We Are Nurses: NYC H+H July/August 2018

JULY/AUGUST 2018

A NEWSLETTER FOR NYSNA RNs AT NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS

Nurse-Powered Politics Win!

bursed at the same rate, which would be a big financial boost to NYC H+H and all public sector hospitals in the state.

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!

We need to act upon this momentum by building up nurses’ political power. By getting behind strong candidates and getting nurses out to vote this fall, we can turn our momentum into concrete victories in 2019!

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 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.

Nurses also saw tremendous momentum for guaranteed healthcare for all. The NY Health Act passed the New York State Assembly for the fourth year in a row! NYSNA NYC H+H/Mayorals Executive Council President Judith Cutchin, RN, explained the NY Health Act this way: “It’s like my shirt says, in H+H nobody is turned away. We need that for everyone.” Single payer healthcare would also require all hospitals to be reim-

NYSNA’s PAC and Political Action Team are actively interviewing candidates, and we have already endorsed nurse champions Marisol Alcantara (SD31), Pat Kane, RN (AD61) and Karines Reyes, RN (AD87). There are so many ways you can learn more and get involved— from phone banking to canvassing and more! To volunteer in the #NYNursesVote effort, please visit: http://bit.ly/nynursesgotv

We know that quality of care is directly linked to appropriate staffing levels. Next session I will introduce legislation allowing the Department of Health to set safe staffing levels by regulation as legislative solutions have not been forthcoming.”

- Governor Andrew Cuomo, July 20, 2018

WE ARE NURSES, WE ARE NYSNA!

Say It Loud: We Are Nurses, We Are NYSNA Public sector workers and their unions throughout the country have been anxiously awaiting the Supreme Court decision, Janus vs. AFSCME. The decision, which was released on Wednesday, June 27, essentially makes all public sector workers, including many nurses, teachers, police, fire fighters, and other government employees into right-to-work employees with the stroke of a pen.

Nurses and our allies in the labor movement turned out at an emergency rally in Foley Square to protest the decision. We spoke out in one loud, united voice that we are union and proud!

What the Supreme Court Decision Means for RNs This Supreme Court decision represents a direct attack on workers’ power and our ability to collectively bargain for ourselves and advocate for our patients. The billionaire-backed institutions that provided the financing and legal team to bring the case before the Supreme Court have worked for decades on both the state and federal level to eliminate the rights of workers through legislation and through the courts.

What this means practically is that union members will no longer have to contribute dues to support the work of representing them and bargaining in their interests. As we have seen in other states with right-to-work laws, the result is greatly reduced union power, job security, and wages and benefits for all workers—union and non-union alike. An attack on our union is an attack on our patients.

What’s next?

“I think as union nurses we must continue to protest, talk to our co-workers and sign the membership cards.

Without the union, nurses would never be where we are right now. When I started out 30 years ago, nurses were making around $20,000. We have come a long way.”

-Denise Romney, NP, Kings

County Hospital We know the attacks on working people will continue. Because this national effort to roll back worker protections was successful, corporations and their frontgroups will be emboldened to roll back even more of our American rights, even in union strongholds like New York.

“The union keeps the patients safe and the staff safe, as well.

If we don’t have the union, we have nobody to support us.”

- Teresita Bailey, RN, Harlem Hospital

But we can fight back. As patient advocates, we are used to struggling to get the resources our patients need. As union members, we have stuck together and won many gains—from professional salaries and benefit packages for registered nurses, to eliminating mandatory overtime, to making assaulting a nurse a felony, to safe patient handling, and so much more.

To show our unity, nurses have been signing membership recommitment forms and proudly wearing our NYSNA RN badges on every shift. We need to make it known that union nurses care for New York—and we’re not giving up NYC H+H/Mayorals HRA CASA nurses sign without a fight! member recommitment cards

JULY/AUGUST 2018

With so much still to be accomplished— from bargaining new contracts, to winning safe staffing and guaranteed healthcare for all—nurses need to be all in. Keep signing up your colleagues on member recommitment forms. Come to union meetings. Run to become a union delegate. Work to make our union even stronger, because we are the union and nurses united will never be defeated!

A Newsletter for NYSNA RNs at NYC Health + Hospitals

If one person can make a difference, then many can make a change. Thank you to the union for what you do!”

- Mary Yuter, RN, Bellevue Hospital

Rallies Throughout the City Nurses from the private and public sector united to rally for Mental Health Equity on June 13, demanding private hospitals like NY-Presbyterian Allen continue to provide psychiatric services, and that public hospitals are provided with adequate resources to meet the mental healthcare needs of New Yorkers. Nurses from NY-Presbyterian Allen, Bellevue, North Central Bronx, Montefiore, Interfaith Medical Center, Kings County Hospital, and Long Island’s Syosset Hospital spoke out in one united voice, and were joined by elected officials, other caregivers, patient advocates and the community.

Nurses Demand Mental Health Equity

A Message to the New York City Council

The public sector and private sector hospitals that make up NYC’s healthcare system are interconnected—the trends in one sector have a profound impact on the other. Unfortunately, in the last few years, private hospitals have been eliminating behavioral health beds in order to bring in more profitable patients.

Explained Anne Bové, RN and NYSNA Board Secretary, “The Allen Hospital at New York-Presbyterian is threatening to close down and eliminate 30 beds that serve 600 patients a year. Mt. Sinai dropped 30 psych beds, cutting capacity by 60%. Staten Island University Hospital closed a unit and has 35 remaining beds to serve all of Staten Island. What happens when these private beds disappear? The public system picks up the slack.”

NYC Health + Hospitals already cares for a disproportionate number of behavioral health patients. Almost half the available psychiatric beds are in the city’s public hospitals, and three public hospitals – Bellevue, Kings County and Elmhurst – account for 25% of all psychiatric beds in the city.

Judith Cutchin, RN, along with Anne Bové, RN, Jennifer Minto-Hinton, RN, and our allies at DC37, spoke out again on June 20 at the City Council Committee on Hospitals’ Oversight Hearing at Metropolitan Hospital: The Future of Psychiatric Care in New York City’s Hospital Infrastructure.

NYC H+H nurses addressed the panel, advocating for mental healthcare patients and for the public and safety net hospitals that are increasingly the last and only hope for these patients. Judith closed the hearing by sending the City Council a clear message, “We are open for care and we need the funding now for mental healthcare!”

UPCOMING EVENTS

(For more information or to register, ask your NYSNA Rep)

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VIOLENCE IN HEALTHCARE, CONFLICT & UNDERSTAFFING

July 18, NYC NYSNA Office WOUND CARE CERT. REVIEW

July 19 & 20, NYC NYSNA Office

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ONCOLOGY NURSING CERT. REVIEW

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CRITICAL CARE NURSING CERT. REVIEW

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PHARMACOLOGY REVIEW

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NEUROSCIENCE CERTIFICATION REVIEW

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MED/SURG CERTIFICATION REVIEW

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MEDICAL MISSION & DISASTER RELIEF

July 23 & 24, NYC NYSNA Office August 9, NYC NYSNA Office August 14, NYC NYSNA Office August 16 & 17, NYC NYSNA Office August 20 & 21, NYC NYSNA Office September 4-14, Philippines

NEW: Must-have course for Psych Nurses looking to become certified There are two opportunities in September and October to take an exceptional new FREE course offered by NYSNA— The Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse: Principles of Professional Nursing Practice and Certification Review Program. For more information and to register, visit: http://bit.ly/psychcourse

NYC H+H & MAYORAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CHAIRS RNS: • Naomi Greene, Administration for Children’s Services • Todd Schultz, Bellevue Hospital Center • Jovana Woodley, Coler Specialty Hospital & Nursing Facility • Ray Briggs, Coney Island Hospital • Audrey Morgan, Correctional Health Services • Florence Exinor, Cumberland D & T Center • Keysha Morris, Department of Correction • Theresa Minarik, Department of Sanitation • Patricia Morris, Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Nursing & Rehab Ctr • Deborah Gatson, East NY D & T Center • Pauline Williams, Elmhurst Hospital Center • James Ambery, Fire Department • Kittie McGee, Harlem Hospital Center • Grace Lee, Gouverneur Healthcare Services • Peter Pacheco, Henry J. Carter Specialty Hosp. & Nursing Facility • Rivka Elyahu, HHC Health and Home Care • Yelena Levin, Human Resources Administration • Mary Simon, Jacobi Medical Center • Curlean Duncan, Kings County Hospital Center • Marsha Wilson, Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center • Charles Mighty, Metropolitan Hospital Center • Nicole Smith Ferguson, Morrisania D & T Center • Lynne Sanderson Burgess, Police Department • Sharon Greenaway, North Central Bronx Hospital • Lindella Artman, Queens Hospital Center • Stephen Nartey, Renaissance Healthcare Network • Kimberly Yeo, Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center & Home • Natalie Solomon, Segundo Ruiz Belvis D&TC • Judith Cutchin, Woodhull Medical & Mental Health Center

GET ANSWERS/STAY IN TOUCH Dental benefit questions: www.Aetna.com, 877-238-6200 Prescription benefit questions: www.optumrx.com, 888-691-0130 For all other benefits: www.ASOnet.com, 888-692-7671 NYSNA NYC Office: www.nysna.org, 212 785 0157 NYSNA Board of Directors: www.nysna.org/board-directors

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