NEW YORK NURSE: June 2007
by Nancy Webber
NYSNA members and staff were among thousands who marched in the Philipine Independence Day Parade in New York City on June 3.
“We were there to express our support for a group of Filipino nurses who experienced unbelievable hardship after they immigrated to this country,” said Barbara Crane, president of the NYSNA Delegate Assembly. “They were lied to, exploited, and finally taken to court when they refused to work under conditions that were unsafe for patients.”
The “Sentosa Nurses” first came to NYSNA’s attention in 2006, shortly after they resigned from their jobs at various nursing facilities on Long Island. After their former employer, Sentosa Care, sued them for breach of contract and professional misconduct, they turned to NYSNA for help.
NYSNA assisted them in getting a hearing before the State Board for Nursing. “They couldn’t get work because the issuance of their licenses was on hold pending investigation of an allegation of patient abandonment,” said Tina Gerardi, RN, NYSNA chief executive officer “Those charges were dismissed by the state board. We are greatly concerned that these RNs are now being prosecuted for the same actions.”
On March 22, ten of the nurses were indicted by the Suffolk County District Attorney on charges of endangering the welfare of patients at the Avalon Gardens Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Smithtown. The misdemeanor charges were filed because the facility management claimed there were no nurses to provide care when the Philippine nurses quit without notice.
The nurses have insisted that nurses were available when they presented their letters of resignation at the end of their shifts. In addition, the 26 registered nurses and one physical therapist have filed a civil suit claiming that they were denied the rights guaranteed by their employment contract. Although they had been hired to work at specific nursing facilities, when they arrived in the U.S., they discovered they actually were working for an agency.
Over a period of months, the nurses said, the agency refused to pay them according to the terms of their contracts. They also said they were not properly trained for their new jobs and were required to care for more patients than they believed was safe.
“This case may be just the tip of the iceberg. Nurses who come to the U.S. deserve to have their rights protected,” said Crane. “Instead, these nurses were placed in the untenable position of being captive to an employer under conditions that did not allow them to provide safe patient care.”
NYSNA issued a joint statement with the American Nurses Association on June 1 demanding fair treatment for immigrant nurses. The nurses’ plight has become a cause célèbre in both the Philippines and the New York City Filipino community.