CEG BOOSTS CAREERS — Division 198 Council Leader
Jemma Marie-Hanson (standing) explains how nurses at
Downstate Medical Center can further their educations
with a CEG grant. Seated are (L-R) Vanessa Bristol-Lewis,
Genevieve Watson-Gray, Blossom V. Dalton and Dr. Laila
Sedhom,assistant dean of graduate programs. — Photo
by Yvonne D'Andrade
Tuition aid
helps SUNY retain nurses
Contract grant
helps nurses get degrees at Downstate Medical
By DEBORAH A. MILES
A new Continuing Education Grant (CEG) pilot program is
getting a thumbs up from nurses at the state University
of New York’s Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn.
The project provides additional educational opportunities
for nurses to obtain undergraduate and graduate
degrees,” said PEF Division 198 Council Leader Jemma
Marie-Hanson.
The nurses are very happy to have this program. It came
just at the right time,” she said. “Many nurses
told me that without this program they wouldn’t be
able to afford to go back to school.”
Downstate Medical Center received $46,160 for
distribution to participants, according to their needs.
CEG is funded through the PS&T contract and
distributed through the Joint Professional Development
Committee.
Marie-Hanson, Luzviminda F. Casapao, director of the
Institute of Continuous Learning at Downstate, and
hospital financial officer Enrique Ongtiong worked on the
grant proposal.
Financial help
for 70 nurses
The program will provide additional funds toward two
semesters of full tuition for 70 nurses. Thirty nurses,
who have associate nursing degrees, will take courses
toward their bachelor’s degrees. The others will
work to complete their nursing bachelor of science
degrees or a master’s degree in nursing or a related
field.
Funding for each nurse depends on the number of classes
he or she is taking. This educational program will help
Downstate Medical Center reach its goal of having 60
percent its nurses hold baccalaureate degrees,”
Marie-Hanson said. Currently, more than half of the
nurses have associate degrees and need to further their
educations.
“We want our nurses to succeed in their careers and
we want them to remain a part of the downstate community.
That’s why it was extremely important for PEF to
offer this now. We’re in a nursing shortage and we
have to let our nurses know that our union and our
hospital cares about them,” Marie-Hanson said.
Hospital adds
book aid
In addition to the grant, the hospital administration did
something quite unique here, in an effort to work with
the union to encourage the nurses to participate in the
program,” she said. “The administration is
providing nurses up to $300 for books, when the course is
completed with a grade of ‘C’ or better.”
Marie-Hanson said many of the nurses are eager to achieve
greater career mobility. And the long-term benefits of
the program are two-fold: sustained improvement of
nursing care and improved retention of nurses. Although
CEG is a pilot program, Marie-Hanson said she hopes to
see it expanded in the future.
Training grants
help members, New Yorkers
By DEBORAH A. MILES
Hundreds of PEF members are enhancing their educations
and better serving New Yorkers thanks to professional
development provisions in the PS&T contract.
“Through the Continuing Education Grant (CEG)
program, 57 grants have been approved and awarded to more
than 20 state agencies,” said PEF Director of
Mobilization and Education Cliff Merchant. “The
Joint Professional Development Committee is spending
nearly $1.5 million on these grant programs.”
For example, two state agencies — the Office of
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD)
and the Office of Mental Health (OMH) — will jointly
receive $70,000 for educational programs for union
members.
“We combined OMRDD and OMH to reach more PEF
members,” said Rich Ensminger, PEF co-chair of the
OMRDD Labor-Management Committee.
“PEF took the lead in initiating the coordinated
effort,” added Greg Case, PEF L-M co-chair at OMRDD.
“The agency had to submit the grants, but management
worked with PEF to develop the proposals.”
Some innovative educational opportunities are available
thanks to that teamwork. At OMRDD and OMH, from this fall
until April 2003, employees will be reimbursed for taking
credit-earning online courses related to licensure or
certification for their jobs.
A second grant provides funding for individual members
taking traditional classes, and a third grant will
reimburse OMRDD facilities for workshops that provide
continuing education credits.
“Not only are these opportunities a great benefit to
members, they will help the state better serve
handicapped New Yorkers and their families,” Case
said.
Ensminger added, “Concern about understaffing is an
additional incentive for providing these grants. We hope
the educational benefits will bring more people to work
in state agencies and help retain
those already there.”
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