BCLS/ACLS/PALS/NRP Recertification
All RNs are required to keep the certifications required for their area of practice current. Members without current certifications have until 1/31/05 to obtain them. Without current card documentation RNs will not be allowed to work after 1/31/05. ACT NOW!
Nurse/Patient Ratios Enforcement Campaign
As of January 1, 2005, the improved nurse-patient ratios in the 2003 contract will be enforceable. In addition, hospital-wide ratio violations will be subject to arbitration. It is, therefore, imperative that staff participate in monitoring violations of nurse/patient ratios. All members will receive a new simplified documentation form in the mail. One copy of the form is to be kept on each unit so that the nurse/patient ratios for each shift can be recorded. A copy of the form is attached. We can hold Management accountable for poor staffing, but only with your help!
Grievances and Unit Issues
- Management has failed to respond appropriately to several grievances previously heard and reported in this newsletter. The delegate assembly voted to take the following issues to arbitration:
- An RN was denied sick pay after reporting to the ER at the beginning of the shift;
- The ER has been chronically understaffed and Management has responded by often floating 3 to 5 RNs a day to the ER, mostly from the ICUs. These RNs have not received an adequate orientation to the area. Management proposed providing a one-hour orientation for RNs who float to the ER to be conducted on the RN's own time without pay. The delegates voted to go to arbitration over the Hospital's refusal to pay RN's for the time spent in the orientation. Upon being informed of the arbitration vote, Management decided to provide the orientation by other means.
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A class action grievance has been filed on behalf of OR nurses in Gynecology and General Surgery as a result of the elimination of OPEX technicians. These techs have operated and maintained the multifaceted equipment used for all laproscopic procedures. Four techs have been available on a daily basis to supply and clean instruments, replace gas tanks, etc. The Hospital intends to eliminate all but 2 or 3 techs, which effectively leaves 1 tech per shift covering 3 floors. The Union is fighting any efforts to dump tech responsibilities on circulating nurses.
The Union is investigating a potential class action grievance regarding the absence of monitor nurses on telemetry floors. In fact, the monitor nurse was recently eliminated on 9 Lachman without due process of any kind. The lack of a monitor nurse has been an ongoing problem on 5 Lachman. The contract requires a monitor nurse for Med/Surg telemetry patients, CVS telemetry patients, interventional cardiology telemetry patients, and CCU patients. If you are caring for such patients on a unit that lacks a monitor nurse, please contact the NYPNU office.
Under a new hospital policy, the ER now faxes reports to the floors. The protocol requires a phone call only to verify receipt of the fax. While this helps to decompress the ER, it also creates several problems. The Union has requested a meeting with management to address the patient care issues raised by this practice.
Political Action Committee
NYPNU's Political Action Committee is in formation. Kudos to Michelle Kern for volunteering to chair the committee. Committee members will participate in setting the committee's agenda; priority issues are likely to be state-mandated nurse/patient ratios and universal health care. If you are interested in participating, please contact the NYPNU office as soon as possible.
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