JUNE 2018
A NEWSLETTER FOR NYSNA RNs AT WESTCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER
Nurses Win More Staff for 4North In December, Westchester Medical Center management decided to decrease the beds in 4 North, a dynamic and fast-paced trauma/bariatric unit that also cares for general surgical patients. The change was intended to increase patient satisfaction by renovating and modernizing rooms. The plan was to create private rooms instead of double rooms, which would become cramped with all the equipment, staff and visitors. Beds were cut from 42 to 20 to create the private rooms, and four swing rooms remained to accommodate any unexpected rise in patient census. Eight new RNs volunteered and were transferred to 6 North. The change lasted about three shifts—or 36 hours—before the census surged. Suddenly four nurses were caring for a consistently high number of patients—over thirty on most shifts. The census remained in the 30’s, but the unit was only staffed with 4 RNs per shift. “It felt like we were being set up for failure,” said Corinne Noonan, RN, an Assistant Manager on 4N and NYSNA Release Time Representative. “Our patients have high acuity and sometimes high-risk behaviors. We were see-
ing an increase in codes, an increase in rapid response, and an increase in patient complaints. It was so disheartening. Nurses got the job done, but not up to the level we know we can deliver and want to deliver for our patients.” Nurses began speaking up, but upper management didn’t seem to recognize that the changes they made to the unit were negatively impacting patient care. Nurses took it to the next level, writing a joint letter to outline the problems and presenting the letter at the April Labor-Management meeting. We kept up the pressure, and the new Interim Director of Nursing finally admitted that the change was not working and started opening up lines. Management agreed to hire four new nurses for 4N—two for the day shift, and two for the night shift. Westchester Med also agreed to hire 28 agency nurses to cover several units that are chronically understaffed, including 4N, until the new hires are trained and complete orientation. Corinne explained, “We have a good starting point, so we’re feeling hope for the first time in a while. The nurses are not surrendering. We have power in numbers. Being here and doing our best under the circumstances is a show of our strength and our commitment to nursing.”