{"id":6782,"date":"2025-02-27T15:00:38","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T20:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=6782"},"modified":"2025-03-12T13:23:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T17:23:56","slug":"pef-members-visit-state-capitol-for-annual-lobby-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-2\/pef-members-visit-state-capitol-for-annual-lobby-day\/","title":{"rendered":"PEF members visit State Capitol for annual Lobby Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
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March 5, 2025 —<\/em> PEF nurses and members from across the State visited the Capitol in Albany on March 4 to meet with legislators and discuss PEF\u2019s budget priorities.<\/p>\n
At each meeting, legislators were asked to sign on to proposals that would bolster the workforce where the state is lacking critical services, staffing and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
One of the main proposals put forth by the PEF Statewide Nurses Committee and the membership is funding for SUNY Downstate and Upstate Medical Centers. Currently, there is a plan to allocate up to $750 million to SUNY Downstate. However, as members of the community and Downstate staff have said, that it may not be enough to support the completion of critical renovation projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand that part of the talks have been around reducing the capacity of the beds we have at SUNY Downstate, but we cannot allow that to happen if we are to continue as a teaching school and provide critical care,\u201d said PEF\u2019s Council Leader representing Downstate, Joan Rosegreen. \u201cThe medical nursing school, the research and the care are all symbiotic.\u201d<\/p>\n
PEF supports the round of funding put forth by the governor and is engaging at community hearings as the Downstate Advisory Board gathers input, but the \u201cBrooklyn Needs Downstate\u201d coalition \u2013 on which PEF plays a leading role \u2013 is asking for an additional $250 million in capital funding to ensure Downstate can continue to deliver quality, life-saving care. Additionally, PEF is lobbying for $450 million in funding for SUNY Upstate in Syracuse, where the emergency rooms are overcrowded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe treat all kinds of people at our hospital, including babies who are born addicted to substances, people with prenatal issues, and we see a lot of premature babies born prematurely who have to be admitted to the NICU. We\u2019re running out of space,\u201d said Registered Nurse Rachel Amodio-Kopp, who works at SUNY Upstate and serves on the PEF Executive Board. \u201cOn any given night we have approximately 75 people in the emergency room and only 38 rooms. People are lining the halls, and the waiting rooms are at capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n
PEF nurses also urged lawmakers to oppose New York\u2019s entry into the Nurse Licensure Compact. While New York State and other states have sometimes used the compact to help ease staffing shortages, PEF believes that the compact would have a negative impact on the standards of care put in place by the state and do nothing to attract new nurses or retain existing ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand that there is a shortage of employees at the state level, but that doesn\u2019t mean we want to see our standards watered down,\u201d said PEF Vice President Randi DiAntonio. \u201cWe believe that New York State nurses are well-educated and have some of the best regulations and standards to protect our patients and take care of people.\u201d<\/p>\n
PEF believes that, instead of the compact, the legislature should support a preceptorship program. Preceptors are clinicians who provide new nurses the professional support and hands-on training they need to excel in the profession. PEF continues to support bill that would incentivize nurses to serve as preceptors.<\/p>\n
The bill (S.2067\/A.2230) would amend the tax law to provide an income tax credit for health care professionals who participate in preceptorship programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cA preceptor program would not only give incoming nurses the opportunity to learn from some of the best nurses we have, but it would also foster a sense of community while giving them the training they need,\u201d said DiAntonio.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a retention issue more than anything,\u201d said PEF Statewide Nurses Committee Co-Chair Vincent Cicatello, from Buffalo. \u201cWhen people are more energized about being preceptors, we believe that they will do a better job shaping the new nurses. This could go a long way with recruiting and retention efforts. A good preceptorship program would incentivize and energize more nurses to join the program.”<\/span><\/p>\n
DOCCS issues top of mind \n<\/strong>In her Executive Budget proposal, Gov. Kathy Hochul once again asked the Legislature for permission to close up to five prisons in the next year with only 90-days notice. Current state law requires that at least 12-months notice be provided to DOCCS employees. PEF is concerned that with the ongoing situation at State correctional facilities, additional prison closures without a clear timeline and transparent plan, present a clear risk to the health and safety of PEF members.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation right now is horrible, and even though our members are not involved in any strikes going on, they do not feel safe,” said DiAntonio. “We urge policymakers and advocates on all sides to sit down together and discuss how to make our correctional system safe for both incarcerated individuals and the staff who support them. Absent a real plan to address the universal concerns around health and safety, we are going to see retention decrease further with these kinds of closures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, my institution is doing well with staffing,\u201d said PEF nurse Jeff Taylor, who works at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. \u201cHowever, if my facility were to close, then we could potentially lose a third of the nurses who are working in the area. That has ripple effects on the community. It can already be hard to prepare for a closure within a year, but it would be even harder to do so within 90 days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Health & Safety of members is paramount \n<\/strong>As safety concerns rise, PEF members urged legislators to support bills that increase penalties for assaulting public employees, and to authorize the use of body scanners at OMH, OPWDD, OCFS and OASAS facilities to screen for weapons that could be used in workplace assaults.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are really hoping to see some increased protections at these facilities, especially at facilities like the one in Buffalo where there was an attack on our members,\u201d said PEF Interim Downstate Field Director Debbie Egel, who has a nursing background. \u201cWe believe that adding body scanners and supporting legislation that increases penalties for assaults on public employees are steps that demonstrate policymakers take worker safety seriously.”<\/p>\n
During about a dozen meetings with lawmakers throughout the day, PEF also urged them to continue to focus on other budget items, like fixing Tier 6, which most legislators were eager to agree with as retention becomes the primary issue impact state services.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the nurses who are being hired stay for at most two years,\u201d said Egel. \u201cThey take their knowledge and go to the private sector where the benefits are better.\u201d<\/p>\n
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