NY Nurse September 2013

New York

nurse september 2013

the official publication of the new york state nurses association

A movement is born

NYSNA nurses are building a movement to guarantee care for every New Yorker. Details inside.

Inside: Special NYSNA preconvention issue

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New York Nurse september 2013

2013 NYSNA election results

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We all face extraordinary challenges daily as we care for patients. Our union is becoming THE powerful voice of NY nurses, recognized by government and hospital CEOs. “NYSNA is a work in progress. It needs the active input of members to improve our working situations.

When nurses support a picket, lobby legislators, sign a petition, confront a bullying manager, or vote, we build our union and our strength.

Advocating for patients. Advancing the profession.SM

Board of Directors President Patricia DiLillo, MEd, RN First Vice President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, MSN, RN Second Vice President Marva Wade, RN

“It’s only through collective action that we can win legislated staffing ratios and make NYSNA meet our needs and protect our communities.”

– Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, NYSNA President-Elect

he NY Nurses for Staffing, Security, and Strength (S-3) slate has won election in all offices in the election for NYSNA officers.

This is the fifth time in the last two years that nurses have voted to support our union’s new direction. Members are standing together to make NYSNA one strong, united voice.

Candidates will be seated at the end of the NYSNA Convention, which will be October 16-18 in New York City.

Election results President: Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN First Vice President: Patricia DiLillo, RN Treasurer: Pat Kane, RN Directors at Large: Anthony Ciampa, RN Ingred Denny-Boyce, RN Grace Otto, RN Veronica Richardson, RN Verginia Stewart, RN Eastern Regional Director: Martha M. Wilcox, RN Southeastern Regional Director: Michael Healy, RN Western Regional Director: Pamela J. Kadish, RN

Secretary Anne Bové, MSN, RN, BC, CCRN, ANP Treasurer Patricia Kane, RN Directors at Large Anthony Ciampa, RN Ingred Denny-Boyce, RN, BSN, MSN Shirley Hunter, MS, RN Tracey Kavanagh, BSN, RN Colleen B. Murphy, MS, RN Grace Otto, BA, BSN, RN Sean Petty, RN, CPEN Karine M. Raymond, MSN, RN Veronica Richardson, RN Verginia Stewart, RN Regional Directors Southeastern Michael Healy, RN Western Gaen Hooley, BS, RN Southern Gwen Lancaster, RN Central Carol Ann Lemon, RN Lower Hudson/NJ Eileen Letzeiser, RN, BSN, MPH Eastern Martha Wilcox, RN Executive Editor Jill Furillo, RN Executive Director Editorial offices located at: 131 W 33rd. St., New York, NY 10001 Phone: 212-785-0157 x 159 Email: communications@nysna.org Website: www.nysna.org Subscription rate: $33 per year ISSN (Print) 1934-7588/ISSN (Online) 1934-7596 ©2013, All rights reserved

NY NURSE: SPECIAL PRECONVENTION ISSUE Join us at the NYSNA Convention, Oct. 16 - 18 in NYC. Register today using the form on page 15.

NYSNA awards NYSNA will honor members for their outstanding contributions to our practice and patient care at this year’s convention.

Do you know an outstanding nurse you’d like to nominate?

Go to www.nysna.org/awards to download a nomination form. Nominations are due by Wednesday, September 18.

CONVENTION PREVIEW

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Problem: NY healthcare in crisis

Solution: Make NYSNA stronger Healthcare for all

By Patricia DiLillo, RN, NYSNA President

New York healthcare is in crisis.

Hospitals are closing units and some are even shutting their doors.

Hospital administrators are forcing nurses to take on too many patients at once. In some hospitals, it’s getting to be a common sight to see patients waiting on gurneys for hours and hours – sometimes days and days.

All of these problems have one root cause: the people running our healthcare system want to run hospitals as a business.

Profits before patients

Hospital administrators are creating healthcare empires that are nonprofit in name only. Hospitals are locked into a technological arms race to buy the most expensive equipment and offer the most expensive procedures. And they are trying to eliminate care for “unprofitable” patients – like trauma victims or kids with asthma.

Just look at what’s happening at St. Luke’s.

Insurance companies have been making big profits for years.

Now they are trying to use the employer mandate in the Affordable Care Act to market inferior healthcare plans that don’t even include hospitalization!

New York State still doesn’t allow for-profit companies to run our hospitals. But Wall Street and out-of-state for-profit healthcare chains are knocking at the door.

Healthcare can be very profitable – but only at the expense of patient care.

Every New Yorker deserves access to healthcare – with safe RN staffing – where they live, whether or not they can pay, whether or not someone can make a profit off of their care.

This is what NYSNA is all about.

It’s our mission as a union and our mission as patient advocates to make sure every New Yorker has access to the care they need.

That’s why we fight for safe staffing. That’s why we fight to keep hospitals open in medically underserved communities. That’s why we fight to defend our public hospitals. That’s why we fight for a single payer system.

A work in progress

When I was elected president two years ago, NYSNA’s old rules prevented me and our other elected leaders from having any say over our union’s work. Thousands of us came together on May 17, 2012 and changed those rules. We made NYSNA a democratic union – and we have used our union to launch a powerful movement for healthcare for all.

But NYSNA is a work in progress. We have been held back by a union structure that divides our efforts. Here’s just one example: our critical work to protect nursing practice is divided into SIX different committees!

We are up against big companies with big bank accounts. If we are going to win healthcare for all and safe staffing, we have to bring together every resource we have.

We can’t be divided.

Our Board of Directors has reviewed our bylaws – the constitution of our union – and suggested some simple and straightforward changes to them that will make

NYSNA members are building a movement for healthcare for all New Yorkers. Pictured here, RNs and community leaders speaking out against cuts at St. Luke’s in Harlem.

NYSNA more united and more democratic.

Every NYSNA member will have the chance to vote on these changes at our convention, Oct. 16-18 in New York City.

In this issue

In this special preconvention issue of New York Nurse, our executive director, Jill Furillo, RN, gives an in-depth look at the forces behind the current crisis in patient care in New York and the challenges we face (see pages 4-7). Pages 8-9 lay out our agenda for 2014 and explain the bylaws changes we’ll be voting on at the NYSNA Convention.

Keep reading to find out what’s at stake – and how we can make a difference.

Fighting for patients in Harlem More than 100 nurses, patients, community leaders, and elected officials turned out for a NYSNA speak out in July to stop healthcare cuts in Harlem.

Continuum, the company that runs St. Luke’s Hospital, used Hurricane Sandy as an excuse to eliminate pediatrics and detox units in Harlem.

Now Continuum is merging with Mount Sinai – and threatening to eliminate the Level One Trauma Center at St. Luke’s.

Quality care for the people of New York is at the heart of our mission. Our demand is simple: we must have a voice and a say in all decisions affecting healthcare in our community. But our fight is tough: get involved in building a movement to win healthcare for all and respect for nurses.

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CONVENTION PREVIEW

New York Nurse september 2013

Healthcare in critical condition

by Jill Furillo, RN, NYSNA Executive Director

N A 2002 Duke University study found that patient

deaths spike when hospitals go

for-profit.

o one needs to tell a New York nurse that healthcare is in crisis in our state.

You experience it every day. Inadequate staffing. Service cuts. Units closed. Hospitals shut down. New Yorkers in need of care they can’t get.

The consequences are shocking – and dangerous. Some nurses have been forced to care for as many as 16 patients at a time.

NYSNA nurses are fighting to deliver the care New Yorkers deserve under safe and respectful conditions. Winning our fight depends on understanding what’s causing the crisis in healthcare, and responding accordingly.

The root of the problem

It is the drive for growing profits that has led to today’s crisis in healthcare. For-profit companies and providers receive the majority of healthcare dollars nationwide.

This is true even for nonprofit hospitals and even in states like New York where for-profit hospitals are legally forbidden (at least for now).

Hospitals spend much of their operational budgets on goods and services – like medical equipment and technology, facility maintenance and construction – that companies sell them. And, of course, all pharmaceutical companies, most insurance companies, and many physician practices also are for-profit entities making money on healthcare.

The results? A 2012 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimated that wasteful, unnecessary or fraudulent practices account for 47 percent of total healthcare expenses in the U.S. Yet for the last 40 years, since the introduction of HMOs in the 1970s, insurance companies and policymakers have promoted market-based approaches as the best way to deliver healthcare. They have pushed market “solutions” so

steadfastly that by now it’s common wisdom that this makes sense – even though it’s patently false.

Markets are about profit and loss. They are not about health or care.

As economist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman noted in 2009: “There are…no examples of successful healthcare based on the principles of the free market, for one simple reason: in healthcare, the free market just doesn’t work. And people who say that the market is the answer are flying in the face of both theory and overwhelming evidence.”

Under the market system, insurers have an incentive to get healthy people who need little care into their programs, to drop those with costly chronic conditions, and to build hurdles that make it harder for everyone to get care. That’s how they make money. Markets aren’t interested in the medically underserved or in rural areas where there’s little revenue to generate.

The results? In the face of public

Igniting a movement... ...Heroes in action NYSNA nurses responded to Hurricane Sandy with true heroism.

Without lights, elevators, or power, HHC nurses safely evacuated more than 1,000 patients. Not one patient was left behind. Not one patient died.

In the hurricane’s aftermath, hundreds of NYSNA nurses staffed emergency field clinics and went door-to-door in hard-hit neighborhoods, where we helped thousands of New Yorkers with urgent and unattended medical issues.

We called on city officials to do more – and to build our public healthcare system back in a way that guarantees care for every New Yorker. This fight continues.

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cuts, hospitals in low-income areas and upstate are chronically underfunded; people suffer.

The medical arms race

Many private hospitals are engaged in a medical arms race for a simple reason: advanced technology sells. The thing is, it also costs. Hugely expensive equipment leads to exorbitant bills, often with questionable health benefits. A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that men with low-risk prostate cancer are no better off if they receive IMRT and robotic surgery than are those men whose doctors advise watchful waiting.

The difference in results is in the price tag, in revenue for hospital and technology companies, not in health.

The difference is also in direct patient care. Hospitals across the country are cutting nursing staff to pay for the latest technology.

And administrators are demanding Continued on page 6

The open for care movement. Brooklyn is the epicenter of New York’s healthcare crisis – and the center of our growing movement to keep hospitals open for care. We demand a moratorium on all hospital closures and cuts until state officials can guarantee that every New Yorker will have access to quality care in our communities. Pictured here, protesting the planned closings of Interfaith Medical Center and Long Island College Hospital. On August 20, in a hopeful step toward keeping LICH open, a judge called the hospital’s refusal to accept patients “a travesty” of its mission and invalidated its sale.

...Beating the Wall Street takeover Wall Street and private equity firms tried to pass laws this year that would have let them run New York hospitals.

We made thousands of calls and brought busloads of nurses to Albany again and again and put a stop to that. Lawmakers killed every proposed bill allowing a Wall Street takeover of our hospitals.

A study published in Health Services Research found that the newborn mortality rate in Philadelphia temporarily increased by nearly 50 percent in the first few years after several obstetric units began closing.

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Healthcare in critical condition Continued from page 5

“Community Health Systems, Inc… affiliates own, operate or lease

135 hospitals in 29 states…

In over 55 percent

of the markets served, CHSaffiliated hospitals

sole provider are the

of healthcare services.”

– Homepage, www.chs.net

that remaining nurses spend more time completing electronic medical records than giving care.

Smaller hospitals are simply left out. They can’t compete with the newest technology and slickest ads.

And so they lose those patients who can afford the latest, even though that may not be medically necessary, or even best.

New York’s two-tiered healthcare system

The tale of two cities in healthcare in New York is not new. But the divide between the haves and have-nots in healthcare is growing to new proportions. And the consequences are stark. Hospital empires are catering increasingly to patients with the best insurance while they are offloading “unprofitable” patients with lesser or no insurance onto the public hospital system. Big chains collect handsome fees and use their revenue to consolidate and get even bigger: Public and safetynet hospitals – with their mission to care for every patient, regardless of their ability to pay – are left to struggle to care for more patients with fewer resources because of cuts in public funding.

This is particularly alarming given rising acuity. Studies show, and nurses know from their experiences every day, that many hospital patients are sicker today than they were in the past and their

care is more complex. Safe staffing requires lower patient-to-nurse ratios, not greater.

Is the market the solution?

Both the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the MRT (Medicaid Redesign Team) reforms in New York State rely on the “common wisdom” that competitive market forces will reduce costs, increase the availability of care, and improve quality and health results.

But we already know that this isn’t what happens. Market forces seek profit. And the ACA creates incentives for hospitals to merge and consolidate. And that, ironically, will undermine the very competition that market mechanisms are supposed to create to contain costs.

While the push for primary care and preventive care sounds like it will help promote greater health for all, the results are likely to be less positive. New and unregulated market forces will form as for-profit companies open medical practices, free-standing emergency rooms, MRI clinics, and other testing facilities. And bundled, or episode-based, payments for care will create incentives to provide less of the very care they are meant to yield.

If the problem is how to make more profit in healthcare, then the solution may be market based. But if the problem is making quality care readily available to all New

SAFE STAFFING

Yorkers, then it most definitely is not.

For-profit chains knocking at the door

For-profit hospital chains keep getting bigger nationwide, and New York is mighty tempting territory for them. New York State’s Medicaid reforms and proposed changes to Certificate of Need (CON) programs rely on market mechanisms and the profit motive to “fix” the healthcare system’s troubles. This year, we successfully beat back a bill in Albany that would have let private equity firms experiment on five New York hospitals. And we stopped a bill that would have let Wall Street and hedge funds take over SUNY Downstate and other Brooklyn hospitals. They will, no doubt, try again.

Without a fight, the results for New Yorkers will not be pretty.

Those with the insurance and resources to cover them will have ready access to costly care. Those without will go with less and less care as public hospitals have fewer resources to meet their essential mission of treating anyone seeking care. The consequences for nurses will be more patients, less time for quality nursing practice, and more administrative responsibilities like electronic medical record keeping.

Our union’s response

The drive to make money from healthcare hurts patients and

... United for strong contracts From Olean to Plattsburgh, upstate NYSNA members have built powerful movements to demand strong contracts that guarantee safe staffing.

We’ve united our communities behind the simple fact that every New Yorker deserves safe staffing levels when they go to the hospital.

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nurses alike. We all understand that healthcare in America is in trouble. Too many people go without care or don’t get the care they need because they don’t have the insurance or the money to cover the costs.

It’s the profit motive that’s fueling a lot of the rising cost of healthcare. The solution isn’t giving freer

rein to market forces; it’s putting people – patients and frontline providers, like nurses – first.

Changes in healthcare present us with the biggest challenges we’ve ever known. Everything we stand for – safe staffing, quality care for all New Yorkers, fair treatment and respect for nurses – is harder to accomplish in today’s environment

than it has ever been. We can’t just hope for the best. We are changing as a union to make sure we have the strength to win the healthcare that all New Yorkers deserve – the healthcare that recognizes and respects our essential role as nurses.

Turn the page for more on our agenda – and what it’ll take to build the strength to win.

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Everything we stand for is harder to accomplish in today’s environment than it has ever been.

We are changing as a union to make sure we have the strength to win the healthcare that all New Yorkers deserve.”

– Jill Furillo, RN, NYSNA Executive Director

...Rallying for respect On June 12, we joined thousands of New York City workers to rally for respect. And on October 17, we’re going back to City Hall to demand the respect nurses and our patients deserve. From Buffalo to New York City, anti-union politicians have our public hospitals in their sights.

RES PECT

The fight for safe staffing. On May 21, more than 1,000 NYSNA nurses came together in the largest action for safe staffing in New York history. We convinced a majority of members in the state Assembly to sign on to our safe staffing bill. The hospital industry fought back hard and blocked a vote. But we’ve made this the No. 1 patient care issue in New York State – and we will be back to fight, and win, another day.

Public hospitals don’t turn anyone away, ever. When it comes to healthcare, every New Yorker deserves that guarantee.

Illustrations: Rini Templeton

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CONVENTION member spotlight PREVIEW

New York Nurse september 2013

Making NYSNA one stro

Get involved!

Come to the NYSNA convention, Oct. 16-18 in New York City.

Register today using the form on page 15.

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ogether, we have set an ambitious agenda to keep building a movement for respect for nurses and quality healthcare for all New Yorkers.

We made important progress in 2013, but our fight is far from over.

Corporate interests and their anti-union allies in politics will keep coming after quality care for patients and the respect for nurses that we insist on.

Our agenda for 2014 1. Unite public and private sector nurses in a mass movement to win strong contracts.

A strong contract is the best way to guarantee quality patient care and to defend our practice.

2. Stop the Wall Street attack on patient care. Make no mistake; with hundreds of billions of dollars of hospital revenue at stake, corporate healthcare interests will be

back. And we will need to step up our work to stop them, again.

3. Pass safe staffing legislation.

We will triple our effort and be prepared to respond quickly to any legislator who tries to block vital legislation that would help patients.

4. Fight for a moratorium on all hospital cuts and closures. Many rural and urban safety net hospi-

tals are struggling. And even some profitable private hospital chains are trying to cut care for “unprofitable” patients. The New York State Department of Health is supposed to protect patients – instead it is rubber-stamping these cuts.

We will keep building the movement to keep hospitals open for care. And we will join with other unions, community groups, and elected leaders to fight for a single-payer system that guarantees healthcare for all New Yorkers.

Toward a more perfect union

Remaking NYSNA

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ver the past two years, we have transformed NYSNA into a democratic and active union. In 2012, thousands of us voted to eliminate “insulation,” a policy that prevented NYSNA members from exercising any control over our union. We passed a series of democratic changes to our union’s bylaws that give us the power to elect a Board of Directors that has direct control over the policy of our union.

But there’s more to be done.

Transition Task Force

Our convention is where members set the direction for our union. Above, NYSNA elected leader Marva Wade addressing the Voting Body last year.

The Board of Directors created a Transition Task Force – made up of elected board members, other NYSNA leaders, and legal counsel – to review our bylaws, our union’s constitution, and recommend changes to help us build power for nurses. NYSNA’s bylaws, for instance, establish more than 10 different committees, councils, and working groups that have to be permanently staffed and headed up by groups of nurses. Each of

these committees is basically on its own to set policy and carry out its work. Nursing practice, the core of our union’s work and mission, currently is divided into six different committees, which is senseless.

The Transition Task Force has drafted a series of changes to NYSNA’s bylaws. Our goal: to focus the structure of our union on our core work – collective bargaining, legislative advocacy, and nursing practice. The Board of Directors has voted to endorse these proposals.

Uniting NYSNA

The proposed changes to the bylaws would create three bodies to work hand-in-hand with our elected Board of Directors: The Council on Legislation is where nurse leaders will help craft NYSNA’s legislative strategy, including stopping the Wall Street takeover of patient care and winning safe staffing. The expanded Council on Legislation will actively coordinate this work with

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ong, united voice

On May 17, 2012, we voted to make NYSNA a democratic union – and we’ve used those changes to ignite a mass movement for safe staffing and healthcare for all. There’s more work ahead to unite our union and build power for nurses. It starts at the convention, Oct. 16-18. Join us!

our elected Board of Directors, our Political and Community Organizing Department, and our Political Action Committee.

The Council on Nursing Practice will be significantly expanded to bring greater focus to our work to defend nursing practice. The council will bring the work of six current committees together into one.

The council will work closely with the Nursing Practice Department to promote solutions to practice issues through on-the-job organizing, contract enforcement, and the application of existing regulations and legal statutes.

The Congress of Local Bargaining Unit Leaders is where member leaders from every facility will come together to share information, discuss strategy, learn from one another, and develop leadership skills. This will be a forum for NYSNA leaders to hear first-hand about what’s happening in our hospitals across New York and to work together to develop our response. Under our new bylaws,

There’s only one way to build a democratic union – and that’s to be an active part of it. There’s only one way to stand up to corporate healthcare – and that’s to stand together.

the Congress will work in close connection with our elected Board of Directors.

Making NYSNA more democratic and accountable

The Transition Task Force also recommended changes to codify transparency and accountability in our bylaws. Our Board of Directors highly recommends we make these simple and straightforward changes: l Add the Election Committee to NYSNA’s bylaws. Although we already have an Election Committee, this change guarantees that members will always control our election process. l Clarify the role of our Executive Committee, which is

made up of our union’s five top elected leaders, by spelling out their responsibilities – helping to prepare and facilitate the work of the entire board, and addressing major issues that need immediate attention. l Strengthen the relationship between NYSNA and District Nurses Associations. NYSNA’s current structure puts our organization at legal risk, because District Associations can act in our name even though NYSNA members do not get to elect their leaders. Under this change, District Nurses Associations will gain full independence from NYSNA. They will be able to join with NYSNA as affiliated organizations.

You make the difference.

Our success depends on each of us. There’s only one way to build a democratic union – and that’s to be an active part of it. And there’s only one way to stand up to corporate healthcare – and that’s to stand together.

We will vote on the important bylaws changes described here at the NYSNA Convention, October 16-18 in New York City.

They won’t pass unless nurses like you come to our convention, discuss and debate the proposals, and vote yes.

And our union won’t succeed unless nurses like you step up and get involved.

Thousands of nurses are already doing just that. Be informed. Speak out. Participate. And together we will win.

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nursing practice

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Get immunized against seasonal influenza NYSNA supports a comprehensive flu prevention plan that includes voluntary vaccination. We oppose mandatory vaccination.

For more information on vaccination and the flu, visit NYSNA’s Influenza Toolkit at www.nysna.org/flu

NYSNA urges all registered nurses and their family members to get their seasonal influenza vaccination this fall.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that healthcare providers get vaccinated each year during flu season. We have an ethical obligation to protect ourselves, our families, and the patients we serve from the flu.

A comprehensive infection prevention program includes: l Using respiratory hygiene, cough etiquette, and hand hygiene. l I mplementing standard and droplet precautions for infected individuals. l E ducating staff, visitors, and the community on flu prevention and control. l Making N-95 respirators available to healthcare workers who work near patients with influenza or influenza-like illnesses. l Active surveillance and influenza testing for new illness cases.

l Restricting ill visitors and

personnel. l Rapidly administering influenza antiviral medications for treatment and prevention during outbreaks. l Providing paid sick time during flu season for infected staff. l Engineering controls, such as adequate air changes per hour, regulating temperature and humidity, and using anti-microbial devices. l Aggressive community outreach to prevent community acquired flu from entering the facility. (All flu starts in the community and is brought into a facility!)

Making a vaccine program successful

Flu vaccine programs work best when they include educational components that address the benefits, effectiveness, and common misconceptions of the vaccination, and when the vaccine is free and available at convenient times and locations. A 2009 report by the Joint Commission described how 28 healthcare organizations improved their immunization rates by implementing comprehensive infection control strategies.

NYSNA opposes unilateral mandates

NYSNA does not support unilateral mandates – such as that issued by the New York State Dept. of Health – that require nurses who have not been vaccinated to wear a facemask during flu season. This is a coercive policy that does not accomplish its own goal of protecting patients. Wearing a facemask when infected only deflects infective particles and can turn the mask into a vector of transmission.

Mandatory facemasks also neglect the OSHA hierarchy of controls, which require an employer first to seek to eliminate the hazard. For those nurses who do not, or cannot, get the vaccine, using paid sick time during periods of infectivity is the most appropriate strategy. We will uphold the right of RNs to choose whether or not to be vaccinated and we oppose making vaccination a condition of employment.

NYSNA encourages voluntary vaccination

As a trusted profession, we owe it to ourselves, our families, and our patients to set a good example and get the flu shot when appropriate.

And be sure to stay home if you are sick. In cooperation with healthcare facilities and policymakers, we can improve voluntary vaccination rates, establish effective flu prevention and control efforts, and safeguard the public’s health.

EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES New online courses coming soon

Seminar at sea

Online clinical courses, including certification review courses, will be available soon – at a reduced rate just for NYSNA members! Watch for notification about how to access the courses and receive CE. Some of the courses that will be available include:

NYSNA nurses are heading out to sea – Feb. 1-8, 2014 – for eight days of learning, union building, and fun! We will cruise to Haiti, Jamaica, and Cozumel, with education along the way.

l Certification Review for CCRN, CEN,

CMC/CSC, CNOR, CNRN, CPEN, Cardiac-Vascular, PCCN, and Med-Surg l Critical Care: Nuts & Bolts l ECG Interpretation l Neurovascular Crisis: Caring for

Stroke Patients l Pain Management l Sepsis: Are You Ready?

Find out more and register at www.nysna.org/news/online/080313.htm

Preparing tomorrow’s nurse educators Janet Morgan, PhD, RN, led this year’s NYSNA faculty camp, presenting on the Academic Nurse Educator Certification Review.

The 1½-day workshop awarded 10 contact hours and prepared participants to sit for the certification exam. Twenty-eight nursing faculty from various parts of the state attended, including Plattsburgh, Long Island, Mt. Vernon, Bronx, and the Capital District. Participants found the workshop helpful and said that the enhanced learning and innovative teaching strategies gave them the confidence to proceed with the exam.

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The People SPEAK OUT

Bring back mother-baby services

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n early August, with only five days’ warning, Mayor Bloomberg shut down a central Bronx Labor and Delivery unit that delivered 1,500 babies last year. City officials did not consult with, or even notify, the community in advance. Families who rely on these services were shocked.

NYSNA responded in force.

On August 12, more than 100 RNs from North Central Bronx (NCBH), Montefiore, Jacobi, and Lincoln hospitals, families, and City Council Member Tish James spoke out in front of the hospital, calling on HHC to restore Labor and Delivery at NCBH.

Standing strong together No one is ever turned away from our HHC system – the greatest public hospital system in the U.S. But that system and the patients we serve are under attack: l Wall Street wants to take over

and wreck our hospitals.

Standing up for public hospitals

“HHC nurses have a contract with the people of New York City to ensure everyone – regardless of background – has access to care,” Anne Bové, president of NYSNA’s HHC Executive Council, told the speak out. “This decision came without reasonable notice or consultation with patients and staff.

Politicians just can’t make decisions like this behind closed doors.”

“The shutting down of motherbaby units at NCBH is part of Mayor Bloomberg’s larger attack on all public services in our city and the state assault on healthcare,” said City Council Member Tish James. “It’s time to stand

l Federal lawmakers are cutting

funding for our hospitals. l A billionaire mayor is ignoring

Bronx RNs, patients, and New York City Council Member Letitia “Tish” James (holding the stroller) protested on August 12 in front of North Central Bronx Hospital.

together and demand these services be brought back immediately.”

The closure of two mother-baby units at NCBH leaves only six Bronx hospitals with Labor and Delivery services – that’s a 50 percent reduction for north Bronx.

As the city’s foremost patient advocates, the City Council honored HHC nurses for their heroism dur-

ing Hurricane Sandy. HHC nurses deserve respect on the job, and families deserve the quality care they provide. Our fight at NCBH is just the latest in this struggle.

NOTE: RNs from the motherbaby units at NCBH are instructed to report to the corresponding units at Jacobi.

A message from Jackie Gilbert “HHC nurses work very hard to provide care to the communities they serve. When services are taken away from these communities nurses must have a voice.

I was there to support HHC nurses at NCB as a NYSNA nurse, patient advocate and NYC resident – that’s our duty.”

-Tracey Kavanagh, RN, Flushing Medical Center, NYSNA Board of Directors

A message from Anne Bové

Public sector fightback Conference Thurs, Sept 19 Wall Street is not going to give up its attack on our hospitals after just one defeat. Community hospitals are still struggling. And Mayor Bloomberg is stalling on bargaining for all city workers: every single New York City union is working without a contract right now.

We need to make this mayor listen to us. We’re bringing together HHC nurses – and public sector nurses from across the country – for a Public Sector Fightback Conference, Thursday, Sept. 19.

Join us for a day of education, strategy, and action. Talk to your NYSNA delegate or rep to register today.

NYSNA is powered by nurses like you. And we need you like never before. Join us on Sept. 19.

In Solidarity, Jacqueline Gilbert, RN, Harlem Hospital President, NYSNA Congress of Local Bargaining Units

patients and nurses.

We are standing up to defend our hospitals and our patients. And like so many times in NYSNA history, HHC and Mayoral nurses are pointing the way forward.

We beat bills in Albany that would have let Wall Street and private equity firms take over our hospitals. We stopped a bill that would have deregulated Certificate of Need, the process that gives patients and the community a voice when administrators want to cut services for “unprofitable patients.”

We’ve challenged the closure of hospitals in Brooklyn, like Interfaith and LICH, and we spoke out at the City Council, calling for a moratorium on all hospital closures in the city because we have seen the impact hospital closures have on our HHC emergency departments.

It wasn’t easy. We made thousands of calls. Hundreds of us visited our lawmakers. But we stopped dangerous changes that would have wrecked our public hospital system.

We showed that together we can defeat the attack on our patients and the mission of HHC. Let’s stand strong together!

In solidarity, Anne Bové, RN, Bellevue Hospital President, HHC/Mayorals Executive Council

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BYLAW PROPOSALS

New York Nurse september 2013

Official Call to Meeting 2013 Business Meeting of the New York State Nurses Association New York City Wednesday, Oct. 16 – Friday, Oct. 18, 2013 Anne Bové, RN, Secretary, New York State Nurses Association Register for the meeting on page 15.

Proposed amendments to NYSNA’s bylaws The NYSNA Board of Directors is recommending the following Bylaw amendments to the 2013 Voting Body. These changes represent more than a year’s worth of work by a special Transition Task Force and the Board of Directors, designed to align NYSNA’s structures in the wake of the historic changes adopted by members on May 17, 2012.

New language is underlined. Proposed deletions are struck-through.

RECOMMENDATION #1 – REAFFIRM NYSNA’S IDENTITY AS A POWERFUL RN UNION BY REMOVING REFERENCES TO ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION Extracts From Articles of Incorporation (as amended November 30, 1995) 1st.

The purposes...for which...the corporation shall now exist: To further the efficient care of the sick and disabled and others requiring nursing service; to advance the educational and professional standards of nursing; to maintain the honor, character and dignity of the nursing profession; to promote the educational and professional advancement of nurses; to promote and protect the health and welfare of nurses; to promote cordial relations and cooperation among New York state nurses and between such nurses and nurses (individually or in association with one another) throughout the world; to publish and otherwise disseminate information concerning nursing and nurses; and to do all things necessary, proper, incidental, suitable, useful and conducive to the complete accomplishment of the foregoing purposes in their broadest sense.

2nd.

That the corporate name by which said Corporation hereby to be formed shall be known and distinguished is and shall be THE NEW YORK STATE NURSES ASSOCIATION. 3rd.

That the territory in which the operations of said Corporation are to be principally conducted in the State of New York.

4th.

That the principal office of said Corporation shall be located in the County of Albany and State of New York.

accomplish the purposes as stated in the Articles of Incorporation.

ARTICLE IV - BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 1.

The Board of Directors is the elected body responsible for the corporate management and fiduciary affairs of this association. It is authorized, by provisions of applicable law, to do all things appropriate and necessary for the development and perpetuation of this association.

Section 3. Functions e) Establish major corporate policies; RATIONALE: In keeping with the changes adopted by the membership on May 17, 2012, we propose removing references to NYSNA’s Articles of Incorporation from the Bylaws to make clear that NYSNA’s identity is not that of a corporation, but rather a powerful, unified labor union committed to meeting our members’ collective bargaining and professional needs, and continuing our role as advocates for our patients and the public.

RECOMMENDATION #2 – IMPROVE NYSNA’S ELECTION PROCESSES BY ADDING ELECTION COMMITTEE TO BYLAWS, HOLDING ELECTIONS AT A TIME WHEN MEMBERS ARE MORE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE, AND ALLOWING OFFICERS, BOARD MEMBERS AND MEMBERS OF THE NOMINATING AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE TO TAKE OFFICE WHEN ELECTED ARTICLE IV - BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 3. Functions n) Fill any vacancy on the Nominating and Election Committee;

ARTICLE V - OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS Section 5. Duties of the President c) Serve as an ex officio member of all committees except the Nominating and Election Committees; ARTICLE XII - NOMINATIONS

ARTICLE I - NAME, OBJECT AND FUNCTIONS Section 2.

The object of this association is to

Section 4.

The Nominating Committee shall prepare a ballot that lists the eligible candidates for each office to be filled. A member may nominate another member or may

submit a self-declaration as a candidate in writing to the executive director of NYSNA provided that the member is not currently: (a) serving on the Nominating or Election Committee, nor (b) a member of the NYSNA staff; nor (c) a supervisor or manager within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. To be eligible to nominate or run for office, a member may not be in arrears in the payment of dues, fees and financial obligations to NYSNA. ARTICLE XIII - ELECTIONS Section 1.

Election of officers, directors and members of the Nominating and Election Committees shall be by secret mail and/or electronic ballot.

Section 2.

The ballot shall be mailed no later than June 1 than 60 days before the association’s annual meeting.

Section 4.

The results of the secret mail ballot shall be announced at the annual meeting.

Section 7.

The terms of all officers, directors, and members of the Nominating and Election Committees shall commence at the conclusion of the ballot count adjournment of the annual membership meeting at which they were elected and shall continue for the term specified or until their successors are elected.

Section 9.

The Election Committee shall consist of five (5) members, three of whom shall be elected and two (2) of whom shall be appointed by the Board of Directors.

Members of the Election Committee shall serve three (3) year terms. Election Committee members may not be candidates for or sitting members of the Board of Directors while serving on the Election Committee.

RATIONALE: Following the advice of NYSNA’s General Counsel, and to provide members a complete picture of the election process in the Bylaws, we are recommending that the Elections committee, that previously was only referenced in policy, be added to the Bylaws, along with the Nominating Committee and standing committees on Bylaws and Finance. We are also recommending that future elections take place in the Spring rather than Summer as a means to increase participation and voter

turnout and, in turn, make NYSNA a more democratic and member-driven organization.

Finally, in order to allow the newly elected officers and Board members to help shape the agenda of the annual meeting and begin to implement the program they were elected to carry out, we are recommending that newly-elected officers, Board members, and nominating and elections committee members take office immediately following the vote count, removing the last vestige of NYSNA’s historic practice of keeping election results secret until the annual meeting. In recent years NYSNA has brought its practices into compliance with federal labor laws, publicly announcing election results at the conclusion of the vote count. As such, there is no longer a rationale for waiting to see those who are elected until the end of annual meeting.

RECOMMENDATION #3 – CREATE A STREAMLINED COUNCIL STRUCTURE FOCUSED ON NYSNA’S CORE FUNCTIONS ARTICLE II - MEMBERS, DUES, AND AFFILIATES Section 2. Affiliates B. Nursing Student Affiliates 6) who may be appointed to a position on the Council on Nursing Students or such committees, coalitions and task forces as the board of directors determines in accordance with NYSNA policies and procedures, and ARTICLE VII - COUNCILS Section 1. Names There shall be the following councils: a) Council on Continuing Education b) Council on Ethics and Human Rights c) Council on Legislation d) Council on Nursing Education e) Council on Nursing Practice f) Council on Nursing Research g) Council of Retired Nurses h) Council of Nursing Students Section 4. Terms of Appointment Members of councils shall serve for two three years or until their successors are appointed.

Section 5. Simultaneous Service A member shall not hold more than one appointed position simultaneously unless the member’s particular expertise is essential to more than one committee or council.

Section 7. Functions Each council shall: a) analyze trends and developments within its area of responsibility; b) establish a plan of operation for carrying out its responsibilities in conjunction with the Board of Directors and the Executive Director; c) recommend standards, policies, and positions to the Board of Directors and the voting body; d) provide for dissemination of information to members and others; e) assume other functions as assigned by the Board of Directors.

Section 8 – Council on Nursing Practice a) The responsibilities of the Council on Nursing Practice shall be inclusive of nursing practice, nursing research, nursing education, ethics and human rights. b) Each Practice Focus Group will have representation on the Council on Nursing Practice.

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ARTICLE VI - STANDING COMMITTEES Section 2.

Standing committees shall be appointed by the Board of Directors, and shall serve for a two-year three-year term or until their successors are appointed.

RATIONALE: There are three core functions that NYSNA’s structure should reflect and where NYSNA should draw on the passion and expertise of its members—collective bargaining, nursing practice, and legislation and policy-making. We recommend that NYSNA focus on these core functions and adjust our structure, and Bylaws, accordingly.

While the Board of Directors has responsibility for overseeing all the work of NYSNA, collective bargaining functions will be coordinated through the Congress of Local Bargaining Unit Leaders. Nursing practice and professional issues will be carried out through an expanded Council on Nursing Practice, and the work of the current Councils on Continuing Education, Ethics and Human Rights, Nursing Education and Nursing Research will be folded into the Council on Nursing Practice. The third function, carrying out our legislative and policy agenda, will be coordinated through the Council on Legislation. The work of other standing councils will be absorbed by relevant NYSNA departments, and the Council on Nursing Practice will continue to coordinate the work of Practice Focus Groups. The move to threeyear appointments brings appointed terms of service in line with the terms for other NYSNA positions.

RECOMMENDATION #4 – ENABLE THE COUNCIL ON NURSING PRACTICE TO EFFECTIVELY COORDINATE PRACTICE FOCUS GROUPS ARTICLE VIII – PRACTICE fOCUS GROUPS Section 1. a) Practice focus groups are established by the Board of Directors to assist individual members to improve professional practice and development within a specific clinical or functional area. b) Practice focus groups may be established by the Board of Directors in any area of specialty nursing practice for which the Board determines that there is need and sufficient interest of members.

Section 2.

Each group shall: a) provide a forum for members for discussion of relevant issues and concern; b) serve as a source for consultation and expertise; c) develop positions and policies for recommendation to the Board of Directors; d) promote adherence to approved standards of nursing practice; e) maintain communications with other units and councils.

Section 3.

The composition of practice focus groups shall be limited to members employed in or, in accordance with established group policy, directly concerned with the respective groups.

Section 4.

The activities, policies and pronouncements of each practice focus group shall be in accord with those of this association.

Section 5. a) Each practice focus group shall have an executive committee composed of a chairperson, vice chairperson, and three members at large. The chairperson and two members at large shall be elected at the annual meeting in the even year to serve for a term of two years; the vice chairperson and one member at large shall be elected at the annual meeting in the odd year to serve for a term of two years. b) Each executive committee shall be responsible for the business of the group. c) Executive committee members will serve as the group’s representatives on the NYSNA Council on Nursing Practice.

Section 6. Terms No member of the executive committee of a practice focus group shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office nor a total of more than eight consecutive years.

Section 7. Vacancies a) In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of chairperson of a practice focus group, the vice chairperson shall serve as chairperson for the remainder of the chairperson’s term. b) In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of vice chairperson or members at large, the vacancy will be filled by appointment of the Board of Directors. c) Absence from two consecutive regular meetings of an executive committee or the Council on Nursing Practice shall be cause for declaring a vacancy in the position. Such vacancy shall be declared by majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Section 8.

Practice focus groups may be dissolved by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors; a) upon agreement by the Board of Directors and the respective group that there is no reason for its continuance; or b) upon determination by the Board of Directors of failure of the group to carry out its objective or to conform to the principles and requirements of this association.

RATIONALE: In order for NYSNA to focus on its core functions, we recommend establishing the Practice Focus Groups (PFGs) through policy rather than in the Bylaws, and continuing to coordinate the work of the PFGs through the Council on Nursing Practice. This gives the organization the flexibility to establish new PFGs as the need arises, to shift attention and emphasis as conditions change, and to active the expertise of a broader cross-section of our membership.

The Board has prepared a PFG policy to implement this recommendation. PFGs will continue to meet as part of the annual meeting and coordinate the sub-specialty work of NYSNA members through the Council on Nursing Practice.

RECOMMENDATION #5 – CLARIFY AND ALIGN THE ROLE OF CONGRESS IN NYSNA’S NEW, UNIFIED STRUCTURE ARTICLE IX – CONGRESS OF BARGAINING UNIT LEADERS Section 1. Definition The Congress of Bargaining Unit Leaders (The Congress) is an organizational unit

comprised of at least one representative and not more than two representatives from each of the association’s local bargaining units. Each local bargaining unit has one vote in the Congress, bringing its unique contributions and expertise to the body. . The Congress is the broadest democratic unit representing the collective bargaining interests of the association members within the Economic and General Welfare Program.

Section 2. Purposes The purposes of the Congress of Bargaining Unit Leaders are to: a) Advance the mission of the association as it relates to the Economic and General Welfare Program collective bargaining through the focused work of its local bargaining units. b) Identify and discuss the concerns of the local bargaining units and make recommendations to the Board of Directors and Executive Director and E&GW program director on how to address these concerns. c) Identify opportunities for providing mutual assistance to the local bargaining units to the Board of Directors and the Executive Director and program director. d) Participate in providing mutual assistance to the local bargaining units. e) Collaborate with the members of the local bargaining units, members of the Delegate Assembly, the Board of Directors and the Executive Director, and the program director in strengthening the association’s collective bargaining program. f) Collaborate with the Council on Nursing Practice, the Board of Directors, and the Executive Director, in carrying out the Council’s action plans.

Section 3. Accountability The Congress of Bargaining Unit Leaders shall operate under its own rules which shall be in conformity with the Bylaws and policies of the association.

RATIONALE: See previous rationales.

We recommend clarifying and aligning Congress’ role as part of NYSNA’s three core functions, with Congress playing a key role alongside the Council on Nursing Practice, and the Council on Legislation, as described above. Such changes remove the silos that have developed in the past, will create more effective coordination, and will allow NYSNA to speak with one strong voice.

RECOMMENDATION #6 – REALIGN CONSTITUENT DISTRICT NURSE ASSOCIATIONS IN NYSNA’S NEW, UNIFIED STRUCTURE ARTICLE IV – BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 3. Functions r) Assume responsibility with regard to constituent district nurses associations as specified in these bylaws; ARTICLE V – OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS Section 5. Duties of the President a) Chair the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee meetings. and the Constituent District Nurses Association Assembly.

ARTICLE VI – STANDING COMMITTEES Section 4. Committees on Bylaws

b: The Committee shall: 2) advise constituent district nurses associations concerning bylaws and proposed amendments related to constituent requirements; 3) review the bylaws of a nurses association wishing to become a constituent association an organizational affiliate of this association and report its findings to the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE X - CONSTITUENT DISTRICT NURSES ASSOCIATION ASSEMBLY Section 1. Purpose The Constituent District Nurses Association Assembly consults with and advises the Board of Directors on professional and organizational issues of interest to this association.

Section 2. Composition Members of the Constituent District Nurses Association Assembly shall be: a) the president or an alternate and the executive director of this association; b) the president or an alternate of each constituent district nurses association; c) the executive director of each constituent district nurses association in which an executive director is appointed.

Section 3. Meetings Meetings of the Constituent District Nurses Association Assembly shall be held at such times and places as shall be determined by the Board of Directors.

Section 4. Functions The Constituent District Nurses Association Assembly shall: a) serve as consultant to the Board of Directors in defining and interpreting the district nurses association viewpoint on nursing, health care, and organizational issues; b) consider issues referred by the Board of Directors or the voting body to district nurses associations and/or to the Constituent District Nurses Association Assembly, and advise the NYSNA president and Board of Directors on those issues; c) identify issues of concern to district nurses associations; d) identify mechanisms for strengthening: 1) the relationships between NYSNA and district nurses associations; 2) communications between NYSNA and district nurses associations; 3) collaborative efforts of NYSNA and district nurses associations.

ARTICLE XII - NOMINATIONS Section 3.

On or before February 1 of each year, the Nominating Committee shall distribute a Notice of Nominations to the members and the constituent district nurses associations notifying them of the offices to be filled and the requirement that a candidate be willing to serve if elected. A The Notice of Nominations shall also be carried in an the official NYSNA publication.1 ARTICLE XVII - CONSTITUENT DISTRICT NURSES ASSOCIATIONS Section 1.

District nurses associations which have 1 With respect to the 2012 election of officers and directors, in the event that the bylaw amendments concerning additional officers and directors are adopted, a new Notice of Nominations shall be published no later than June 1, 2012.

Continued on page 14

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BYLAW PROPOSALS

New York Nurse september 2013

Proposed amendments to NYSNA’s bylaws Continued from page 13 been or which hereafter may be organized, whose bylaws are in harmony with the bylaws of this association and have been approved by a majority vote of the Board of Directors of this association, shall be recognized as constituent associations of this association.

c)

d)

e) Section 2.

Boundaries of constituent district nurses associations shall be clearly defined and recorded by the Board of Directors of this association. Boundaries may be changed by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors provided either: a) such change has been approved by each constituent district nurses association involved; or b) a majority of the members of this association residing in the area to be changed have requested such change in writing.

Section 3.

It shall be the duty of each constituent district nurses association of this association to: a) require that all of its members have the qualifications specified in Article II - Section I of these bylaws; b) send to the secretary of this association the names and addresses of all officers and members of the Board of Directors of the constituent district nurses associations immediately following their election or appointment;

EXPANDING THE OF SPECIFIC DEFINITION OF DETRIMENTAL AND INJURIOUS CONDUCT TO INCLUDE WORKING AS AN AGENCY OR PER DIEM NURSE IN PUBLIC SECTOR WORKPLACES SUFFERING WORKFORCE REDUCTIONS OR AT CONTRACT IMPASSE. Submitted by Sam Caquias, Local Bargaining Unit President, Westchester County Medical Center ARTICLE III - DISCIPLINARY ACTION Section 1.

Members shall be subject to reprimand, censure, fine, suspension or expulsion for violation of these bylaws or for conduct detrimental or injurious to the association or its purposes, in accordance with established policy. Conduct considered detrimental or injurious to the association or its purposes shall include working behind a duly authorized picket line established by NYSNA in a primary dispute with an employer, provided the member is a member of a bargaining unit represented by the association. It shall also include working as an Agency or per diem nurse in public sector workplaces suffering workforce reductions or a contract negotiations impasse.

Rationale (submitted by Sam Caquias): Whereas employees of Public Healthcare Facilities are precluded by law from a physical job action or Strike, any NYSNA facility reaching Impasse or suffering a workforce reduction shall be considered to be under a work stoppage. While Nurses of those facilities are obligated to continue working while at Impasse or

confer with the Committee on Bylaws of this association concerning any proposed amendments related to constituent requirements; adopt and maintain bylaws in harmony with the bylaws of this association and send to this association up-to-date copies; submit an annual report.

Section 4.

Any constituent district nurses association which fails to comply with the constituent requirements of these bylaws, or for other cause deemed sufficient, may be disqualified as a constituent association of The New York State Nurses Association by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors, provided due notice has been given the constituent district nurses association at least three months before the vote is taken.

Section 5.

A constituent district nurses association which has been disqualified may be reinstated by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE XV - MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS Section 4.

Special meetings of this association may be called by the Board of Directors and shall be called by the president upon the written request of a majority of the constituent district nurses associations or not less than 100 members.

during periods of workforce reduction, ANY NYSNA RN hired from an outside facility as a Per Diem or as an Agency RN who elects to work within the Impasse Declared facility or where a layoff notification has been made, shall be considered to have crossed a picket line.

Subsequently, during that period, any RN will immediately pay agency/shop dues to the facility at Impasse or affected by a unilateral reduction in workforce and be considered a Member in bad standing within their primary facility and the facility at Impasse. And as such, will lose voting privileges while in bad standing at their primary facility.

Recommendation: Both the Bylaws Committee and the Board of Directors are recommending that members vote against this Bylaw amendment because Article III already permits disciplinary action for detrimental and injurious conduct against NYSNA members working as agency or per diem nurses in public sector workplaces suffering workforce reductions or a contract negotiations impasse.

However the Bylaws Committee and the Board of Directors recognize the corrosive nature of agency and per diem nursing on NYSNA standards, and the way hospital managers are using per diem and agency nurses to undermine our solidarity and collective power in both the public and private sector.

As such the Board of Directors will be advancing a resolution to the Voting Body to proactively address these trends, and build a coordinated and active campaign of organized resistance.

Section 5.

Notices of all annual and special membership meetings of this association shall be sent to each constituent district nurses association and to all members of this association at least thirty days before the first day of the meeting.

RATIONALE: Under federal labor law, the autonomous nature of the separately incorporated Constituent District Nurses Associations, which appear in our Bylaws as subordinate bodies of NYSNA, exposes NYSNA to legal liability. On the advice of our General Counsel, we recommend eliminating this potential liability by amending our Bylaws to provide an alternative way for the CDNAs to work with NYSNA if they elect to do so. This will enhance our working relationship with the CDNAs by inviting them to work with NYSNA as organizational affiliates in accordance with Article II, Section 2 of the Bylaws.

RECOMMENDATION #7 – CLARIFY ROLE OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE & FACILITATE SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ARTICLE IV - BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 4. Meetings b)

Special meetings may be called by the president on ten calendar days’ notice to each member of the Board of Directors either by written or verbal communications, and shall be called by the president in like manner and on like notice upon the written request of seven or more members of the Board of Directors. Special meetings shall be held at such time and in such manner place as may be specified in the notice thereof.

Section 5. Executive Committee There shall be an Executive Committee of the Board of Directors composed of the five officers of this association which shall have all the powers of the Board of Directors to transact business of an emergency nature that requires attention between regular meetings, provided that the Executive Committee may not establish new policy or contravene existing policy, and provided further that the Executive Committee must report any business it has transacted to the Board of Directors no later than the Board’s next regularly scheduled meeting.

RATIONALE: We recommend that we clarify the role and responsibilities of the Executive Committee in the new, unified leadership structure created on May 12, 2012, allowing them to address issues that require attention between meetings of the Board while preserving the Board’s policy-making role and facilitating special meetings of the whole board when necessary.

RECOMMENDATION #8 – REMOVE DETAILED ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA FROM BYLAWS

Reports of Officers Reports of Standing Committees Reports of the Councils Reports of Practice Focus Groups Miscellaneous Business Report of Elections RATIONALE: We are recommending that the new, unified leadership created on May 17, 2012 be given more flexibility in setting an annual meeting agenda that can be adapted to members needs and current circumstances.

RECOMMENDATION #9 – REMOVE RESTRICTIONS ON SIMULTANEOUS SERVICE ARTICLE VI – STANDING COMMITTEES Section 3.

A member shall not hold more than one appointed position simultaneously unless the member’s particular expertise is essential to more than one committee or council.

ARTICLE VII – COUNCILS Section 5. Simultaneous Service A member shall not hold more than one appointed position simultaneously unless the member’s particular expertise is essential to more than one committee or council.

ARTICLE XII – NOMINATIONS Section 2.

Nominating Committee members may not be candidates for any elective position, nor may they serve consecutive terms on the committee. NYSNA staff members may not be candidates for, nor may they serve in, any position.

Section 5.

Members shall be eligible to serve in only one elective position in NYSNA at any one time. Elective positions of NYSNA are: board of directors (officers and directors); nominating committee; election committee; executive committees of practice focus groups; executive committee of the Congress of Local Bargaining Unit Leaders, provided that all those members currently sitting in multiple positions would be allowed to complete their terms.

RATIONALE: The new, unified leadership created on May 17, 2012 required that we re-think elements of the prior structure that may no longer be appropriate. For example, the current ban on simultaneous service for appointed positions is not absolute, as it allows those with “particular expertise” to serve in more than one position, based on the judgment of the Board of Directors. For the sake of transparency, we recommend the ban on simultaneous service be removed, enabling the election and/or appointment of NYSNA members without such restrictions. NYSNA’s elected leaders will assume direct responsibility for ensuring a broad and diverse cross-section of the membership to serve in appointed positions.

RECOMMENDATION #10 – PERFORM THOROUGH BYLAW HOUSEKEEPING FOLLOWING VOTING BODY

ARTICLE XV - MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS Section 3.

The order of business at each annual membership meeting of this association shall be in accordance with an agenda adopted at the beginning of the meeting and shall include: Address of President Address of Executive Director

As was done following the membership changes adopted on May 17, 2012, we recommend that the Bylaws Committee, working with NYSNA staff and the Board of Directors, be authorized to perform any non-substantive housekeeping edits to the NYSNA Bylaws and to bring the Bylaws into conformance with any changes adopted by the voting body.

convention preview

NEW YORK NURSE

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september 2013

Register today for the NYSNA convention Oct. 16 - 18 | NYC | Grand Hyatt Join hundreds of NYSNA nurses to make our plan to build a stronger NYSNA – and to care for every New Yorker.

Classes taught by nursing and labor experts.

w Emergency preparedness

w Winning safe staffing

w Building patient and community alliances

w Electronic medical records

w The crisis in the labor movement

w The future of your license – and your practice w Stopping the corporate healthcare agenda w The impact of the Affordable Care Act

4 ways to register 1. Submit your completed form to your NYSNA delegate or rep

2. Fax to 518-782-9530 3. Email to mcp@nysna.org 4. Mail to NYSNA MCP, 11 Cornell Rd, Latham, NY 12110

w Physical assessment w Twitter for RN power w What happened to the American Dream? w Hospital finances 101

Wednesday, Oct. 16 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Workshops

11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Buffet lunch with educational presentation

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Practice focus groups workshops

3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Council on Nursing Practice

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Workshops

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Main session: Reflecting on our advocacy in 2013 8:30 pm – 10:00 pm

Reception

w Winning strong contracts

Participants will be eligible to receive continuing nursing education contact hours through ANCC and continuing education hours through other nationally recognized nursing credentialing bodies.

A complete list of goals, objectives, and continuing nursing education contact hours is posted at www.nysna.org/convention

w Hospital finances 201: Mergers &

acquisitions w Climate change and disaster relief

REGISTRATION FORM

AGENDA

Workshop tracks: 1) Beating the attack on our practice 2) Building nurse power 3) Improving your practice

w The crisis in upstate healthcare

Name__________________________________________________________ MEMBER ID (OPTIONAL)_____________ ADDRESS___________________________________________________________________________________ CITY___________________________________________________STATE_____________ ZIP CODE_________________ Cell Phone________________________________________________________ sEND ME TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS.* *Standard message and data rates applys.Opt-out at any time.

pERSONAL Email ADDRESS___________________________________________________________________________

Thursday, Oct. 17

FACILITY / EMPLOYER___________________________________________ UNIT / SHIFT___________________________

7:00 am Boxed breakfast 7:30 am – 8:00 am Kick-off speaker 9:00 am – 10:00 am Rally at City Hall 11:00 am Buffet lunch 11:30 am – 1:00 pm Main session: The corporate attack on nurses and patients – and our plan to win 1:30 pm – 3:15 pm Workshops 3:45 pm – 5:30 pm Workshops 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Awards dinner and speaker: The crisis in labor and a way forward 9:30 pm - ???

Party!

 I am traveling from outside of the greater NYC area and I need transportation.

Friday, Oct. 18

THURSDAY

7:00 am 8:00 am – 9:30 am 9:45 am – 1:00 pm 11:30 am 11:00 am – 12:30 pm 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm 5:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Buffet breakfast Bylaws forum and workshops Congress of Local Bargaining Units Buffet lunch Building nurse power through bargaining Meeting the challenge to heal New York Voting Body Closing and call to action

Transportation will be provided for groups of 10 or more members coming from outside the greater NYC area.

Hotel Information To reserve a room at the Grand Hyatt, you must call the Hyatt at 1-888-41-1442. Tell them you are with NYSNA. Single or double rooms are $315 a night. Triples are $340. Quadruples are $365.

For More Information or for special convention needs, please contact the NYSNA Meeting and Convention Planning office at 518-782-9400, ext.

277 or email mcp@nysna.org.

For office use only rep name___________________________________________________

registered by______________________________

Registration Fee WED - FRI WEDNESDAY FRIDAY Voting body only*

MEMBER

NON-MEMBER

 $75  $25  $25  $25  $0

 $300  $125  $225  $150

* Voting Body is open to all NYNSA members in good standing. If you are registered for Voting Body only, you may not attend any other events or sessions at the conference.

Total___________ I will pay by [ ] check [ ] cash MC/Visa/Amex/Discover ______________________________________________ Exp __________ Security code_________ Signature _____________________________________________________________ Date _______________________

OPTIONAL

Congress of Local Bargaining Unit Leaders* Friday, Oct. 18, 9:45 am - 1:00 pm q I am attending as the elected chairperson/president of my LBU q I am attending as an LBU member with no voting rights. and declare my voting rights.

q I have been designated by the chairperson/president of my LBU in their absence and declare voting rights. (Your chairperson/president must complete the designation form and submit to Johanna Villanueva by fax at 212-785-0429 or email at johanna.villanueva@nysna.org).

q I am attending as a NYSNA board member with no voting rights. q I am attending as a NYSNA staff member with no voting rights. *Open to NYSNA local bargaining unit members only.

NEW YORK NURSE september 2013

131 West 33rd Street, 4th Floor New York, NY 10001

Inside

Special NYSNA Preconvention Issue We’re coming together Oct. 16-18 in New York City to look at our state’s crisis in patient care – and to make NYSNA stronger and more united to meet the challenge.

See inside for details and to register.

Convention Kick-off

Rally for respect for HHC nurses Thurs, Oct 17 | 9 am | City Hall, NYC & patients