NY Nurse May 2016

Safe staffing momentum growing!

Nearly 30 NYSNA members who live and/or work in Rockland County were on hand April 26 and again on May 3 to champion a safe staffing resolution through the Rockland County Legislature. Retired NYSNA member from Nyack Hospital and current Rockland County Legislator...

NYSNA members and President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, took part in the May 14 Break Free action, which brought together 1,500 people from 100 organizations in Albany’s Lincoln Park to call for an end to the “bomb trains” used to transport gas and oil and that seriously endanger community health...

On May 10, NYSNA nurses joined our Campaign for Patient Safety allies from the Public Employees Federation, the Communication Workers of America, the New York State Union of Teachers, and the New York StateWide Senior Action Council to lobby for the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act in Albany.

Near...

On May 5 in New York City, NYSNA nurses joined more than 2,000 strikers from CWA and IBEW and their supporters for a massive march and rally.

Jalisa Saud, RN at Coney Island Hospital, addressed the crowd on behalf of NYSNA nurses.

“I am here on behalf of the 39,000 nurses of NYSNA to tell you that...

On April 21, NYSNA nurses at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown held an informational picket to shine the spotlight on staffing concerns at their hospital.

For the past year, NYSNA nurses have been at the bargaining table negotiating a new contract, but management has been unwilling...

In late April, Mayor de Blasio released a comprehensive report titled “One New York: Health Care for Our Neighborhoods.” In it, the City commits $2 billion to transition New York City’s Health + Hospitals public healthcare system to one that is centered on community healthcare.

A week before the...

Political and community leaders joined NYSNA nurses and 1199SEIU caregivers for a march and rally on May 11 to raise awareness about short staffing and patient care concerns at Vassar Brothers Medical Center (VBMC) in Poughkeepsie.

VBMC has expanded services and seen significant growth in patient...

NYSNA RNs spearheaded a statewide day of action for safe staffing in honor of National Nurses Day on May 6. Elected leaders and patient advocates joined nurses at rallies and press conferences throughout the state calling on the New York State legislature to pass the Safe Staffing for Quality Care...

NYSNA nurses stand with the nearly 40,000 women and men on strike since April 13 to save middle class jobs. The strikers are employees of Verizon and members of the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. At the time of publication, the strike had...

Harriet Tubman, an African American woman, nurse, former slave, and famed conductor of the underground railroad will replace Andrew Jackson, a slaveholder, on the front of the 20-dollar bill.

Harriet Tubman is most known for her heroic acts to free slaves. She herself was born into slavery and...

As I write this column, our priority bill, the “Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act” (S.782/A.8580-A) – the bill that will set a maximum number of patients a nurse can care for at any one time – is being hotly debated and seriously scrutinized by key legislators. Why is that?

This year, our...