NY Nurse: August, 2021

nurse New York

New york state edition | august 2021

March to Remember, pp. 6-7 contract win for mount sinai at elmhurst midwives, pp. 4-5

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New York Nurse august 2021

POAs Pave the Way

By Nancy Hagans, RN NYSNA President

Advocating for patients. Advancing the profession.SM Board of Directors President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN nancy.hagans@nysna.org First Vice President Judith Cutchin, RN, MSN judith.cutchin@nysna.org Second Vice President Marion Enright, RN marion.enright@nysna.org Secretary Nella Pineda-Marcon, RN, BC nella.pineda-marcon@nysna.org Treasurer Jayne L. Cammisa, RN, BSN jayne.cammisa@nysna.org Directors at Large Matt Allen, RN, BSN matt.allen@nysna.org Reginalt Atangan, RN reginalt.atangan@nysna.org Marie Boyle, RN, BSN marie.boyle@nysna.org Seth B. Dressekie, RN, MSN, PMHNP, BC seth.dressekie@nysna.org Flandersia Jones, RN, BSN, MPH flandersia.jones@nysna.org Michelle Jones, RN, MSN, ANP-C michelle.jones@nysna.org Sonia M. Lawrence, RN, BSN sonia.lawrence@nysna.org Benny K. Mathew, RN, MS, CCRN, CEN, SCRN benny.mathew@nysna.org Ari Moma, RN, MSA ari.moma@nysna.org Jean Erica Padgett, RN jean.padgett@nysna.org Regional Directors Southeastern Bruce Lavalle, RN bruce.lavalle@nysna.org Southern Aretha Morgan, RN aretha.morgan@nysna.org Catherine Dawson,RN,CNOR,MSN Central catherine.dawson@nysna.org

Lower Hudson/NJ Cynthia Caruso, RN cynthia.caruso@nysna.org Western Steven Bailey, RN steven.bailey@nysna.org Eastern

Bill Schneider, RN, CCRN bill.schneider@nysna.org

Executive Editor Pat Kane, RN, CNOR Executive Director Editorial offices located at: 131 W 33rd St., New York, NY 10001 Phone: 212-785-0157 Email: communications@nysna.org Website: www.nysna.org Subscription rate: $33 per year ISSN (Print) 1934-7588/ISSN (Online) 1934-7596 ©2021, All rights reserved

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he Hospital Clinical Staffing Committees and Disclosure Act — the landmark staffing law establishing clinical staffing committees in all hospitals in New York state — is an enormous step forward toward implementing safe staffing standards in all facilities across the state. The law is fundamentally about equality, and it is incumbent upon us to gather supporting evidence to ensure the clinical staffing standards achieved under the new law allow us to deliver the highest-quality patient care to every New Yorker.

The staffing law calls for “known evidence-based staffing information.” That is precisely what our Protests of Assignments (POAs) provide — evidentiary records completed and signed by NYSNA nurses and delivered to management. I have enormous confidence in our members’ understanding in the key role played by POAs. NYSNA enters your POAs into our data system (but excises names from POA forms that are distributed to the press). These records have several uses, now including support for clinical staffing standards under the law.  

The 2021 POAs referenced below (up to and including July) are examples of the kind of evidence-based reporting to effectively underpin our case under the new law. They represent seven hospitals from across the union, public and private. l At the first hospital, nurses submitted 236 POAs, which 807 members signed. (Multiple RNs sign most POAs, a very important expression of what each nursing team deems serious shortcomings in care assignments on their unit). “Caseload too high” was indicated on 178 POAs; “inadequate staff” was noted on 197. l Nurses at the second hospital, a safety net, submitted 407 POAs. Those POAs were attested to by 1,064 nurses. Fully 324 showed “caseload too high,” and on

this year. “Caseload too high” was indicated on 1,382 POAs, and “inadequate staff” showed on 1,962. l The nurses at a sixth hospital submitted 588 POAs, signed by 2,361 members. “Caseload too high” was indicated on 422, and “inadequate staff” was shown on 432. l And at the last, and seventh hospital reviewed, 190 POAs came in with 555 nurse signatures. “Caseload too high” was indicated on 94 and “inadequate staff” on 162.

Section of a Protest of Assignment form

333, “inadequate staff” was indicated. l Nurses at hospital three, submitted 284 POAs, signed by 756 members. “Caseload to high” was indicated on 212, and 221 showed “inadequate staff.” l Another hospital, the fourth, submitted 350 POAs signed by 1,242 nurses. “Caseload too high” was indicated on 255 of the POAs; “inadequate staff” was indicated on 258. l At the fifth hospital there are 1,813 POAs, signed by 7,607 members, completed thus far

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The POAs also play a key role in bargaining. At Westchester Medical Center, bargaining is set to begin on September 14. “POAs are vital to pinpoint the global issues going on throughout the institution,” said WMC LBU President David Long, RN. “They allow us to address these in real time. They highlight the deficits of management and exemplify the nurses’ need for improved patient care.”

Overall, the POA data from all hospitals staffed by NYSNA nurses show staffing inadequacies attributable to 90% of submissions — that’s a powerful statement for us to make.

Staffing Captains Play a Central Role

There are 3,400 staffing captains carrying out essential roles in our hospitals. They provide staffing data on each unit and each shift – creating frontline nurse-driven data critical to enforcing safe staffing. Under the Staffing Law, the captains take on added importance: They ensure compliance with the staffing terms set forth and agreed upon in the staffing plan and will help define the basis for all state complaint filings. Our goal this year is for each facility to generate and use staffing captains’ reports regularly and that any of the reports that reflect unsafe staffing be accompanied by a Protest of Assignment, giving a complete picture of the unit. Join the roster of staffing captains. To sign up go to https://tinyurl.com/NYSNA-staffing-captain-form.

NEW YORK NURSE august 2021

Employers Should Not Ignore the Trauma of Frontline Workers

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Endless cycle of death and disease The trauma engulfing nurses in hospital settings, is hard to overstate. “Nurses go into the profession to save lives, not watch as people lose their lives,” Nancy Hagans, a registered nurse and president of the New York State Nurses Association, told me. But in the first year of the pandemic, 3,600 healthcare workers reportedly contracted COVID-19 and died.

In addition to watching patients lose their fight with COVID, nurses also watched helplessly as colleagues died. The seemingly endless cycle of death and disease offered little reprieve; many healthcare workers know someone who lost their lives, let alone worked in environments where they regularly saw people succumb to COVID. In an investigative study conducted by KHN and The Guardian, journalists found disturbing trends among the healthcare workers who died due to COVID. The research revealed that more than one third of the healthcare workers who died were people of color, many were born outside of the United States, and nurses and support staff members died in far higher numbers than physicians. That this research came from journalists and not government entities is shocking.

By Pat Kane, RN NYSNA Executive Director

getty images/insta photos

t the start of the pandemic, nurses were hailed as heroes, especially by their employers. But the applause was all rhetoric with little in the way of tangible action to demonstrate the value of nurses and healthcare professionals. Nurses and healthcare workers need more than empty words.

Even before the pandemic, things were not great for healthcare workers. But given the COVID-19 health crisis that has ravaged families, businesses and communities, the work environment is even more stressful. Healthcare workers need help processing and healing from COVID-19 related trauma, which is particularly acute for those who work in hospital settings.

The Guardian reported that initially, state and federal regulators were not diligent about tracking infection and mortality among health care workers, leaving journalists and private citizens to undertake that task. The publication elaborated: “The government had no comprehensive record of the frontline healthcare workers who died of Covid-19. As of 7 April 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,526 deaths among health workers — but the agency admitted that this was a likely undercount, and did not provide identifying data such as names.

Other federal agencies maintained separate but incomplete lists of deaths, also lacking names.”

Long hours without support What must be understood is that this research is indicative of deep pain. COVID-19 upended life as we know it, but it also ushered in a period of mass grief. In addition to having a likelihood of contracting COVID, many people also lost loved ones to the illness. And yet healthcare workers were not able to exhale; they worked long hours without the supports needed to sustain themselves. It should come as no surprise then that many were and are suffering.

“I was on the phone with a nurse who had just completed her shift, and drove home, but could not get out of her car,” Hagans added. “As she sat parked in her driveway, she cried on the phone as I did my best

to assure her all would be well.

Eventually, I called her husband, who was home at the time, and asked him to go outside and physically carry his wife inside.”

In a piece on the impact COVID19 has had on nurses’ mental health, VOX cited a study that found that: “Female nurses in particular were at twice the risk of dying by suicide as women in the general population, according to research published earlier this year.”

In the wake of such devastation, healthcare workers need significantly more from the health systems that employs them. That they even must ask is mind-boggling.

Now is the time for employers to provide every financial, emotional and psychological support system to healthcare workers long beleaguered by a relentless pandemic.

To the extent they balk, local, state and federal governments must promptly intervene.

Sources Cited: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2778209?gue stAccessKey=b027c29e-f11c-415a-92d6766fdb5a083b&utm_source=For_The_ Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_ campaign=ftm_links&utm_ content=tfl&utm_term=041421 https://khn.org/news/article/us-healthworkers-deaths-covid-lost-on-thefrontline/ https://www.vox.com/22600439/nurseamerica-mental-health-suicide?fbclid=Iw AR1F4LHHTmfLHi4xI8xM_hWgm-L7I L5TAunkFYnqaph7YkIOdUlYY_8Bxfk

The research revealed that more than one third of the healthcare workers who died were people of color...

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Midwives

New York Nurse august 2021

Midwives Persevere and Win

D

uring the first months of the pandemic, the whole world watched a video of people lined up outside Elmhurst Hospital in Queens.

Against that backdrop, Elmhurst Hospital midwives have cared for women of all ages. The hospital serves a very large immigrant community, with patients from more than 20 countries receiving care at the facility. The midwives have cared for COVID-19-positive mothers and babies during the pandemic, delivering more than 400 babies, and they continue to do so.

Scenes of overcrowding on hospital floors were shocking. The story had many dimensions, but at its core is the underfunding of the New York City public hospital system, resulting in severe disparities and the segregation of health care, with inequitable death rates by race as the harsh reality.

Once a unit of 15, the midwives were down to just seven, an indication of the enormous demands of the job. There is much more to midwifery than delivering babies. In fact, the range of duties

Catalina Cruz, NYS Assembly Member

(left to right) Midwives Cassie O’Hara, Selene Henry-Lake, Keeley McNamara, Sarah Morelli, Margaret Re, and Rachel O’Hearn

Assembly Member Jessica Gonzalez Rojas and Metropolitan Hospital Midwife Eugenia Montesinos

Elmhurst midwives carry out is astonishing.

Multiple responsibilities Delivering babies is just one of their responsibilities. They see every pregnant person who comes through Elmhurst’s doors and they also run the gynecological clinic down the street from the main facility. They teach midwifery stu-

dents, medical students and OB/ GYN residents and offer counseling to every woman from adolescence to menopause.

The seven are on the Mount Sinai payroll but work at Elmhurst Hospital, the busiest in the New York City Health + Hospitals system. They voted to join NYSNA on March 21, 2019. Keeping experienced midwives was a major prior-

NEW YORK NURSE august 2021

[Excerpted from letter of support, to Dr. Kenneth Davis, President and CEO, Mount Sinai Health Sys tem, signed by 22 Elmhurst doctors, July 29, 2021]   

Sheela Maru, MD

ity in bargaining, and that meant keeping a lid on overtime and getting a pay raise. Over the course of a decade, the midwives have received just one pay raise.

COVID-19 overwhelmed their bargaining, and long delays ensued.

The midwives and management returned to the negotiating table this year, and the midwives won a major victory, ratified on August 3.

A successful battle “There are few things in life that, after doing battle and being worn down, you feel were worth it. I am happy to announce that the battle we fought as NYSNA nurses with Mount Sinai Services at Elmhurst was one of the outliers and worth it,” said Margo Re, CNM, who has worked there for 23 years. “Thanks to NYSNA for encouraging us to persevere. I am happy, relieved and proud that our two and a half-year battle has come to an end … and in our favor. May all our battles in the future be as successful!” said Re.

As you know, H+H/Elmhurst Hospit al Center is a 500+ bed public hospital situated in the “ep icenter of the epicenter” of the COVID pandemic in Queen s. Mount Sinai physician faculty and midwives have been on the frontlines. Elmhurst serves one of the most diverse region s in the country, and cares for a large undocumented and uninsured population. In this context, we have historically had up to 15 midwives serve this population; as a direct result of our failures in pay and work equity and refusal to fill emp ty positions, we are down to only 7.

The decimation of the midwifery pra ctice at Elmhurst Hospital has implications in racial and gender inequities across our care, training, and researc h mission. In care delivery, the loss of midwives has an extraordinarily negative impact on our diverse and marginaliz ed population we care for in obstetrics and gynecology. Mid wives have a broad scope of practice and play a critical role in delivering high quality care for low-risk obstetrics, family planning, and preventative gynecology. Research has demonstrat ed the central role of midwives in improving the quality of care and maternal health outcomes. If the communities in our public system do not have access to midwives, while those in the private Mount Sinai system do, we are furthering the seg regation of healthcare and disparities that persist in NYC.

“We are all so relieved to finally have a contract that will allow us to retain the amazing midwives in our practice and recruit new ones,” said Keeley McNamara, CNM. “We would like to thank all

(left to right) Danitza Aguilar, LPN, and Nettie Michel,RN

the NYSNA members, politicians, community activists and members of the Elmhurst and Mount Sinai community for supporting us through our negotiations.”

Gaetano Bello, MD

Krupa Harishankar, MD

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covid-19 march

New York Nurse august 2021

NYSNA Honors Our Fallen Heroes NYSNA “If Joan were here today, she would say, ‘Stay aware. Help one another.

Be involved.

You can’t turn away from this.

Support people in whatever way you can.

Just be there for somebody.’”

Susan Rowley

NYSNA members march across the Brooklyn Bridge in remembrance of those lost to COVID-19.

members came together with COVID-19 survivors and family members to honor those who lost their lives to and those who continue to struggle. The first Covid March to Remember took place on Saturday, Aug. 7, and was organized

by COVID Survivors for Change, a nonpartisan nationwide community of people who have been directly impacted by COVID-19.

Local organizer Pastor Brenda Mitchell kicked off the program for the day by saying, “Don’t forget those on the frontlines who gave everything they had so that we could be here today.”

Coming together to heal NYSNA First Vice President Judith Cutchin, RN, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an enormous toll, taking too many of our loved ones too soon. The pandemic has had an outsized impact in New York City, in the lives of our frontline and essential workers and in our communities

of color — and it continues to do so today. It’s so important that we come together to remember, to heal and to continue doing all we can to end this pandemic.”

important to come out and support one another.”

Flandersia Jones, RN, of Bronxcare, remembered her good friend Freda Ocran, RN, of Jacobi, who was one of the first nurses to Marching in remembrance die of COVID-19. Jones said: “We NYSNA members marched are the frontliners. We sacrificed alongside hundreds of other partic- ourselves, our families, just to take ipants, many wearing yellow, care of people … People the color of rememsay we signed up for brance. Marchers this, but we didn’t sign walked from Cadman up to die. This is the Plaza in Brooklyn, least we can do to over the Brooklyn honor them today.”

Bridge and placed Susan Rowley, yellow hearts with the the sister of longtime names of loved ones who ICU nurse, activist, and died of COVID-19 on a proud NYSNA memJoan Rowley, RN remembrance wall at City ber and representative Hall Park.

Joan Rowley, RN, marched with Deborah McMillan, RN, who NYSNA in honor of Joan, who works in long-term care at New passed away on May 28, 2021, Jewish Home, said, “I’m marchafter a long battle with COVID-19. ing for all the nurses, colleagues, “Joan did this kind of thing coworkers’ families and patients her whole life, but unfortunately we lost. Seeing so much death durshe was taken by COVID,” said ing this pandemic was incredibly Rowley, who worked for decades difficult, and that’s why it’s so for LGBTQ+ rights. “We need

NEW YORK NURSE august 2021

in COVID March to Remember

(above) Members remember and mourn NYSNA’s fallen COVID-19 heroes. (at left) Marchers placed yellow hearts on a memorial at City Hall Park.

to recognize that there’s a major health crisis in this country that’s affecting millions of people in all kinds of ways. COVID is not over, and we need to make sure we have health care for people. We have to have nurses. I saw what it was like in the hospital when my sister was there — what nurses do, how they brought their whole selves to the work and how that helped not only that patient but the families.”

It was an emotional and healing day, as people told stories and as NYSNA nurses and health care professionals marched over the Brooklyn Bridge. They remembered their colleagues who lost their lives on the frontlines, as well as those with long COVID-19, posttraumatic stress disorder and accumulated trauma from the last year and a half.

The struggle continues Winsome Dixon, RN, of Montefiore Medical Center, had a harrowing experience when she fell ill from COVID-19 in March 2020 and was marching to show her support for the many nurses who contracted the virus and survived.

“I wish more was said about the mental health of those nurses who

have experienced COVID not just themselves but also their family members. It can be devastating, and I encourage nurses to seek mental health counseling. PTSD is real.”

Nurses reminded the community that the pandemic is not over and that everyone needs to work together to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Mary McDonagh, RN, of Mt. Sinai Hospital, said, “Things need to change. They need to appreciate all the people who were on the frontlines and enact the NY Heroes Act. There are so many people still suffering from exposure and the fact that they got COVID on the frontline — they must be looked after. They did what they were supposed to do, and now the government needs to do what it is supposed to do.”

Debra Lee Brown, RN, from NYC H+H/Kings County Hospital, which is seeing a steep increase in COVID-19 cases, emphasized how people need to be vaccinated and follow CDC guidelines on masking and social distancing to help end the pandemic.

“I understand the reluctance to take a new vaccine, just like the reluctance to take any new medica-

tion, when you hear all the potential side effects and feel worried,” explained Lee. “It’s important to talk to your doctor and nurse with your concerns, listen to the facts and get vaccinated, because the upsides are worth it. I felt so much relief after I got vaccinated. We’re all in this together, so let’s all do our part!”

Honoring their legacy NYSNA is continuing to advocate for the resources that nurses and healthcare professionals need to deal with the pandemic, including increased mental health support for our NYSNA members and patients, and the need for proper infection control and enhanced health and safety protocols in all workplaces.

“We marched to remember our brave members who lost their battle with COVID-19 and those who continue to struggle with its long-term effects,” said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN. “We honor their legacy whenever we fight for quality care for our patients and safe working conditions for our nurses and health care professionals.”

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Health & safety

New York Nurse august 2021

NYSNA 2021 COVID Survey Results:

Many Nurses Still Sick Many Employers Still Not Providing Safe Conditions

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recent survey that NYSNA conducted with its members shows that, while some conditions have improved since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many nurses are still suffering the mental and physical effects of the virus, and working conditions do not meet the basic requirements for proper COVID19 infection control.

Most studies have found that long COVID-19 effects approximately 25-30% of people who’ve

been infected with the virus. A startling 56% of the NYSNA survey respondents who contracted COVID-19 said they experienced symptoms for two or more months.

Nearly 30% of those needed more than 20 days off work to attempt to recover. And 93% of respondents reported that the pandemic has affected their mental health.

Ill prepared The survey also shows that 13% of respondents still don’t have an adequate supply of personal protec-

tive equipment, and 25% reported that they have still not been fit tested for an N95 mask. And even after a year and a half of living through one of the worst pandemics in world history, 44% reported that they do not believe that their facilities are adequately prepared for future pandemics.

Neither the pandemic nor the work is done. Nurses must continue to fight for safe conditions for healthcare and other essential workers and the best possible care for our patients.

across our union

NEW YORK NURSE august 2021

CVPH and Vermont Healthcare Professionals Unite to Advocate for Safe, Quality Patient Care Staff is stretched to the breaking point — from the emergency room to critical care to medical surgical areas of the hospital.

UVM-CVPH pharmacist Holly Benoit speaks out for safe patient care and essential services.

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n July 21, health care professionals from UVM-CVPH in Plattsburgh, New York, traveled across Lake Champlain to Burlington, Vermont, to join with nurses from the UVM Medical Center to demand that UVM Health Network administrators put patients first.

They spoke out in front of UVM corporate headquarters about the staffing and service cuts throughout the network that are putting patients at risk. New York and Vermont health care professionals called for safe, quality care for all communities on both sides of the lake.

United for safe patient care CVPH LBU President Dea Lacey, RN, said: “We’re proud to be here today with our union siblings at the from Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals. Their fight is our fight. They are going up against the same employer, who is trying many of the same things here in Burlington as they are in Plattsburgh. Our sisters and brothers want safe, quality care

in their community with enough nurses and caregivers, too.

Patients on both sides of the lake deserve that. We may be divided by a lake, but we are united in caring across our communities.”

In Plattsburgh, staffing and service cuts from the disastrous restructure are causing delays and hardship for patients and putting their safety at risk. Staff is stretched to the breaking point — from the emergency room to critical care to medical surgical areas of the hospital. More and more of the services close to home at CVPH, such as surgical and endoscopy services, are being shipped off across the lake to Burlington.

NYSNA member Holly Benoit, an inpatient pharmacist as CVPH, said: “I communicate with nurses on the floors constantly, and I can tell that there’s not enough staff to safely care for our patients. The health and safety of our community is at stake! Any one of us could be a patient; and right now, I don’t envy our patients.”

In Burlington, the UVM Medical Center is experiencing high turnover and filling significant staff vacancies with travelers, which compromises the quality of care

NYSNA members took their speakout to UVM’s corporate headquarters in Burlington, Vermont.

provided at the region’s Level One Trauma Center.

Solidarity forever Health care workers from both unions were buoyed by the solidarity they received from Vermont elected officials, including State Senator Chris Pearson, Representative Selene Colburn, Representative Emma Mulvaney Stanak, Representative Brian Cina and Councilor Jane Stromberg.

Members from both unions and elected officials committed to continue working together and advocating for what nurses, health care workers and patients need throughout the UVM Health Network.

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across our union

New York Nurse august 2021

Fresenius Contract Ratified

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Chelsie De la Cruz, RN

YSNA nurses working at Fresenius Kidney Care dialysis centers in Brooklyn, Bronx, and New Rochelle overwhelmingly ratified a new contract on August 19. The winning contract includes a retiree health benefit in the form of a Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association, which marks the first new retiree health benefit. The significant gains also include a new float team to help with staffing and better mandatory overtime language.

“We finally secured a retiree health benefit for our members who have worked hard caring for patients over the years, as well as a brand new float team and salary increases,” said Bargaining Committee member Teresa Schloth, RN. The contract also includes a commitment to maintain the current NYSNA Health Benefits and Pension Plan for the life of the agreement.

(left to right) Bronx-based Fresenius NYSNA RNs Chelsie De la Cruz, Albertha Mullings, and Sam Yeboah tally votes.

Fresenius Kidney Care is the largest dialysis company in the United States, holding 40 percent of the market. Based in Homburg, Germany, it is also the maker of dial-

ysis equipment and supplies. A forprofit entity, it provided substantial returns to its investors in this country, where its U.S. subsidiary is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

WMC nurses: ready to bargain Negotiating committee comprised of 15 members is focused on working conditions in forthcoming bargaining to commence on September 14. “Retention has been greatly affected due primarily to dissatisfaction with staffing and increased demands on nurses to deliver frontline care without ancillary support. As a result, over 100 nurses have left WMC in the last year as a result of these work place conditions. Nurses are continuing to leave WMC in record numbers, with mostly new graduates now being hired, requiring months of training.” David Long, RN and LBU president. (standing, left to right) Anabela De Almeida-Pinto, Kim Marsh, Brigid Flavin Castellano, Aja Sciortino, Jon D’Addesio, Zina Klein, Katelyn Spicer, Sam Caquias, Judy Karius, Lecia Gannon, Cari Cabarrubia, Jackie Williams, Margaret Ciavolella (sitting, left to right) Liesl Van Ledtje, Mary Lynn Boyts, David Long, Jayne Cammisa, Nina Johns

NEW YORK NURSE august 2021

Fill the Vacancies, Say SIUH Nurses

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ixty NYSNA members spoke out about persistent staffing issues outside Staten Island University Hospital/ Northwell Health on August 17. The nurses say there are 50 vacant nursing positions that hospital managers have so far refused to fill with staff nurses. Their resounding message came two weeks after a contract ratification that reads, in part: “All vacancies shall be posted.”

“NYSNA nurses at SIUH are committed to caring for the people of the Staten Island community.

They have worked tirelessly since COVID arrived. But there are not enough of us to do the necessary job,” said Dawn Cardello, RN and LBU co-president. “But rather than fill these positions, they bring in agency nurses who work on a daily basis often in positions for which

Kaneez Askery, RN at the microphone

they have not been adequately trained. Just ask them! They have no real accountability to the hospital or to this community.”

Staffing shortages have impacted units across the hospital, including the Neonatal ICU and among other Continued on page 11

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across our union

New York Nurse august 2021

Fill the Vacancies Continued from page 11

The number of the unposted, unfilled vacancies are in units where there are perpetual staffing problems and where census is not, in fact, consistently low.

critical care areas. Jennifer Jara, RN, in the Neonatal ICU, said, “ I work with the most fragile patients in nursing. A Neonatal ICU nurse should have no more than two babies at a time to deliver the highest level of care to them.”

“However, this is not our truth.

We have unfortunately had three to four ICU patients due to lack of nurses.”

Irrefutable facts Management has so far provided two responses, which the nurses say they have heard before: “census is low” and “this is our decision-making prerogative as management”.

But the facts are irrefutable, say nurses. The number of the unposted, unfilled vacancies are in units where there are perpetual staffing problems and where census is not, in fact, consistently low.

“During the pandemic our census of patients has increased and our staffing numbers have decreased,” Jara said. “We are here to remind our hospital that our patients come first and we need the 50-plus nurse vacancies to be filled so we can

(left to right) Amy Gupiteo, RN, Carolina Noel, RN and Jessica Ardi, RN

provide the best care to our community. Our patients deserve to have attention from nurses who are not tired and burnt out.”

Eight, nine ... even 10 patients Also among the nurses voicing their concerns was Kaneez Askery, RN, who specializes in oncology but has been caring for COVID patients during the pandemic. She said, “We are supposed to be assigned five or six patients maximum, but we routinely have

Dawn Cardello, RN and LBU co-president at the microphone

eight, nine and sometimes even 10 patients per nurse. It’s physically impossible to be in so many places at one time. I want to be able to have the time to communicate with my patients and their family members, and give them all the attention that they deserve. This hospital is crucial to the care of dozens of communities here on Staten Island.”

But neither SIUH nor its owner, Northwell Health, is showing the commitment to safe, quality care that the communities deserve.”

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august 2021

A Salute to Essential Workers

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n August 4, Long Island Jobs with Justice held its annual Awards Dinner.

NYSNA nurses were honored, as part of the celebration of frontline essential workers and the unions that represent them. Nurses from Brunswick Hospital Center, Catholic Health/St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, South Shore University Hospital/Northwell and Flushing Hospital Medical Center attended the awards, identifying other Long Islanders who answered the call during the pandemic.

“As frontline workers, we recognize the hardship of essential workers, especially the day laborers who steadfastly worked so people on Long Island and other regions were able to get fresh food,” said NYSNA Board Member Michelle Jones, RN. “The Centro Corazon de Maria played an important role, as did the churches and unions honored for their roles during the pandemic. We acknowledge the courageous people who worked for the common good in the face of danger.”

“[W]e recognize the hardship of essential workers, especially the day laborers who steadfastly worked so people on Long Island and other regions were able to get fresh food.”

NYSNA Board Member Michelle Jones, RN

(left to right) RNs Tim Annunziata, Brunswick Hospital Center, Kiera Staton, Catholic Health/St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, Victoria Diaz, South Shore University Hospital/Northwell, and NYSNA Board Member Michelle Jones, RN, Flushing Hospital Medical Center

New York Relief Network is Back!

The destruction wrought on Haiti by the devastating earthquake coupled with hurricane conditions demonstrate the critical necessity of our relief and recovery efforts. New York Relief Network care professionals returned from the first mission undertaken since March 2020. A team of two registered nurses, one nurse practitioner, one health educator and a local doctor provided medical care to 235 migrants from Central America and Haiti held in the border town of Matamoros, Mexico. Thousands of migrants are there, sheltered without health care in dire conditions. They are awaiting a chance to cross into the U.S. Watch this video NYSNA produced about the mission https://tinyurl.com/NYRN-Mexico-2021.

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NYC H+H

New York Nurse august 2021

Report from Rikers Island

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he majority of individuals held at the Rikers Island Correctional Facility have not been convicted of a crime.

A small percentage are inmates serving sentences of less than one year. Both receive care from NYSNA nurses, medical doctors of the Doctors Council SEIU and physician assistants represented by 1199SEIU. The three unions came together in the early morning of August 16 to join in an urgent message to the press and public. Patients are sick and needing of care, sometimes very extensive treatment for acute illnesses. Some have mental health and behavioral issues. But security inside Rikers healthcare clinics, including mental health units, is very poor, sometimes lacking altogether and impeding the safe delivery of care.

“As nurses at Rikers continue to deal with the current COVID-19 pandemic, another life-threatening crisis faces them on a daily basis,” said Alicia Butler, RN and president of the LBU, who counts 19 years at Rikers. “Increased violence and threats of violence become the norm. Nurses have become victims in an unsafe environment leading to physical attacks, threats and total chaos.”

Constance Clark, RN, Rikers nurse

for their health and safety every shift.”

The Intake Unit Nadyne Pressley, RN, is a supervising nurse and NYSNA member.

She has worked for 13 years at Rikers in admissions processing and most recently at the Center for Disease Units, urgent care facilities within Rikers where she sees trauma patients, some suffering from COVID-19. They can be noncompliant, she explained, and in need of 14-days isolation, wearing an N95 mask throughout the day. She noted that tent-like facilities — “sprungs” — have been reopened now to house COVID19 patients where correctional officers are on duty to ensure isolation. The tents are tangible proof that COVID-19 is on the rise at Rikers.

Pressley described an intake unit, a pen with benches and no place to sleep, where — as one doctor confirmed — detainees may spend up to three nights with limited food and water. Recently the unit housed 47 inmates, far more than maximum capacity.

“When they are released from intake,” said Pressley, “many detainees are agitated and angry. It leads to

violence. It’s the worst possible way to introduce them to Rikers.”

Doctors pointed out that delays in examining detainees take away critical days needed for treatment of COVID-19, diabetes, cardiac conditions, asthma and other illnesses from which the Rikers population suffers.

Nurses at the mental health unit say they feel unsafe and unprotected in the work environment.

Patients awaiting treatment are unsupervised and some are violent.

Altercations with nurses and other staff are increasingly common.

Deserving care “They are human beings,” said Pressley, referring to the patients.

“Whatever they’ve done to land them here in no way should cause delays or anything else that compromises care. Nurses are patient advocates — all patients.” It’s that ethical commitment that brought Pressley out that Monday.

The message to the Rikers hierarchy was clear: Without a secure environment to provide undisturbed care, nurses cannot get the job done. “Our job is about care, comfort and compassion,” said Pressley. “There is nothing but compassion left.”

200 nurses Butler knows the violence all too well. One year ago, Butler was attacked and her hip badly injured, requiring surgery. She is still recovering and is halting as she walks.

Despite the injury, threats and what she calls “a broken system,” Butler is dedicated to improving patient care.

The 200 Rikers nurses share an extraordinary commitment to their work, as do the other caregivers at the facility.

They were joined at the Rikers Gate by healthcare colleagues who work alongside them. “We are seeking,” a joint statement read, “a safe and effective solution for colleagues who face great personal risk simply by fulfilling their professional duties. They work under fear of losing their lives or being assaulted and in fear

(center left) Nadyne Pressley, RN, and (center right) Alicia Butler, RN, Rikers nurses

NEW YORK NURSE august 2021

August 16 rally by NYSNA, 1199SEIU and Doctors Council SEIU

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NEW YORK NURSE

Non-Profit US Postage Paid NYSNA

august 2021

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

INSIDE

NYSNA

We are coming up on the second anniversary of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of enormous challenges, NYSNA members helped save tens of thousands of New Yorkers.

We advocated for our patients, profession and communities. We moved New York to pass a landmark staffing law, moving us closer to equitable, universal minimum safe staffing standards for all hospitals and nursing homes, regardless of zip code.

convention Wednesday October 27 8:00AM – 4:30PM POAs Pave the Way, p. 2

registration now open

We are hosting a hybrid in-person and virtual one-day Convention. Delegates and members have the option of attending a watch party in person with their colleagues at the Sheraton Times Square, or virtually.

Starting a month before and on the day of Convention, members will be able to take a series of accredited educational workshops.

Employers Should Not Ignore the Trauma of Frontline Workers, p. 3

United for Our Patients, Our Practice, and a Just Recovery for All

Registration for the Convention and workshops https://www.nysna.org/2021Convention