DIV.
198 HONORS NURSES — Nurses at SUNY Downstate Health
Science Center in Brooklyn are the guests of honor at
annual Nurses Recognition Day festivities in May. Shown
above are: Kathy Salak; Division 198 Council Leader
Glendore Ulerie, who is also a PEF trustee; Don
Morgenstern; Denise Dyer; guest speaker state Comptroller
H. Carl McCall; Pearl Jones; Merle Davis; Jemma Hanson
and Tim Sheard.
The
nurses enjoy the chance to relax and be appreciated.
Ulerie introduces state Assembly Member Rhoda Jacobs who
praised the nurses’ dedication and skill in serving
the Brooklyn community.
— Photos by Olubiyi Sehindem
Outstanding — PEF nurse
Joanne Kramer receives a plaque for her contribution to
the Blood Exposure Response Team, at the annual B.E.R.T.
conference held early this year. Shown are Commissioner
Glenn Gourd (Left) and Statewide B.E.R.T. Coordinator
Dustin (Dusty) Shields.
BERT
honors PEF nurse for outstanding service
Blood Exposure Response Team volunteers always there when
co-workers need them
By KISHA
JEGEDE
Racing to respond to accidental needle sticks, fights and
other incidents that could expose employees to bloodborne
pathogens was all in addition to her day’s work for
PEF member Joanne Kramer until her recent promotion.
Now, a senior utilization-review nurse for the state
Department of Correctional Services (DOCS), Kramer was
previously an infection-control nurse at the Great Meadow
“Hub” in Washington County. In addition to her
many responsibilities in that job, Kramer was one of
approximately 110 volunteers statewide who participate in
the Blood Exposure Response Team (BERT) at DOCS.
BERT is a volunteer program of DOCS employees from all
levels of state service dedicated to counseling and
helping co-workers who may have been exposed to serious
diseases, such as HIV or Hepatitis C, which are
transmitted by exposure to infected blood or other bodily
fluids.
When her teammates in BERT realized Kramer had to leave
the program after five years because of her new
administrative duties, they presented her with a tribute
at the annual Statewide BERT Conference in Utica.
According to BERT Statewide Coordinator Dustin (Dusty)
Shields, a PEF member and teacher at Marcy Correctional
Facility, “No employee has ever contracted HIV on
the job at DOCS.”
And dedicated BERT volunteers can take some of the credit
for that, he said, along with many other important
precautions taken by DOCS, such as medications for
inmates who are HIV-positive.
Always on call
As a BERT volunteer, Kramer was on-call 24 hours a day
and had to respond to emergencies within 20 minutes. An
average response could take three to five hours, with
volunteers still required to work their regular shift.
“You are really at the mercy of the facility’s
administration to get any consideration for the time you
spend on BERT,” Shields said. Employees who have
been exposed to inmate blood or other fluids are often
upset, confused and scared by the sudden risk that they
might contract a dangerous disease.
For Kramer those emotions are very familiar, because she
experienced a significant exposure in the early 1990s.
“When I became involved in the program, it became my
mission to help co-workers not experience the degree of
emotional distress that I encountered as a result of my
exposure,” Kramer said.
BERT members immediately step in to help when a co-worker
is exposed. The volunteers often accompany the exposed
employees to local hospitals for various tests and
treatments that must begin within two hours of the
exposure, explain medical or technical concepts and tell
the workers about other resources that could help.
That’s just the beginning. BERT volunteers also
advocate with prison administrators for the employees who
may need time off from work because of the sickening side
effects of the drugs they must take to protect them from
contracting a serious disease, or to deal with family
issues related to the exposure.
BERT members may even go home with the employee to help
inform family members of the exposures and answer
questions. All information about the exposed employee is
kept confidential.
They know how
it feels
“The BERT organization has a relatively high number
of volunteers who have first-hand experience with
significant exposure. That accounts for why so many of us
have become involved in the program,” Kramer said.
“We understand the emotional trauma that’s
associated with these particular exposures and,
therefore, we want to help any co-worker who might become
involved in the same type of situation.”
Kramer has donated a lot of time to the program, first as
a BERT member and later as a BERT team leader.
As a team leader, she became a resource and guide to new
BERT members. She also trained new members and supervised
BERT activities within her region.
Furthermore, team leaders attend meetings to network,
brainstorm about future programs and to discuss problems
and their possible solutions.
Kramer said the recognition for outstanding service that
she received from her fellow volunteers in Bert came as
total surprise. “I didn’t do it for the
recognition,” she said. “I did it because the
program is important.”
Attention: PEF nurses:
Nurses Training Day
Mark your calendars now!
October 6 in Albany (Tentative site: the Quality Inn on
Everett Road)
Topic: Licensing and Legal Issues