Come to Albany,
demand safe staffing, end to mandatory OT
By TRACY SCHOLZ and SHERRY HALBROOK
If short staffing and mandatory overtime are wearing you
down, plan now to attend the PEF Nurses Lobby Day in
Albany on May 5.
“Nurses In Crisis” is the theme of this
year’s event which aims to focus state
lawmakers’ attention once again on the toll
mandatory OT and the lack of safe staffing take on both
patients and nurses at state health care facilities
throughout the state.
Last year, hundreds of PEF nurses boarded buses from
their regions to rally and lobby in Albany, and the union
hopes for even more participants this year.
A rally will be held from 11:30 a.m. to noon on the steps
of the state Capitol, followed by a luncheon and speakers
at the Empire State Convention Center’s Kitty
Carlisle Hart Lounge.
Nurses will meet in groups with their state Assembly and
Senate representatives until 4 p.m., when they will board
their buses for the journey home.
“It’s very important for nurses from every
state agency and legislative district to participate, so
the lawmakers can hear from their own constituents how
this crisis is directly affecting them,” says June
Edwards, co-chair of the PEF Nurses Committee.
Because the need for better nurse recruitment and
retention are at the core of these staffing and overtime
problems, PEF has been supporting the state’s
recruitment efforts.
Lights, camera,
action!
The PEF-NYS Joint Committee on Nursing Issues is
completing work on a CD/brochure to promote pride and
interest in state nursing careers.
“We hope this video CD/brochure will help retain
state nurses, as well as recruit new nurses into state
service,” said Debbie Egel, PEF’s other
co-chair of its statewide Nurses Committee and a
representative of the union on the joint committee.
The video and brochure will feature a diverse group of
nurses from throughout the state, and it will highlight
the range of career opportunities available to state
nurses.
Video and still photos were shot in early February at the
state Veterans’ Home at Montrose and at Roswell Park
Cancer Institute in Buffalo.
PEF nurses from all regions of New York were nominated by
PEF regional coordinators, PEF members of the Joint
Committee on Nursing Issues and state agencies to
participate in the creation of the CD/brochure. |
“The committee wanted representatives of a diverse
group of state nurses including nurse practitioners,
part-time nurses, administrators who were promoted
through the ranks, institution nurses, utilization review
nurses, hospital nurses, and registered nurses seeking
advanced education and training certification,” Egel
said.
Nurses were photographed giving testimonials about what
they liked about working as a nurse for the state. Many
had very personal and touching stories about how they
have grown professionally and personally through their
experiences as nurses in the public sector.
Triage for
nurses
While recruiting more nurses is the longterm goal, you
need help dealing with the demands your job is placing on
you today and every day.
That’s why the PEF Nurses Committee will host a
conference for PEF nurses May 15 at the NYC PEF Office.
Among the many important nursing topics to be tackled at
this event are:
• Patient abandonment;
• Bioterrorism;
• Impaired nurses and abused or battered nurses.
You will receive educational credits for taking courses
required for maintaining your license.
The conference begins at 8:30 a.m. and will run until 5
p.m. with breakfast and lunch provided.
Contact Jemma Marie-Hanson at (718) 270-1362 for more
information,
Up-to-date information about all of these and many more
topics and events of interest to PEF nurses are available
on PEF’s online newsletter, “News For Nurses.”
E-mail PEFNurses@pef.org to be added to the News for Nurses
list.
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COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
Inside This Issue:
Features
PEF fires back in budget
battles for state services
PEF fights to raise state
revenues
Budget cuts leave research
in tatters
Unions may unite in battle
over health benefits
DEC: Polluters’ lackies
can replace state monitors
Departments
President's Message: NYS
budget must be fair
You Said It: Member's
letters this month
Health & Safety:
Evaluating your safety risks
Member Mobilization:
Building Survivor Skills
Nurses' Station: Lobby Day
plans for May 5th
Retirees In Action: Fight
health insurance hike
PEF Membership Benefits
Program & Travel Corp
Members In Action
Union Matters
'Operation Enduring Freedom'
with state workers
DOH members ahead in
evacuation planning
Call for Delegates: Annual
Convention Rules
Member dons dress to raise
$$ for charity
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Members' Classified
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