| DOCS agrees to try
state staffing of Bedford Hills RMU Union heads off privatization of new prison medical unit |
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| By SHERRY
HALBROOK The state Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) is preparing to open its fourth regional medical unit (RMU). And when it does, the people providing the services will be state employees. "This is a terrific victory for us," said David Stallone, PEF chair of the Joint DOCS Labor-Management Committee. "Clearly, the initial direction was to privatize the new Bedford Hills RMU, but I've been working on this with the department for more than a year. "I commend Commissioner Glenn Goord and Deputy Commissioner Kevin Breen as well as other top DOCS officials who heard our arguments and realized that operating it with state staff is the right thing to do for many reasons." Several years ago, when DOCS began establishing regional medical units to treat seriously and chronically ill inmates, the Pataki Administration seemed determined to contract out for health-care staff at these units. "The state now has three RMUs," Stallone said. "But only the Coxsackie RMU is operated by the private sector and many of those employees joined PEF after the unit opened. We would like to get all of the staff at that unit brought into state service, too. " The other two units - Wende RMU and Walsh RMU - are both operated by DOCS with state staff. Now, the question is whether enough state staff can be recruited and retained at the new 61-bed Bedford Hills RMU in Westchester County. "The state pay for nurses and pharmacists is not very competitive and DOCS is afraid it won't be able to recruit and retain enough people in those titles to keep the new unit staffed," Stallone said. "DOCS has agreed to a six-month trial with only state staffing at Bedford Hills," said PEF Supervisor of Budget Policy Marty O'Connor. "After that, if they can't get enough state staff, they will contract for people to fill in the gaps." "That's why it's so important for our members to support this unit," Stallone said. "PEF has agreed to help with recruitment and is asking the state Department of Civil Service to look at increased geographic pay for nurses and pharmacists in that area, since DOCS says they are the hardest to recruit," Stallone added. O'Connor said that even with its less competitive salaries, the state offers better benefits than private healthcare providers and the state sees less staff turnover at its state operated and staffed RMUs. "A more stable staff means improved security for the unit, because the people are better trained and more experienced in all of the security rules and procedures that apply in state prisons," O'Connor said. But the bottom line, Stallone said, is the rapport that PEF has established with top officials at DOCS. "They decided to operate this with state employees because of our relationship with the department," Stallone said. "We kept working with them and they came to realize that this is the right thing to do, and that a lot of the private companies scale way back on professional staff. "And they know this isn't just a paycheck for our members," he added. "We are really dedicated to the health and welfare of the inmates." |
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