  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO PEF RNs ready to lobby, rally April 23 in Albany By SHERRY HALBROOK PEF nurses will kick off their lobby day activities Tuesday, April 23, with an important success already at hand. Last year, the governor vetoed a bill to protect health care workers who blow the whistle on poor patient care from retaliation by their employers. Undaunted, PEF and other supporters of the legislation have already pushed a revised version through the state Legislature. “This bill, S5813/A9454, was rewritten to clarify what are acceptable and unacceptable standards of care and to address some of the governor’s other concerns about enforcement and the remedies for alleged violations,” said PEF Legislative Director Brian Curran. “We expect it to receive his signature this time without a hitch. If you haven’t already reserved a seat on the bus from your region to the Nurses Lobby Day in Albany, call your regional coordinator right away. (Click here for the toll-free numbers for PEF field offices). The buses are scheduled to arrive in Albany at 11:30 a.m. for a luncheon, training, rally and visits with lawmakers. Box dinners will be waiting for you when you get back on the bus at 4 p.m. for the ride home. “This is going to be exciting and a lot of fun,” said Debbie Egel, co-chair of the PEF Nurses Committee. “Assembly Labor Committee Chair Catherine Nolan has agreed to join us and speak at the rally. She sponsored both the Whistleblower Protection bill and the Mandatory Overtime Protection bill for nurses. “We also expect other legislators may join us for our luncheon in the well of the Legislative Office Building,” Egel added. “It’s important to have nurses from as many legislative districts as possible to talk with the lawmakers about the need to support the bills that could make a big difference for us and for our patients,” Egel said. Among these nursing and health care bills supported by PEF are: • Mandatory Overtime Protection, S3515/A7127, would prohibit mandatory, but not voluntary, OT for nurses in most cases, with exceptions for emergencies. • Development of Safe Staffing Standards, A9073A, would direct the state Health Department to work with an advisory committee of nurses and others to develop standards for safe staffing levels of nurses in health care facilities. • Nursing Care Quality Protection Act, S510/A2581, which would require hospitals to disclose quality of care indicators and staffing information, including the number of licensed nurses (RNs and LPNs) providing direct care and the ratio of RNs to patients. • Exempt Clause Repeal, S1830/A7284, which would require the state offices of Mental Health, and Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities to stop allowing their unlicensed staff to provide professional nursing services. • Judi Scanlon Bill, S3359/A5575, is named for slain PEF member Judi Scanlon. It would set a maximum staffing ratio of 12 patients per intensive case manager and would require the managers to be accompanied on visits to the homes of dangerous patients, and it would also require OMH to provide safety and violence-prevention training for staff making these visits. |
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now for PEF Nurses Conference Click here to download registration coupon  PEF Nurses Conference DayFriday, May 17 Best Western Carlton House at JFK Airport 138-10 135th Avenue, Queens Mail registration coupon and $45 check made payable to PEF to: Kathy Gallo NYS Public Employees Federation PO Box 12414 Albany, NY 12212-2414 Registration questions? Email: kgallo@pef.org Don’t wait until the last
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PEF Nurses Conference Friday, May 17, in Queens. |