On New Year’s Day, NYSNA leaders attended the inaugurations of Mayor Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate Tish James, and Comptroller Scott Stringer, all of whom we endorsed because of their commitment to strengthening and expanding our public hospital system and protecting vital community hospitals. NYSNA played a pivotal role in electing these progressive patient advocates and we look forward to working together to build a better New York for our patients, and to holding these newly elected leaders accountable.
RNs at Bellevue Woman's Center voted overwhelmingly to join our union!
"I am so proud to become a NYSNA member," said Chris McCann, a nursery RN, when she announced the results at a victory party.
“This election is a great victory for nurses, our patients, and our entire community,” said Christine Walthers, Bellevue RN and a leader of the organizing drive. “We decided to join NYSNA after management started to make changes to how we care for our patients – without consulting us. Nurses and our patients need a voice in healthcare. NYSNA is that voice.”
On November 13th, a judge ordered that the hospital must stay open while further mediation occurs between owners that want to close the facility and the advocates of keeping Interfaith Medical Center open for care. NYSNA rallied at the courthouse while proceedings were occurring, and members were heartened by the news.
NYSNA members have noted that the facility is alone in serving the community, and that its closure would leave residents without medical care. Ari Moma, a NYSNA leader and RN in Psychiatric Services at Interfaith, noted that "today's decision to move forward with mediation was a positive step toward finding a solution that maintains healthcare access in Central Brooklyn. We are looking forward to contributing to the conversation with the goal of ensuring that any plan for the future of Interfaith takes the needs of the community into account.”
Moma went on to note that mental health services are of particular concern: “The Affordable Care Act mandates insurers to treat mental health care on par with physical health so the demand for psychiatric care will soon expand - at the same time we've seen cuts in mental health services, with fewer in-patient psychiatric beds in Brooklyn. Interfaith is the largest private provider of psychiatric services in the borough and essential to the care of thousands of mental health patients."
The death toll from Typhoon Haiyan (called Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines) has reached 10,000. Communication has been limited and family members are struggling to find each other in aftermath of the storm.
Many survivors lack access to food, shelter, clean water, or the medical care they desperately need.
Nurses are stepping up to do what we do best: care for those in need. NYSNA nurses took immediate action and began collecting donations for relief, circulating flyers in our facilities and sharing information online.
There are many ways to further help in relief efforts.
A little rain couldn't stop us from rallying for safe staffing!
More than 100 St. Joe's RNs, Yonkers City Council members, community supporters, and NYSNA RNs took the streets of Yonkers to rally for safe nurse-to-patient ratios.
"We do 200% sometimes so we don't abandon our patients, but we need more staffing," said Hasan Haman, RN at St. Joseph's.
St. Joseph's Medical Center is a vital community hospital in downtown Yonkers that served more than 48,000 patients in 2012. In 2012, CEO Michael J. Spicer made $772,606, plus $194,943 in other compensation – a 19% increase over the previous year.
NYSNA RNs are calling for a new contract that guarantees safe minimum staffing levels for patients.
"You keep us safe. I'll do whatever I can to keep you safe," promised Yonkers City Council Member Chris Johnson
"Definitely this is something that patients need, because we are really the last line of advocacy for our patients, aren't we?" NYSNA President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN told News 12. Check out the coverage.
Reducing hospital re-admissions is one of the chief cost-cutting tactics of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Hospitals that have excessive 30-day readmissions for Medicare patients admitted for heart-related illness or pneumonia will face reduced payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
A new study conducted by Matthew D. McHugh, PhD, JD, MPH, RN, FAAN at University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, concludes that facilities with lower staffing ratios have lower odds of being penalized for excessive readmissions under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), the group responsible under the ACA to reduce readmission rates. Hospitals with higher nurse staffing had 25% lower penalization rates than similar hospitals with less nurse staffing. They also have 41% lower odds of receiving the maximum penalty for readmissions.
Notably, the research also finds that each additional nurse hour per patient day is associated with 10% lower odds of HRRP penalties.
Hundreds of NYSNA RNs and supporters rallied yesterday for safe staffing and respect at Montefiore – including Monte's newly-acquired facilities in Westchester.
At Monte Moses, NYSNA Executive Director Jill Furillo & NYSNA President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez led about 300 RNs in street theater, lively singing and a speak out.
At Monte Weiler, more than 80 RNs rallied, led by Karine Raymond, RN, Weiler LBU president.
A photo album of the rally is on our facebook page. Like & Share if you stand with us for safe staffing and respect.
