PEF leads demonstration to
protect patients, RNs
Annual lobbying pays off for
PEF nurses
PEF RNs deliver quality care
at Elmira PC
PEF acts
to protect nurses, consumers from attack on nursing
standards, care
By SHERRY HALBROOK
In April, PEF moved to head off the state’s latest
attack on professional nursing standards and care.
“PEF was extremely disappointed to learn of the
recent memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the
state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental
Disabilities (OMRDD) and the state Education Department
(SED) regarding nursing supervision of unlicensed direct
care staff at OMRDD certified residential
facilities,” PEF President Roger Benson stated in an
April 24 letter to deputy commissioners at both state
agencies.
The MOU and a proposed change in regulations under the
state Mental Hygiene Law would make registered nurses
responsible for delegating nursing duties to unlicensed
direct care staff at group homes for people with
developmental disabilities.
PEF, which represents the OMRDD nurses, is concerned the
proposed changes will seriously jeopardize patient care
and expose the nurses to charges that could cost them
their licenses to practice.
“This is yet another appalling example of the state
choosing to take shortcuts with patient care, rather than
face up to the fact that it can’t maintain adequate
RN staffing levels because of low pay and poor working
conditions,” Benson told The Communicator.
“This just makes a bad situation worse by expanding
an outdated exemption to current law,” he added.
“The state should repeal the exemption, not expand
it.”
Negotiate now
Benson pointed out the state is supposed to negotiate any
changes in the nurses’ terms and conditions of
employment with PEF.
“It is imperative that PEF meet with SED and OMRDD
to discuss these concerns and that (you) take no further
action to implement or promulgate this MOU, pending the
outcome of discussions with PEF,” Benson wrote to
the agencies.
Although no direct negotiations have been scheduled at
this writing, the issue is expected to come up for
discussion at a meeting of the joint labor-management
subcommittee for OMRDD nursing issues in late May.
While PEF was not consulted on the MOU, the NYS Nurses
Association claims on its Web site to have had a
“consultative and advisory role in crafting these RN
supervision guidelines.”
Exemption
outdated
PEF believes the proposed regulations are wholly
inconsistent with the Nurse Practice Act which makes it
unlawful for unlicensed individuals to practice nursing
except in accordance with certain narrowly defined
exemptions.
The new MOU and proposed change in regulations would
expand on an outdated exemption to the Nurse Practice
Act.
The exemption was enacted in 1938, when — unlike
today — people with developmental disabilities were
usually cared for in large state institutions where
unlicensed attendants were allowed to perform certain
nursing services under the supervision of doctors and
nurses who were physically present.
Now, the state wants to broadly expand that exemption by
allowing OMRDD to use unlicensed attendants to perform
nursing tasks in non-institutional settings, such as
community residences and group homes, with no nurses or
doctors present. In fact, the proposed regulation would
require only weekly on-site visits by the nurse
responsible for supervising the unlicensed staff.
And it would put the full responsibility for training and
supervising the unlicensed direct-care staff squarely on
the nurse.
Between rock,
hard place
The nurse would be held responsible for determining if
delegation to the unlicensed staff is appropriate in any
given circumstance. And what if she or he thinks
it’s inappropriate?
The nurse would have no authority to set
nurse-to-consumer staffing ratios or take other steps,
reserved for management, to provide enough professional
staff to meet the need.
“This puts the nurses in an impossible
situation,” Benson said. “Our RNs can be
subject to disciplinary action against their licenses if
they improperly delegate professional responsibility to
an unqualified person, or if they fail to exercise
appropriate supervision over persons who are authorized
to practice under their licenses.”
Don’t
expand it; Repeal it
“The exemption to the Nurse Practice Act is outdated
and it should be repealed, rather than extended to
situations for which it was clearly not in tended,”
Benson said.
“We do not allow unlicensed personnel to perform
nursing duties in other health care facilities,” he
said, “and there is no justification for doing so in
state Office of Mental Health and OMRDD certified
facilities.”
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COMMUNICATOR HOMEPAGE
Inside This Issue:
Features
PEF pushes to plug corporate
tax loopholes
Members fight proposal to
merge NYSPI
PEF leads demonstration to
protect patients, RNs
Annual lobbying pays off for
PEF nurses
Union gets preliminary
injunction
Departments
President's Message: PEF is
major player
You Said It: Member's
letters this month
Member Mobilization:
Training with rallies
Nurses' Station: PEF acts to
protect nurses
Legislative Update: PEF gets
record restorations
Health Benefits: Empire Plan
Update
Legal Issues: Members win
grievance at DOL
PS&T Contract Update:
Talks continuing
Member Highlights
Retirees In Action: Huge
health hikes threaten
PEF Membership Benefits
Program & Travel Corp
Union Matters
PEF RNs deliver quality care
at Elmira PC
Full mobilization creates
union power in Reg. 5
PEF wins Article 78
Members bring Benson team
back for 3rd term
PEF Election Guide: Download
Supplement
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