OCTOBER 2018
A NEWSLETTER FOR NYSNA RNs AT WESTCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER
Nurses Work Toward A Safer Workplace On Wednesday, August 8, an active shooter in Westchester Medical Center shot his terminally ill wife—a patient on 4N—and then himself. In the days after the shooting, more than half of the nurses at Westchester Med gathered together to process the incident and support each other. We had three straight days of LBU meetings, where nurses strategized about what went wrong and what we need to feel safe at work. What emerged from these meetings was a list of demands, some of them echoing demands we had been making of Westchester Med management for months and years. Nearly 1,000 nurses signed a petition listing our demands. We insisted—and were granted—a seat at monthly health and safety meetings, along with our union sisters and brothers from CSEA and CIR. We have actively participated in five meetings so far, and can report progress on many of our issues.
The long-awaited Visiting Policy is now in its final review and is already being enforced to control visiting throughout the facility on a 24-hour basis. Westchester Med has also increased security patrols on all units. “The Administration has also contracted with an outside security consultant group to update our safety protocols, physical security design and response procedures to critical incidents,” explained Juliane Hatzel, RN. “While this review will take time, the Executive Committee believes the future changes in procedure and design will address our current safety concerns and anticipate future issues. Our goal is to mitigate the risks potentially faced by patients and staff.” Claire Maggio, RN and Executive Committee President concluded, “Nurses deserve a safe workplace in order to deliver quality care. Please partner with security and make them aware of any issues you may be having. We encourage everyone to continue to express and document their security concerns with WMC security professionals and with NYSNA.”
The election results are in! Check out your new NYSNA Executive Committee members on the backpage.
WE ARE NURSES, WE ARE NYSNA!
Political Corner Building Nurse Power
vention on December 7 & 8. During the training, we got a hands-on lesson in solidarity when we traveled to Nyack to walk the picket line with NYSNA nurses at Nyack Hospital. A little rain couldn’t dampen our spirits or our voices as we joined our sisters and brothers to demand a fair contract that puts patients before profits. To watch news coverage of the rally, visit: http://bit.ly/nyacknurses.
Vote on November 6 The midterm elections will shape the lives of nurses, our patients and our communities for years to come—they’re just too important to sit out. Visit http://www.elections.ny.gov/ to find your polling site, learn about voting by absentee ballot, and more. Westchester Med nurses recently elected delegates to represent our hospital’s members within NYSNA. And on September 25, Westchester Med nurses attended our first delegate training in order to prepare for our voting and leadership role at the NYSNA Con-
COMING SOON: The October NY Nurse Special Edition Voter Guide contains more information, including a list of NYSNA-endorsed candidates in your area!
New Penalty Pay App! Nurses now have a new tool to win the penalty pay we deserve! NYSNA’s new Penalty Pay Mobile App documents your missed breaks and meal times—quickly and easily right from your phone! Your reports are then compiled automatically, in a form ready to be submitted to management or New York State. Talk to your Rep if you have any questions.
Try out the App today by visiting: https://app.nysnalabs.org
nn The first time you use the App, you’ll need to create an account. nn Login using your Member ID number on your new NYSNA ID card. nn Click Report Now to start using the Penalty Pay Reporter. nn Follow the instructions to add the App to your iPhone, so it’s easy to find it the next time you need it. Happy reporting and please send your feedback about this new service to data@nysna.org.
OCTOBER 2018
A Newsletter for NYSNA RNs at Westchester Medical Center
Know Your Scheduling Guidelines PENCIL SCHEDULE: 1. A pencil schedule will be placed on the unit a minimum of 6 weeks prior to the schedule start date to allow staff to enter time. 2. The pencil schedule will reflect any pre-approved Vacation time, Holiday Time and/ Education Time. 3. Any further requests for HT, MT, Education Time or Vacation Time must be requested on the appropriate “request for time off” form and submitted for approval. The approved slip will be returned to the employee. 4. Each FT, PT, and Agency Contract staff must fill in the pencil schedule by the due date posted on the pencil schedule, and identify their 13th shift. Per Diem and Agency Per Diem may place their availability on the pencil schedule. SCHEDULING RULES: 1. Each FT, PT, and Agency contract staff may place 6 requests numbered R1-R6 (most to least). There is no guarantee that all requests will be granted but, every attempt will be made to honor these requests. • Request may include school days, the day before/after an approved vacation. 2. Staff may be scheduled for up to 26 weekends during the calendar year. Weekends consist of Saturday and Sunday. If the employee wishes to split the weekend, the request must be accompanied by a letter stating that they are requesting a split weekend and voluntarily doing so. This will then count as a half weekend and not a full weekend worked. Requests in writing need to be submitted for each schedule. 3. Per diems will schedule for vacant shifts as per CBA language section 5.01. If additional shifts are requested and available, they will be granted after the posting of the schedule. BALANCING: 1. All staff should work cooperatively with their peers to submit a balanced schedule. 2. Please assign one shift as your 13th shift. If not identified, it will be assigned in order to balance the schedule. The 13th shift should be evenly distributed across the 4-week period. 3. The scheduler will initially balance the schedule in the following order: FT/PT staff first and then with Agency Contract and Per Diem staff to reach core staffing. If changes are necessary to balance the schedule the sequence for moving staff is as follows: agency, per diem, full and part time based on seniority. 4. If a shift needs to be filled the scheduler will look first to fill the shift with an employee who has not requested the day off. 5. In the event that a request needs to be denied to fill a vacant shift, consideration will first be given to the employee who has the most need (R1 as opposed to R6). 6. In the event that two people request the same shift with the same priority request (R1) the shift will be granted based on seniority. POSTING: 1. Changes to a posted schedule may only be done with a completed written request form approved by nursing leadership. This will be reflected on the posted schedule and/or weekly unit roadmap and communicated with the resource center for Kronos entry. 2. A shift vacancy grid will be posted on the unit for staff review within one week after the schedule posting date. Within 2 weeks after schedule is posted, Leadership will review vacancy grid and grant requests to work in the following order: • Any PT staff • Per Diem (non- OT up to 2 shifts per week) • WMC FT-OT staff • Per Diem - OT • Agency/Contract Agency - OT 3. Leadership will grant OT requests based on the above guidelines in a fair and equitable manner. 4. Shift changes should be made with the goal to remain budget neutral.
UPCOMING EVENTS
(For more information or to register, ask your NYSNA Rep)
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DELEGATE AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING PT. II
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MED-SURGE NURSING CERT. REVIEW
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MEDICAL MISSION TO VIEQUES, PR
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October 30, NYSNA WMC Office November 1-2, NYSNA Tarrytown Office November 7-13, Puerto Rico CRITICAL CARE NURSING CERT. REVIEW
November 14-15, NYSNA Tarrytown Office
SAVE THE DATE:
NYSNA Convention December 7 & 8 RSVP: mcp@nysna.org
YOUR NEW NYSNA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Claire Maggio, RN, President Nursing Operations David Long, RN, 1st Vice President CCU Debra Coyne, RN, 2nd Vice President 5N Zina Klein, RN, Grievance Chairperson Telehealth Corinne Noonan, RN, Grievance Co-Chair 4N Deb Cava, RN, Night Chairperson Nursing Supervision Jayne Cammisa, RN, Secretary NYSNA Release Time Representative
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS! Linda Adames
Gail Francis
Claire McGuire
Caitlyn Siebold
Panek Anne
Melanie French
Carmem Mirach
Judy St. Charles
Michael Barry
Amanda Gonzalez
Michelle Monaco
Ana Stanley
Roland Benson
Adam Hakaj
Liam Mullins
Sharon Stavola
Dominic Bueno
Tove Johnson
Danielle Pascarelli
Sarah Sullivan
Samuel Caetano
Anu Joy
Christopher Perez
Lindsay Nicole Torres
Robin Chacko
Kenisha Kennedy
Synthia Ridre Francios
Gabriella Valle
Alexis Collette
Joanna Krupa
William Roe
Sarah Ward
Alexandra Denis
Courtney Lane
Samantha Ruff
Kelly Young
Nicole Dimisko
Sean Maley
Mary E. Ryan
Kyla DiPippo
Alexandra Marraie
Christine Santana
Nathalieflor Flores-Feliciano
Dawn Mastrangelo
Shanna Schaeffer
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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