Nurses Station

By DEBORAH A. MILES
If you work at a state agency, chances are you have met an Employee Health Service (EHS) nurse. Maybe it was simply to get an aspirin or annual flu shot. But did you know they are trained and qualified to be first responders in the event of cardiac arrest?

An EHS nurse, who works under the state Department of Civil Service (DCS), needs a minimum of 1.5 years experience in a critical care area, according to Linda Sano.

Sano is a PEF Executive Board member and RN who works at the Alfred E. Smith Building in Albany. She is available to 1,086 employees and has treated a myriad of aches, pains and emergencies, including two cardiac arrests.

“Emergencies run the gamut,” Sano said. “We get calls when someone passes out, has a chest pain or a cut hand.”

“We’re available for people in our building, whether they need their blood pressure checked, or have any type of health concern,” added Diana Salvi, an EHS nurse at the state Office of Temporary Disability Assistance in Albany. “Our job is diverse.”

The diversity comes into play when they take on the role of keeping the state work force healthy by organizing health fairs, offering smoking cessation, weight loss and blood pressure clinics, and CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) classes.
“Our main focus is wellness,” Sano said. “We also administer several different types of vaccinations to state employees and travel in professional teams to perform pre-employment and annual staff physicals for the state Department of Correctional Services, and the Office of Court Administration.”

DCS has 30 EHS nurses throughout the state who work under the medical direction of Dr. Richard Ciulla. They work autonomously, making assessments and formulating treatment plans without a physician on the premises.

“We are not just the nurse in the building who passes out a Band Aid,” Sano said. “We are a hidden treasure.”

Joyce Kunz-McCaffrey who works at Stony Brook University Medical Center on Long Island, is one of four PEF nurses offering employee health services to the 3,500 hospital staff.

“Being a nurse is a wonderful thing. It gives you the opportunity to help so many people in so many ways,” Kunz-McCaffrey said. “A lot of nurses may think we just do blood pressures and pulses, but that’s really not the case. There is the need to do so much as far as education. Sometimes, it’s just lending an ear to someone who is having difficulty with a health or work problem. They have an opportunity to talk to someone behind closed doors, and that is a big relief to people.”

Just as the nurses who work for DCS, Kunz-McCaffrey said the big blitz this time of year at Stony Brook is getting people to get their flu shots.

“It’s a very preventative measure for the employee, their family members and patients,” she said. “Our goal is wellness and to contribute to a healthy lifestyle in every way possible.