NY Nurse October 2015

Western members gain new tool in staffing fight

Members from Western New York gathered for an introduction to a new staffing data collection system and a presentation by NYSNA President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, on September 23 in Buffalo.

Members learned that a “Safe Staffing Captain” in each NYSNA unit can text information about an unsafe ratio (e.g., 3–15) in real time, directly to NYSNA, where the data will be recorded and aggregated. The new tool aims to capitalize on the convenience of texting to bolster NYSNA’s staffing research efforts.

Putting out the word on patient advocacy, safe staffing, and single payer to community allies, NYSNA members participated in The Great New York State Fair this year. In what has become an annual tradition from August through Labor Day, NYSNA members and staff hosted an exhibit at the state’s fairgrounds outside Syracuse.

Camara P. Jones, MD, is president-elect of the American Public Health Association and a family physician and epidemiologist, focusing on the impacts of racism on the health and well-being of the nation. Dr. Jones was honored at a Convention reception hosted by the NYSNA Committee for Social Justice and Civil Rights. On the second Convention day, she delivered a compelling presentation, “Health Disparities and the Importance of Identifying and Addressing Racism: a Primer,” where she also answered questions from members.

Dr. Camara Jones shared this thought:

The generation of nurses that is on the cusp of retirement has seen radical changes in healthcare. When they started, there were no electronic medical records or lifting devices, few safety protections, and low wages. This generation won better wages and working conditions and more respect for the profession. More recently, they have experienced hospital closures, privatization and the corporatization of healthcare. How will the younger generation step up to these new challenges? That was the major theme of the Young Nurse Leaders Plenary at Convention this year.

On schedule, a freight train full up with toxic, highly-combustible fracking oil travels through New York State and is loaded on to tankers in Albany. The trains roll through dozens of communities, including Saratoga Springs, the site of our Convention. Hundreds of NYSNA nurses took time on the morning of October 21 to rally at those train tracks and to stand with the community against this horrendous health hazard.

When Trish Kuhn, RN, a newly-elected NYSNA board member from Utica, NY, stepped to the podium of the Opening Plenary of Convention 2015 in Saratoga Springs, her voice resonated. “We have felt the unity this year!” she exclaimed. “We are the leading voice to take profit out of healthcare!”

It’s been a busy season for NYSNA members on Long Island. In recent months, LI members were raising funds for charities, marching in parades, and conducting community health outreach, while continuing their ongoing push for safe staffing and fair contracts.

Patient advocacy is what defines NYSNA. That was a resounding message of our 2015 Convention. That advocacy starts at the bedside and extends to our communities, and beyond, where we assess and address social and economic conditions — root causes of much of the illness we treat.

In the next year we will sharpen our focus on promoting healthcare equity throughout the state, invoking our own unity, working with coalitions and demanding decent living conditions and access to quality care for all New Yorkers.

As news of a repugnant, racist reference to Haitian nurses first reached the Convention, members were appalled and disgusted. The racist reference appeared in an advertisement placed by Interim Healthcare and ran in the Pennysaver publication distributed in Rockland County, NY.

“We were outraged by this ad,” said Frantz Descorbeth, RN, a member of Haitian origin who works at Interfaith Medical Center, Brooklyn. “But, the support we received from other members was swift and strong.”

“Wow! Awesome! Amazing!” That was the overwhelming consensus regarding the content, workshops and booths at the NYSNA Convention.

Again, nurses put NYSNA on the map with an outdoor rally and memorial protesting unsafe fracking oil train transport that was reported by state and national media outlets.