Caring for All New Yorkers

october 2013 New York the official publicationnurse of the new york state nurses association

NYSNA Caring for all New Yorkers

SPECIAL Convention issue Looking back at a year of key firsts. Looking forward to our plan to win safe staffing and fair contracts.

RNs at the West Indian Day Parade (above). A first-hand look at our fight to keep hospitals open. Page 4. Upstate nurses are coming together to join us and build NYSNA power (right). Page 9. 2 New York Nurse october 2013

NS’ Y NA s extraordinary year Taking stock By Patricia DiLillo, RN, NYSNA President We brought our fight for healthcare to the ’m writing this shortly before the NYSNA convention, which will public this year – and we built a growing Iconclude with our newly elected movement for healthcare for all. board taking office. We’ve had a remarkable year. Literally thousands of NYSNA members stepped up and got involved in the fight for for-profit hospitals into New York. process, won a moratorium on safe staffing and quality healthcare And, in another first, we made an hospital closings statewide. We for all New Yorkers. endorsement for New York City won a lot of support in Albany for Nurses are tough. We stare suf- mayor during the primary and a safe staffing law. We stopped fering in the face every day, and helped make healthcare a key issue a proposed law that would have we don’t flinch. We just keep our in the race. let for-profits operate hospitals in professional promise and deliver New York and another that would compassionate, expert care, day in, Advocating for healthcare have weakened the Certificate of day out. Nursing isn’t just about bedside Need process, a tool we count on to We have brought that same care. It’s about advocacy. We can’t speak out when hospital adminis- toughness to reforming our union. give our patients the care they trators propose service changes that Together, we have made NYSNA deserve if we’re stretched too thin will hurt the communities we serve. democratic. Every member now has and our hospitals are cutting ser- a voice. vices, and even closing. And that Building a movement means participating as a union in Our fight is far from over. Taking new steps politics. Together, we can descend Hospital closings will be a threat We also have made NYSNA in numbers on City Hall, Albany again. Wall Street interests will be

Advocating for patients. Advancing the profession.SM sharper. We brought our fight for and any hospital where elected back. We must turn support for healthcare to the public, marching officials or administrators need safe staffing into enough votes to

Bo ard of Directors in the streets for safe staffing and reminding how much healthcare pass a law. But we’ve made a lot President protesting time and again across matters. Together, we can push for of progress – and we’re building Patricia DiLillo, RN, MEd New York City and the state to stop laws and budgets that reflect the a movement that’s tough enough First Vice President service cuts and hospital closings. needs of our communities. to win. Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, MSN, FNP For the first time ever, we took a That’s what we’re doing. And It has been my great honor to Second Vice President Marva Wade, RN strong stand in the halls of political we’re seeing results. stand with you. This is my last Secretary power. Busloads of nurses trav- We stopped Long Island College column as president, but I’m most Anne Bové, RN, MSN, BC, CCRN, ANP eled to Albany to lobby for a safe Hospital and Interfaith Medical certainly still in the fight with you. Treasurer Patricia Kane, RN staffing law and against allowing Center from closing – and, in the Together, we’ll prevail. Directors at Large Anthony Ciampa, RN Ingred Denny-Boyce, RN, BSN, MSN Shirley Hunter, RN, MS Tracey Kavanagh, RN, BSN Colleen B. Murphy, RN, MS Grace Otto, RN, BA, BSN Sean Petty, RN, CPEN Karine M. Raymond, RN, MSN Veronica Richardson, RN Verginia Stewart, RN Regional Directors Southeastern Michael Healy, RN Western Gaen Hooley, RN, BS Southern Gwen Lancaster, RN Central Carol Ann Lemon, RN Lower Hudson/NJ Eileen Letzeiser, RN, BSN, MPH Eastern Martha Wilcox, RN

Executive Editor Jill Furillo, RN, BSN, PHN Executive Director Editorial offices located at: 131 W 33rd. St., New York, NY 10001 Phone: 212-785-0157 x 159 Email: [email protected] Website: www.nysna.org Subscription rate: $33 per year ISSN (Print) 1934-7588/ISSN (Online) 1934-7596 ©2013, All rights reserved NYSNA nurses are taking to the streets and the halls of power to defend public hospitals and to win safe staffing. CORPORATE ATTACK NEW YORK NURSE 3 october 2013

Hoarders beware The U.S. can afford healthcare for all Census Bureau. New York City is Time magazine reported that now dubbed the “Inequality Capital hospital equipment manufacturers, of America,” says Huffington Post. suppliers, and drug makers rou- Mayor Bloomberg leaves office with tinely gouge the healthcare system, By Jill personal wealth of $27 billion, New with charges in many multiples of Furillo, RN, Yorker magazine reported, much of those in other industrial countries. The preamble of the NYSNA it derived from providing financial “If we paid what other countries U.S. Constitution talks Executive information services to Wall Street. did for the same prescription drugs, “ Director Those are the “financial engineers” we would save about $94 billion about promoting the we bailed out with tax dollars five a year,” said Time. No wonder general welfare of hen you look beyond the years ago, but from whom a promised healthcare companies are ablaze homeless, among them recovery in the vast majority of our on Wall Street, where their merg- the people. It’s time W20,000 children in New communities has yet to materialize. ers and acquisitions mount. For the “We the People” York City alone, beyond the hard- hoarders, healthcare is just another ship of elderly women from whom Corporate aid source of cash. started enforcing our $75 in monthly food stamps – a The lowest corporate taxes in two As we know, hospital CEOs get constitutional rights. week’s groceries – was “seques- generations plays an important part their share. At Montefiore and There is plenty of tered” away this year, and look in corporate cash hoarding. The Presbyterian, CEOs pocket more past smoldering forests where fire- average effective tax rate for U.S. cor- than $4 million a year each, with money to meet the fighters died, their ranks depleted porations was 12.1 percent in 2011 other executives in our hospitals human right to quality by layoffs from blistering budget (the latest available figure), bringing taking home more than $1 million cuts, what you see are piles of cash. the rate to a 40-year low. Since 2009, a year. healthcare.” U.S. corporations, excluding the when Wall Street paid itself $140 bil- Pressures continue to mount to –NYSNA President-elect banks, have a staggering $2 trillion lion in bonuses with our tax dollars, raise revenue at our hospitals, to do Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN in cash, according to the Federal 10,000 public employees have been our share for corporate hoarding. Reserve, a historic high. And when laid off each month, mass public lay- For patients, the price is quality of you add worldwide holdings, the offs that continue today. care. That’s not a price we can pay. figure more than doubles, says the Hospitals have a role in this his- We held the line in Brooklyn and IRS. A “$5 Trillion Stash,” headlined toric cash hoarding, with hospital we will continue to hold the line The Atlantic magazine. This historic corporations and nonprofits alike wherever we are unified and ready hoarding, the sidelining of capital operating as profit centers. to act. Let the hoarders beware. essential to rebuilding a productive economy, is a national disgrace. To put it in perspective, our total annual national healthcare expenditure is $2.7 trillion. Do the math. America’s richest sharehold- ers – the 1 percent – have set aside a sum equal to almost two years of healthcare. In just one year, 2012, 80 million Americans did not make a recommended doctor visit or fill a prescription because they could not afford it, a Commonwealth Fund survey found. This economy, a jug- gernaut of inequality, is doing us in.

Greed run amok The hoarders are insatiable. Income of the 1 percent rose 31 percent between 2009 and 2012, while the income of the bot- tom 40 percent fell 6 percent. New York stands out in this dia- bolical undoing. Income inequality is greater in New York State and NYSNA President-elect Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN (third from right), Treasurer in the New York City region than Pat Kane, RN (second from right), and fellow members rallied before the U.N. in in any other state or metropolitan September, calling for a small tax on Wall Street transactions, called the Robin Hood area in the country, according to the Tax, to fund social needs like healthcare and public education. our 4 New York Nurse fightback october 2013 How we saved our hospital

By Julie Semente, RN, Secretary, LICH Executive Committee

ast January, I opened the morning newspaper and L found out that SUNY NS Y NA’s planned to close LICH, the hospi- fight to save tal where I’ve helped save lives for 30 years. I knew what the fight to Julie Semente, RN (left), with fellow leaders in the fight to save Long Island LICH led to save LICH’s life would take and College Hospital: Loreto Gasmen, RN, Joan Rowley, RN, and Herdley Hill, RN. a statewide thought, “I can’t do this again.” But LICH nurses never walk away moratorium from a fight. On Valentine’s Day we held a press within one hour. I had texted a on all hospital A week later we gathered on a community informational night “call to arms” and by the time I got corner for a speak-out in below and 300 people attended. By downstairs, the TV news was film- closings! zero weather. NYSNA board mem- mid-April, 500 marched across ing, and there was a full-blown dem- See www.nysna.org/LICHLessons ber Gwen Lancaster, RN, came southwest Brooklyn for LICH. onstration commencing. Incredible. for a longer version of this article. from Manhattan. For the first time, Our efforts resulted in two we felt that our leadership was This time was different Supreme Court judges ruling that paying attention to our struggles We’ve long voiced dissatisfaction LICH cannot be closed. Today, the in Brooklyn. that Brooklyn wasn’t getting the ambulances are gradually coming We formed a coalition with the attention we needed from the asso- back, patients are being admitted, doctors and service union and ciation. But this time was different. and there’s hope for LICH. invited community leaders and Our executive director was with us Even more, our legal victory led officials to our meetings to bring fighting day and night, as were our to a statewide moratorium on all them on board. And we worked reps and numerous NYSNA staff. hospital closings! This fight is so with community organizations to Together, we built a movement. much bigger than us now – it’s for build support. By June, when SUNY started patients everywhere. For SUNY’s first unlawful vote unlawfully moving patients out of With NYSNA, we have won to close LICH in early February, LICH, we had built such an effective every battle so far, and together we we requested a NYSNA bus and rapid response team that we were will win the war for our patients, opened it to everyone in the hospi- able to mobilize a rally with 200 from Brooklyn to the Bronx tal and community. people, elected officials, and tons of and beyond. O ur vow: No more closings The story of how we kept LICH and Interfaith open is to hold resumé writing workshops – rather than to organize a a story of dedication, commitment – and how changing our comprehensive and strategic campaign to fight the closing. union has given us the power to stop hospital closures. What a difference a year makes. The new NYSNA brought Since 2000, 28 hospitals have closed across our state. As the together all of the resources of our organization, members, and new NYSNA, we’ve vowed to stop this. allies to the fight – and we won a moratorium on all hospital OPEN Until now, NYSNA was not up to the challenge. When a closures. The moratorium may not last. We have many tough FOR hospital closing was announced, NYSNA’s old orientation was fights ahead. But our union is readier than ever before. CARE

Rini Templeton Hospital closings since 2000 Closed Massapequa General Hospital 2000 Beth Israel Medical Center/ 2004 Cabrini Medical Center 2008 Genesee Hospital 2001 Herbert and Nell Singer The New Parkway Hospital 2008 Interfaith Medical Center/ 2003 Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center/ 2004 Victory Memorial Hospital 2008 Jewish Hospital Medical Center* Florence Durso Pavilion Albert Lindley Lee Memorial Hospital 2009 Mary McClellan Hospital 2003 Our Lady of Victory Hospital 2004 Mary Immaculate Hospital 2009 St. Agnes Hospital 2003 St. Joseph’s Hospital of Flushing 2004 St. John’s Queens Hospital 2009 Staten Island University Hospital/ 2003 New York United Hospital Medical Center 2005 North General Hospital 2010 Concord Site St. Mary’s Hospital of Brooklyn 2005 St. Vincent’s Hospita/Manhattan 2010 Island Medical Center 2003 United Memorial Medical Center/Bank 2005 Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital 2012 The Caledonian Hospital 2003 Street Division Peninsula Hospital Center 2012 ViaHealth of Wayne/Myers Campus 2003 St. Vincent’s Midtown Hospital 2007 Sheehan Memorial Hospital 2012

*Relocated & consolidated to Interfaith Medical Center NEXT STEPS NEW YORK NURSE 5 october 2013 The 2014 challenge here’s no time to hang back and rest on bring home a safe staffing law and strong our recent progress. We stopped the full- contracts, and to keep Wall Street out of T on assault on healthcare in 2013. But we healthcare in New York for good. Here, have not won – yet. This year we’re upping our NYSNA board members share their thoughts ante in every fight and pushing even harder to on what success will take.

Beati ng back Wall Street “The idea that profit would be more important than care is innately abhorrent to nurses. So when it came out that Wall Street was trying to weaken the Certificate of Need process as prep for bringing for-profits into healthcare in New York, we mobilized. Carol Ann Lemon, RN, (second from left) marches with NYSNA members to the Pat Kane, RN, speaking on the steps of “We surprised people in Department of Health office to keep hospitals open for care. City Hall. Albany. We were fired up, chant- ing in the hallways, practically W inning safe staffing having a rally. But it was important to make a public issue out “We won support for the safe staffing bill dur- “Hospital executives made a mighty effort to stop of this. We’re not playing nice ing the last legislative session in Albany (86 Assembly us. Wall Street has money, but we have our hearts anymore. And it worked. We beat members and 23 Senators) but we didn’t have enough and nurse power and community support on our side. three tries to let Wall Street take momentum to stop hospital opposition and get out of We can’t afford as a society to have anything but safe over our hospitals. committee. staffing. Patients are people who deserve care. They’re “Wall Street will be back. “We’re not giving up; we’re just getting stronger. not dollar signs.” And we’ll need all hands on We’ll be out in bigger force than the hospitals this year, –Carol Ann Lemon, RN, Ellis Hospital, NYSNA deck: building our base, work- uniting with community groups and pressing politi- Central Regional Director ing closely with community cians to do the right thing. groups. People need to know that another way is possible. We don’t have to accept big business in healthcare – and we won’t. “At first, keeping LICH open seemed like a noble fight, but Buildi ng a impossible to win. It’s incredible what we accomplished. We can movement do that with Wall Street too.” –Patricia Kane, RN, for strong Staten Island University Hospital, NYSNA contracts Treasurer Verginia Stewart, RN, endorsing Scott Stringer for NYC comptroller because of his stand for quality healthcare in all communities.

“Winning the contracts nurses deserve depends on “And we need to empower NYSNA members. Everyone our actions. needs to be involved in moving our cause forward. “In politics, we need to elect our candidates in Demonstrate. Lobby. Talk to neighbors and your congre- November. But Election Day is just a start. We have gation. New Yorkers need to hear from us. And we need to hold politicians accountable and make sure they to send a message: we’re unified in large numbers. defend healthcare and negotiate with us. “I’m definitely expecting a new day in New York. “We need to keep building a coalition of patient Something great is happening, and we are helping to groups and community groups. We need to keep raising make it happen.” awareness about the threats to quality healthcare and –Verginia Stewart, RN, Metropolitan Hospital, showing that our efforts together make a difference. NYSNA Director at Large 6 New York Nurse october 2013

Ptublic sec or nurses unite statewide Defending quality care for all New Yorkers n September, 200 of NYSNA’s public sector nurses from every part of the state came together for our first-ever conference dedicated specifically to sharing our experiences and strategizing Iour next steps in fighting the attack on public hospitals.

“Budgetary hardship in New “There’s unconscionable “I have witnessed the ravages York State makes no sense. Think inequality in healthcare. As public of HIV and the efforts to stop its of all that has been privatized; sector nurses, we share a core transfer from mothers to children. hospitals make money, and we go principle: a non-negotiable commit- I have seen kids come through, home more tired. We must use our ment to standards of care, respect persevere, and make it. Do the voices, together, and have a com- for nurses, and advocacy for endur- titans of Wall Street see this his- mon strategy to take care of our ing access to quality care in our tory? Profit motives have no place patients and ourselves. We have the neighborhoods.” in public hospitals.” power if we come together.” –Anne Bové, RN, President of –Jackie Gilbert, RN, President –Eileen Letzeiser, RN, NYSNA the NYSNA HHC Executive of the NYSNA Congress of Lower Hudson/NJ Regional Council Local Bargaining Units Director

“I want to have a voice at work. “I’m most concerned about “Many working class people New York-Presbyterian Hospital RN Anthony Ciampa expresses the support We’re seeing more people, and privatization in public hospitals. desperately need public healthcare. of private sector RNs for public sector sicker people, without a change I’ve seen quality declining drasti- Nurses are rallying, speaking out nurses and our mission. in the staff ratios. We can stand cally because of it, and we’re being at City Hall and Albany, for safe together and fight at the state level required to do more outside the staffing and improved funding, for changes to protect patients and scope of nursing. This takes us and against the travesty of privati- nurses.” away from the bedside and under- zation. As one of the most trusted –Cathy Bystrak, RN, mines patient care.” professions, our voice makes a Terrace View Long-Term Care, –Sonia Lawrence, RN, difference.” Erie County Medical Center Lincoln Hospital – Doreen Gatanas, RN, Elmhurst Hospital PB U LIC SECTOR NEW YORK NURSE 7 october 2013 5 attacks on our public hospitals

nti-union politicians and business interests are out to 4. Destroy standards. A A destroy our public hospitals. And they’ve got a strategy: strong contract with good pay and benefits protects nurses and patients 1. PRIVATIZE. Hospital executives Subcontracting also is supposed alike. It helps recruit and retain in Massena, near the Canadian to be about savings, but it’s new, talented nurses and protects us border, are trying to fully privatize been a disaster. On Westchester from being worked to the bone. the town hospital. In the 1990s, Medical’s burn unit, skilled aides Our Rudy Giuliani tried the same have been ditched for aides with HHC nurses have gone five years with HHC hospitals. He failed, no experience replacing a burn without a raise. Last year, Albany fight but Mayor Bloomberg and HHC dressing. Patients deserve better. passed the Tier 6 pension cut executives have been privatizing in for new nurses. That’s bad news back bits and pieces – from services like 3. Cut services & close for the long-term health of our Nurses have a strategy dietary, laundry, and housekeeping units. NYC officials shut down public hospitals. too. In September, 200 of us to key treatments like dialysis. Labor and Delivery at HHC’s gathered to begin preparing our North Central Bronx Hospital in 5. Wall Street. We beat three next steps at NYSNA’s first-ever Privatizing is supposed to save August, cutting 10 percent of the attempts to let Wall Street take public sector conference. money. But the real cost is to qual- Bronx’s L&D capacity. Moms in over New York hospitals last year. 1. Using our votes. ity care. For-profit companies labor now have to travel much fur- But Stephen Berger, an investment NYSNA had never made an make dialysis treatments faster and ther to give birth. banker who has already made his endorsement in a New York patients get less attention. And mark closing hospitals, warned that City mayoral election, until nurses end up filling service gaps Public hospitals bear the brunt they would be back again. now. We sat out every election – picking up linens, getting food, even when private hospitals Bloomberg faced – even the last one, which he almost lost. This and cleaning – taking time from eliminate services. When they shut Wall Street and private equity year, we endorsed candidates patients and bedside care. “unprofitable” units, the extra firms have taken over hospitals in for mayor, comptroller, public patients come to us – but we don’t other states. The results are disas- advocate, and city council who 2. Subcontract. Executives at get additional resources. That’s trous. They cut RN staffing. They support nurses and patients. Westchester Medical Center laid off what happened in Harlem when eliminate “unprofitable” services. 2. Documenting unsafe 140 RNs at the end of 2011. The Continuum closed pediatrics and Wait times skyrocket. Community staffing. At Westchester next summer, they axed hundreds the detox unit at St. Luke’s. hospitals close. People suffer. Medical Center, we documented of aides, too, replacing them with over 3,000 separate Protests of workers from private, for-profit Our public hospitals care for all New Yorkers. That’s a mission Assignment in 2012. We used staffing agencies. Management that documentation to win back even sunk so low as to advertise millions of people agree with. We can save our public hospitals 50 of the positions that execu- for RNs on Craigslist. by bringing together the communities and patients who rely on tives had subcontracted out. us. We will not see our mission destroyed. 3. Building alliances, and a movement. In Massena, we’re working with other unions and community groups to keep our community hospital public. In the Bronx, new moms, community leaders, and City Council members are coming together with NYSNA to continue challenging service cuts.

Our story. Our voices. Nurses have a long, proud history in New York’s public hospital system. We share it at www.nysna.org/HHCdocumentary h eALThcare 8 New York Nurse policy october 2013 W hich way to healthcare for all? Whee th r or not history one day considers the Affordable Care A look at the Affordable Care Act Act (ACA) a victory for patients or insurance companies depends, in part, on what we do next. The Affordable Care Act’s healthcare exchanges began selling insurance plans on October 1 – and already big insurance companies are twisting the law to make a buck. “We need The New York Times found that companies like Cigna are offering publicly ACA plans with small networks of accountable, doctors and hospitals in order to make a profit. publicly funded That’s just one of the contradic- universal tory effects of the new health law. coverage Millions get covered that cares as The ACA has already improved insurance coverage for millions of much about Americans. It’s now illegal for insur- the poorest ance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. New Yorkers as Young adults can stay on their the wealthiest parents’ insurance until they turn 26. And the law extends Medicaid because we coverage to 16 million people. would all be in These changes are a victory for patients, and they deserve our full the same boat.” support. Hospitals will start getting –Dick Gottfried, reimbursed for many patients who Chair, New York were uninsured until now, which is particularly important for safety- State Assembly net hospitals. And yet, as we go Health Committee to press, the federal government remains largely shut down because Access to care We need a healthcare system that Republicans in Congress refuse to Having insurance may not always cares for everyone. Vermont has fund the law. translate into having access to care. started to build a not-for-profit The ACA emphasizes primary care, single-payer insurance system in The profit takers but many communities in our state which everyone gets the same level The ACA is not a panacea: it don’t have a primary care network. of insurance coverage and care. leaves for-profit corporations in “Elite” hospitals will have every Dick Gottfried, chair of the charge of healthcare. And the big incentive to poach patients with New York Assembly Health insurance companies are shifting better insurance who need expensive Committee, is proposing similar many costs onto patients. The procedures, at the same time that legislation in New York. “We need least expensive, or Bronze, plans the law ends the Disproportionate publicly accountable, publicly available on the ACA exchanges Share Hospital funding that many funded universal coverage that require patients to pay 40 percent of our safety-net hospitals have cares as much about the poorest of their healthcare costs. And the relied on to help pay for uninsured New Yorkers as the wealthiest law expects low-income families patients. Safety-net hospitals are because,” Gottfried said in a recent to pay 9.5 percent of their total likely to struggle mightily, and more interview with NYSNA, “we income on premiums, not counting may well be in danger of closing or would all be in the same boat.” deductibles and other out-of-pocket cutting services. NYSNA has made winning this healthcare expenses. law a top priority for our legislative The law does nothing to stop Healthcare for all work. Success depends on our insurance companies from denying It’s simple, really. Healthcare and building a powerful coalition of medical procedures to those they profit making don’t mix. And neither patients, community leaders, and cover. For-profit insurers will still do healthcare and politicking. Just caregivers. With universal healthcare, be calling the shots on patient care look at what the Republicans in history won’t have to debate who decisions. Congress are doing. won. It’ll be clear: patients. the reality NEW YORK NURSE 9 october 2013

A growing emergency Upstate New York’s healthcare crisis

he nationwide trend of hospi- Medical Center in Lake Placid with of more than $20 billion in other tal consolidation has sparked a part-time ED. Local residents federal cuts over the next 10 years. T controversy about the poten- and visitors (over 1 million each Meanwhile, many analysts fear that tial long-term effect on healthcare year) will be forced to go to another the end result of consolidations will O n guard for costs. Hospital consolidations are Adirondack Health hospital in likely be higher, rather than lower, already having unexpected conse- Saranac Lake (17 miles away) for healthcare costs. Increased consoli- care upstate quences in upstate New York, where emergency service between 11 p.m. dation will lead to less competition, From the North Country to the 68 percent of all hospitals (outside and 11 a.m. which will grant healthcare systems Southern Tier, we are uniting to of the New York City metropolitan greater leverage in negotiating rates protect care in our communities: area) are affiliated with at least one Merger madness with insurance companies. The com- other hospital. New York is not alone in coping bination of higher hospital charges  In Plattsburgh, we’re fighting for a contract that guarantees safe The fallout of system savings with the aftermath of consolida- and high deductible health insur- RN and caregiver staffing levels. through greater economies of scale tions. There have been more than ance plans may well make it hard for must be measured, though, not just 1,000 hospital mergers and acquisi- even the insured to pay their medi-  In Gouverneur, we’ve joined in dollars but also in patient care. tions in the U.S. since 1994. The cal bills, much less the uninsured. with 1199SEIU to demand Cuts in services – and proposals for rate of consolidation deals is accel- that all services stay open at E.J. Noble Hospital. further cuts – are increasingly par erating, with 50 in 2006 and 105 in Unsure future for the course in upstate hospital 2012. There were 46 merger deals in The full effect on patients and  In Elmira, we’ve built a powerful systems, putting more and more the first seven months of this year, hospitals is yet to be seen. As David coalition of neighbors and New Yorkers at risk. and the pace may well increase with Aker, CEO of Canton-Potsdam patients to speak out against the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Hospital, which is acquiring E.J. the downgrading of services at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Service cuts The ACA encourages consolida- Noble Hospital in Gouverneur, St. Joseph’s Hospital in Elmira, tions of hospitals and physician recently observed, “New York is for instance, became part of Arnot practices under the premise that this 49th in the nation in terms of acute Health in 2011, a system with three will reduce healthcare costs. Savings care hospital profitability, so we will hospitals in New York’s Southern will result, says the theory, from not defy gravity forever.” Tier. In August, plans became public creating accountable care organiza- Not surprisingly, Canton-Potsdam U niting for that the hospital would shift acute tions and by shifting Medicare and won’t commit to keeping all ser- and intensive care services to Arnot Medicaid reimbursements from vices open in Gouverneur. Nurses patient care Ogden, another system hospital; volume to value. are not waiting for bad news: We’re Almost every single RN at the Bellevue 54 nurses lost their jobs as part of Hospitals also are facing financial actively standing up with the com- Woman’s Center in Niskayuna has this transition. pressure from reductions in federal munity to make sure that the people signed a petition to management to In New York’s North Country, reimbursements. Hospitals in our of Gouverneur and the surrounding recognize our new union – NYSNA. Adirondack Health has plans state will face sequestration-related area have access to the care they Many Bellevue nurses are especially to replace the 24/7 Emergency Medicare cuts of more than $2 bil- need, when and where they need it. trained to care for newborns or Department (ED) at Adirondack lion between 2013 and 2021, on top mothers who have delivered by C-section. Management is re-assigning these skilled nurses to care for other kinds of patients – without the appropriate level of training or orientation, say nurses.

“We are very concerned that the changes management has made could compromise care for our patients – new mothers, women, and babies,” said Christine Walthers, registered nurse in the post-partum unit at Bellevue. “We need a say in patient care decisions in our hospital. That’s why we are joining the New York State Nurses Association.”

“I see nurses being forced to take on 10 patients at once. That is too many,” said Vickie Decker (left), a registered nurse for 24 years at Bellevue. “We’re on the front lines of the changes in healthcare. We’re looking forward to sitting down with Ellis Hospital management to discuss how we can work together to improve care for our patients.” eni v ronment 10 New York Nurse & health october 2013 F ighting climate change is our imperative

rofessor Wade Hill is an RN Professor Hill says he first Healthy Environments, which is with a Ph.D. in Public Health. understood the connection bringing environmental concerns PHe teaches and researches at between nursing and the environ- into nursing. the College of Nursing at Montana ment as a nursing student. As he State University. His specialties puts it, “Florence Nightingale was W hat we must know include the health effects of climate the first environmental nurse.” Professor Hill says every nurse change and the leading role nurses The connection between nursing should know this about climate should play in addressing the and the environment has largely change: climate crisis. He and May Boeve, been lost, contends Hill. He’s on a 1. Climate change is real. Its con- executive director and co-founder of mission to change that: “We need sequences are serious. Human 350.org, a global organization fight- to re-attach ourselves as nurses activity is the cause. Any nurse who went through ing climate change, will be leading to the environment.” To that end, 2. It s health effects are important, Hurricane Sandy should take an a workshop on climate change, along with about 20 other nurses, and happening now. “ health, and nursing at the NYSNA he co-founded a national organi- immediate interest in climate 3. Taking action is our impera- zation, the Alliance of Nurses for change. The nurses who cared convention. We spoke recently. tive as nurses. It’s a necessary for patients during and after the part of our mission to promote storm, those who went up and health. down the stairs in apartment T he facts about climate change W hat we can do buildings in the Rockaways and 1. S upport adaptive measures Red Hook helping stranded New The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a worldwide committee of hundreds of scientists, issued a major report in September on the that help our communities Yorkers get care, who went physical science of climate change. Its conclusion: “ Warming of the climate respond when environmental home to devastation in Staten system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed disaster strikes. Island, saw all too closely the changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The 2. Fi ght for policies on clean air effects of climate change. atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and and clean energy to slow, stop, ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations We are in a unique position and reverse climate change. of greenhouse gases have increased.” The reason for these changes? 3. Spread the word. People trust to speak out against it. “Human influence.” We can’t ignore this danger us. This gives us a unique ability to educate the public to our world.” and advocate for change. – Sean Petty, RN, Jacobi Hospital, NYSNA Director at Large Healt h effects √ Climate change kills. The World Health Organization estimated that in the year 2000 there were 160,000 excess deaths globally due to climate change alone.

√ Extreme weather and storm surges not only cause drowning and injuries; displaced populations create catastrophic public health threats.

√ Warming temperatures negatively affect air quality, exacerbating respiratory problems.

√ Spring pollen season is already starting earlier in the U.S. and may “ We need to re-attach be lasting longer, making allergies ourselves as nurses to the worse. environment.” √ Heat waves put people in danger. Annual heat-related deaths in Los –Prof. Wade Hill, RN, PhD Angeles are projected to increase up to 7 fold by the end of the 21st century. election action NEW YORK NURSE 11 october 2013

NY SNA endorsed Your vote candidates N EW YORK CITY By Marva is your voice Mayor Bill de Blasio Wade, RN, Comptroller Scott Stringer NYSNA Public Advocate Letitia James Second Vice Manhattan Borough President President Gale Brewer

ike it or not, politics matters – New City Council Districts a lot. Elected officials at every Manhattan L level of government pass bud- 1 Margaret Chin gets and laws that profoundly affect 2 Rosie Mendez our lives. Healthcare is far from 3 Corey Johnson immune. Just think about our efforts 4 Daniel Garodnick to win a statewide safe staffing law, 8 Melissa Mark-Viverito funding for public hospitals, and the 10 Ydanis Rodriguez fact that thousands of NYSNA members working in those hospitals need Bronx to win strong, new contracts. 16 Vanessa Gibson We cannot let others shape Queens healthcare in America without 20 Peter Koo hearing loudly – and clearly – 21 Julissa Ferreras from us, the people at the bedside 24 Rory Lancman delivering care and putting our 25 Daniel Dromm professional oath into practice. 26 Jimmy Van Bramer 27 Daneek Miller The power of the ballot 30 Elizabeth Crawley They say that power is the ability 31 Donovan Richards to get things done. Well, we’re show- Brooklyn ing our power this election season. We made endorsements around 33 Stephen Levin the state for candidates who’ve 34 Antonio Reynoso taken a stand for quality, affordable 38 Carlos Menchaca healthcare. In New York City, we 39 Brad Lander helped Bill de Blasio win the pri- 40 Mathieu Eugene mary in September without a runoff 42 Inez Barron – and we’ll help elect him mayor 45 Jumaane Williams in November. Last year, NYSNA’s Staten Island work for CeCe Tkaczyk put her 49 Deborah Rose over the top in the closest race for State Senate – and she signed on to EI R E COUNTY support our safe staffing bill. See www.nysna.org/elections Our right to vote is under attack. NASSAU COUNTY That is one reason why it is so impor- Executive Tom Suozzi tant to exercise our right and vote. As I see it, helping to elect offi- Legislature cials who will put healthcare for District 2 Robert Troiano New Yorkers before profiting District 5 Laura Curran from the healthcare industry for District 11 Delia DeRiggi-Whitton Wall Street investors is part of our responsibility as nurses. That’s SU FFOLK COUNTY why I urge each and every one of District 3 Kate Browning my fellow NYSNA members to use The candidates in New York City who will stand up for patients when they’re WE ESTCH STER COUNTY our power at the polls and vote on in office: Bill de Blasio for Mayor, Letitia “Tish” James for Public Advocate, Executive Noam Bramson November 5. Scott Stringer for Comptroller.

F or a complete list of NYSNA’s endorsements statewide, VOTE NOV 5 for the people who help go to www.nysna.org/elections decide the future of hospitals and healthcare. Non Profit Org. NEW YORK NURSE U.S. Postage PAID L.I.C., NY 11101 october 2013 Permint No. 1104

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