Message from PASNAP President Maureen May, RN

Dear PASNAP family,

Last year, as I wrote my message to you, the first case of the Omicron variant in the U.S. had been identified just a month prior, and the PA Department of Health had announced a surge in COVID cases and hospitalizations across the Commonwealth. Then, the nearly 2-yearold pandemic was still very much with us in a way that now is thankfully no longer the case.

COVID-19 hasn’t disappeared, of course. And, yes, the crisis in our hospital continues. But I see so many reasons for hope in our hospitals and in our union as we look back to 2022 and forward to 2023.

In the last year, we won truly momentous victories for our patients and for each other. At ACMH in Western Pennsylvania (opposite) and at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia (see pages 4 and 5), nurses, professionals, and technical specialists came together to force their hospitals to do right by their patients and their caregivers. You needn’t look any farther than the photo on the cover of this

Critical Update of ACMH Nurses United President Cassie Wood and ACMH Techs United President Cris Scott highfiving each other to understand that our strength really comes from our solidarity.

In Scranton, 450 professionals and technical specialists at Geisinger Community Medical Center didn’t have to look far to be aware of the benefits of unionization—the GCMC nurses they work alongside have made big workplace and patient care gains in their contracts. The pros and the techs began organizing, and in December, they voted “yes!” to unionize with PASNAP in two landslide votes. Check out page 12 for more information on their wins.

These three wins, just a few from 2022, highlight the importance of our strength and solidarity as a union.

In healthcare, we are taught to put our patients first, always. But in order to be able to advocate for our patients in the loudest voice possible, we need to stay strong and stay together. Our solidarity— between nurses and allied professionals, across eastern and western Pennsylvania— is our most valuable resource as a union, because it’s through our solidarity that we can continue to make a difference for our patients and our professions in the years to come. But it isn’t the only one.

You needn’t look any farther than the photo on the cover of this Critical Update of ACMH Nurses United President Cassie Wood and ACMH Techs United President Cris Scott high-fiving each other to understand that our strength really comes from our solidarity.

The theme of this year’s House of Delegates (don’t miss it! see page 8 for more details and to sign up!), where we as a union come together every year to celebrate our solidarity, is “Building For Our Future: Ready, Set, Grow!” (thank you, PASNAP Executive Board member Shirley Crowell for the excellent wordsmithing!). One of the ways in which we need to build for our future at PASNAP is to grow our financial resources. It has become very clear that our current resource base doesn’t give us what we need to meet the challenges of the day in 2023, fighting huge healthcare conglomerates tooth and nail for every win, and to keep moving forward, together. To read more about our plans for the future and for building our financial strength as a union, turn to page 8.

In the meantime, PASNAP family, accept this virtual high-five from me!

In solidarity and with tremendous appreciation for all you do,

Maureen May, RN PASNAP President