OCTOBER 20, 2016 • TIMES OF SMITHTOWN • PAGE A5
Strike may be coming for nurses at St. Catherine of Siena, St. Charles By Alex Petroski alex@tbrnewspapers.com Registered nurses at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown and St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson have been working without a contract since March 2015, but they may be nearing a tipping point. Nurses from both hospitals voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike this week, according to a statement dated Oct. 17 from the New York State Nurses Association, a union that represents about 40,000 registered nurses in the state. “We are very frustrated with management,” Tracy Kosciuk, a St. Charles nurse in the maternal child unit who has been with the hospital for nearly three decades, said in a statement. Kosciuk is also the president of the union’s executive committee for St. Charles. “We feel a total lack of respect. Our community appreciates our dedication and management should too.” Spokespersons from both hospitals responded to the union’s actions in emailed statements. “We are working diligently to resolve all issues and have made great progress toward that goal,” separate statements from St. Charles executive director for public and external affairs, Marilyn Fabbricante, and St. Catherine’s executive vice president and chief administrative officer, Paul Rowland, each said. “We look forward to a mutually satisfactory collective bargaining agreement which rewards our nurses and meets the needs of our hospitals.” Fabbricante added that St. Charles has
File photo above by Alex Petroski; file photo below by Giselle Barkley
rNs from st. Catherine of siena Medical Center in smithtown, above, and st. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, right, picket earlier in 2016. Now a strike looms. not yet been informed by the union of plans to go on strike. Carl Ginsburg, a spokesman for the union, said they have strike authorizations from members at both hospitals, though negotiations are ongoing and no dates have been determined for the strikes. Unions are required to give health care institutions at least 10 days notice prior to a strike, according to the National Labor Relations Board — and Ginsburg said that had not yet occurred. According to the release from the union, its members are frustrated by inadequate staffing and are seeking better health benefits and a pay increase in their next contract.
In 1995, performance of nurses and other health care professionals became subject to ratings based on patient surveys conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, according to its website. “All of these issues affect retention and recruitment,” Tammy Miller, a nurse at St. Catherine of Siena, said in a statement. “Keeping and attracting experienced nurses are essential to quality care.” Dawn Bailey, a registered nurse and labor bargaining unit executive committee member of the NYS Nurses Association, said during a picket outside the Smithtown medical
center in April that working a shift without adequate staff can be dangerous not only for patients, but for nurses as well, on top of the potential damage it can do to ratings. “You can’t have two people lifting a patient all the time because there’s not that other person available,” Bailey said. “When people are going out with back injuries, then [members of hospital administration] wonder why.” Kosciuk expressed a similar sentiment during a picket in April. “Unfortunately the mentality … nowadays in the industry is [that] all hospitals are short staffed,” she said. “That’s not acceptable to have that mind-set.” Victoria Espinoza contributed to this story.
Suffolk County bans new deadly opioid drug By ViCtoriA esPiNozA Victoria@tbrnewspapers.com A victory was gained in the fight against opioid abuse this month, as the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously approved a new bill that prohibits the sale and possession of U-47700, a highly addictive synthetic opioid drug. The pink pill contains fentanyl, another addictive and dangerous opioid, and is resistant to treatment with Narcan, a drug used to revive people who have overdosed. Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills) created the bill, which passed Oct. 5. “We must do everything in our power to protect our young people from synthetic opioids like U-47700 that we know lead to addiction, serious health effects, graduation to heroin and potential death,” Stern said in a statement. Stern’s office said U-47700 was originally developed by the pharmaceutical industry as an alternative to morphine but was never marketed when it was determined to be more than eight times as potent as mor-
phine. The drug is manufactured overseas, mainly in China and is sold at a low cost on the internet, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. It can be smoked, snorted or orally ingested and can cause respiratory depression, coma, permanent brain damage and death. The DEA temporarily listed the drug on Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act in September because of the imminent hazard it presents to public safety. Schedule I drugs have a high potential for abuse, are not currently accepted for medical use in the U.S. and are deemed unsafe even under medical supervision. Other drugs in the Schedule I list include heroin, LSD and ecstasy. Many states, including Georgia, Ohio and Wyoming, have banned the drug. The DEA confirmed at least 15 fatalities from the use of U-47700, and according to news sources, at least 50 deaths nationwide can be linked to the drug. According to the bill, any person who knowingly violates the law will be guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor punishable
U-47700, a new opioid drug, has reportedly led to more than 50 overdose deaths across the country and is resistant to Narcan treatment.
File photo by rohma Abbas
suffolk County legislator steve stern moved to ban this new drug quickly. by a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to one year of imprisonment. The law goes into effect immediately after the Office of the Secretary of State files it. The legislation to prohibit its sale was supported by the entire legislature, as well
as Health Commissioner James Tomarken and Police Commissioner Tim Sini. “I thank my colleagues on the Legislature for joining me in taking meaningful action to protect the health and safety of our communities,” Stern said.