concerted effort to fix the problem. We just hired four new nurses in the OR, and there are many more postings.” With this campaign, not only will nurses have one more piece of evidence demonstrating to hospital administrators and state legislators how understaffed we are, but we will have an avenue to win the penalty pay each nurse deserves. Talk to your Rep about how to document your time and the next steps in winning back your money and respect!
…I have directed the Department of Labor to vigorously enforce workforce protections. Reports of nurses being forced to work through lunch breaks, additional hours and without fair compensation are not only unwise, as it diminishes the quality of care, but they violate state law, which will result in penalty-pay to each nurse, and which I am directing the Department of Labor to aggressively pursue.” - Governor Andrew Cuomo, July 20, 2018
WE ARE NURSES, WE ARE NYSNA!
Shantelle Fleury, RN, a TeleHealth nurse explained, “I was part of the ground team that pioneered this program. It’s very different than bedside nursing and required a lot of training. Everyone involved from the administration on down is very passionate about what we do. We have highly educated nurses from different fields who all want the patients to get the best care possible. That is what has made us so successful. The awards come as a secondary bonus.” The eHealth ICU may be the smallest ICU unit at Westchester Med, but it serves more than 100 ICU patients a day, 24 hours a day at Westchester Med and on hospital campuses through the Hudson Valley.
Westchester Earns Excellence in eHealth
Although gaining in popularity, telemedicine programs are expensive to run, so many hospitals do not have them. Through partnerships with Westchester Med, smaller regional hospitals can access our innovative services and get our help in managing patients.
Westchester Medical Center’s Telemedicine ICU program, eHealth, was recently ranked one of the best in the nation for the third year in a row. Although the program only started in 2015, it has already gained national recognition for its quality of care, as measured by key ICU patient health indicators. The program has also grown beyond the ICU at Westchester Med and is now used by hospitals throughout the Hudson Valley.
“Other hospitals depend on the hard work that we do,” said Shantelle. “To all the nurses at WMC—we did this together. It’s not TeleHealth alone. We appreciate the nurses that respect us as colleagues and respect the work that we do. They are part of the reason that we are able to achieve the success we have.”
Political Corner
Nurse-Powered Union
Nurse-Powered Politics This year, nurse advocacy has cleared a path for safer staffing at Westchester Med and in all of New York’s hospitals (see cover story). To turn this momentum into real change, we need to elect more nurse advocates to office, who will champion safe staffing in early 2019. The primaries are fast approaching—Thursday, September 13—and the general election will be Tuesday, November 6. NYSNA’s endorsements in the Westchester area are in your August NY Nurse, and available on our website at: http://bit.ly/hvendorse2018 Nurses are already volunteering to elect two NYSNA nurses to office, Pat Kane, RN in Staten Island and Karines Reyes, RN, in the Bronx. Maybe we’ll see a nurse candidate from Westchester soon? Get involved and get out the vote this year! To volunteer to phone bank, canvas, and more for the #NYNursesVote effort, please visit: http://bit.ly/nynursesgotv
Nurses made progress this year on another front, strengthening our voice and democracy in our union. In July, we held elections for NYSNA Convention Delegates, 17 nurses who will attend NYSNA’s annual meetings and represent the interests of Westchester Medical Center nurses. The results of that election are on page nine in the June/July edition of NY Nurse, delivered directly to your home or available online: http://bit.ly/LHVJuneJuly2018 The next step is Delegate Training, which is open to all Westchester Med members. This two-part leadership training will be held on September 25 and October 30 in NYSNA’s Tarrytown Office. Westchester Med nurses hear from Shelley Mayer, who was elected State Senator in a special election on April 24, 2018.
JULY/AUGUST 2018
A Newsletter for NYSNA RNs at Westchester Medical Center
Know Your Contract: 9.01 Vacations with Pay (Annual Leave) A. Annual leave will be granted as follows: 1. An employee who is employed prior to April 1 will be entitled to seven and one-half (7½) working days (56.26 hours) vacation after six (6) months of service. 2. On January 1st an employee who has less than one (1) year of service will be entitled to fifteen (15) working days (112.5 hours) vacation after six (6) months service. 3. On January 1st an employee who has more than one (1) year of service will be entitled to twenty (20) working days (150 hours) vacation. 4. On January 1st an employee who has more than five (5) years of service, or during that year will attain the fifth (5th) anniversary of service, will be entitled to twenty-five (25) working days (187.5 hours) vacation. B. Annual leave should be used in the year it is earned; however, any employee may carry over seventy-five (75) hours for use into the next year. The Employer on an individual basis may approve time in excess of seventy-five (75) hours to be carried into the next year. Employees who do not submit schedules for using excess vacation time will be subject to having such time scheduled by the Employer. In no case will an employee lose accrued vacation time. C. The vacation period will be the entire year. D. Vacation time scheduling will be based on bargaining unit seniority. E. A maximum of two (2) weeks of any earned time may be taken from June 15 through September 15. During this scheduling period as stated in D, bargaining unit seniority will determine time granted. However, if extra weeks become available upon request they will be distributed in a fair equitable manner that would enable employees who were unable to be granted time off during this time period to have time off. F. An employee will not be denied a requested week vacation because a singular day is granted. G. The employer will make sufficient weeks available for the employee to take his/her full annual vacation entitlement each year. H. The Employer will make a reasonable effort to schedule a weekend day off prior to and following the approved vacation week. I. Scheduling 1. An updated Bargaining Unit seniority list will be posted on August 1. 2. A Vacation Grid divided by shift for the upcoming year will be posted on each unit by Sept 1. 3. RNs will work collaboratively from Sept 1 to October 31 to pencil vacation time they are entitled to for the year on the grid with the goal of achieving a balanced vacation schedule for the year that will enable all request to be granted on their unit. 4. Employees must submit initial vacation requests on a vacation request form by November 1 to use accrued time that will be available as of the following January 1. Vacation requests will be approved or denied in writing by December 1, and the final Vacation Grid will be posted by January 1. 5. If an employee notifies the Employer that he or she does not want to use previously approved vacation time, such time will be posted on the unit for seven days and employees can bid for that vacation time using bargaining unit seniority. Unless; an employee had during the original request period asked for the same time and was denied. In such case that previous request would be honored over bargaining unit seniority. J. In the calculating of the time allowed for vacations, intervening holidays shall not be considered vacation days. Annual leave is to be taken with departmental approval so as not to interfere with the operations of the department. K. Beginning January 1, 2017 Employees with one or more years of service who separate from employment will be entitled to a month to month payout of all accrued and unused vacation, including pro-rata vacation for the current calendar year payout. For example, a nurse with more than one year of service who separates on May 31st will be entitle to 5/12 of his/her annual vacation accrual, in addition to, all other such accrued and unused vacation.
UPCOMING EVENTS
(For more information or to register, ask your NYSNA Rep)
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MEDICAL MISSION & DISASTER RELIEF
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MEMBERSHIP MEETING (7-9AM & 12-2PM)
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MEMBERSHIP MEETING (6-8:30PM)
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CARDIAC SURGERY CERTIFICATION REVIEW
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LEADERSHIP TRAINING PT. I
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CHARTING WITH A JURY IN MIND
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LEADERSHIP TRAINING PT. II
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MED-SURGE NURSING CERT. REVIEW
September 4-14, Philipinnes Sept. 5, Taylor Care Conference Hallway September 19, Main Hospital Cafeteria September 20, NYSNA WMC Office September 25, NYSNA WMC Office October 15 NYSNA WMC Office October 30 NYSNA WMC Office November 1-2, NYSNA WMC Office
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Claire Maggio, RN, President Nursing Operations, 4N, 4S, 5S, 6S, 6N, 7S, 7NW, Burn Unit Jules Hatzel, RN, 1st Vice President PACU, Main OR, AMB SURG, Children’s PACU, Children’s OR, VIR, ENDO Debra Coyne, RN, 2nd Vice President CCU, Cath Lab, Heart Institute, MICU Zina Klein, RN, Grievance Chairperson EICU, PMR, CDU, ER, 3SW, Neuro ICU, NSDU, TICU David Long, RN, Grievance Co-Chairperson CCU, CCU,CTICU, 5 N, 7NE, SICU Jayne Cammisa, RN, Secretary & NYSNA Release Time Representative PICU, NICU, Peds 31, Peds 32, Outpatient Radiology, OPD, outpatient Transplant Coordinators, 2 South. L&D Deb Cava, RN, Night Chairperson Nursing Operations, BHC-A1, A2, B1, B2, B3
WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS Sean Carroll 4N
Steven Boursiguot 4N
Merlyn Rajan 6N
Michael Kiragu BHC
Danielle Lacey 4N
Jenna Butera NeoNatal ICU
Mark Miranda BHC
Ellen Timmer 2S
Lindsie Holmes NeoNatal ICU
Pascale Barthelemy 6N
Kaila DiDomenico 6N
GET ANSWERS/STAY IN TOUCH NYSNA WMC Office: Phone 914-493-8329, Fax 914-493-7175 WMC Health Benefits: 914-493-7144 or BenefitsHelp@wmchealth.org NYSNA Welfare Plan Benefits: 800-537-1237 or www.asonet.com SPAN: 800-457-7261 NYSNA Nursing Rep: Christine Laperche, RN, BSN, Cell 914-819-8513 christine.laperche@nysna.org
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