COVID update:

What crazy times we are living in! First of all your local leadership team at Island sends out a HUGE thank you to everyone for working through this new time we live in. Management has reported that they have adequate supplies currently and they are reporting daily to the department of health. They acknowledged that the quality of the supplies has diminished since the COVID pandemic but that their supplies department staff have worked tirelessly to ensure that supplies are obtained.

Leadership reported that they have done over 3,000 tests already with approx. 50 positive results. Currently all critically ill patients are transferred to another facility. It was also noted that the Emergency Department is doing the majority of testing at this time.

PYXIS

We had a lengthy discussion about the Pyxis medication process here at Island. We relayed the concerns we had been hearing from all of you about the inability to obtain meds when you need them, the variability in over-ride capabilities, the time and patient care delay caused by the cumbersome process of having meds entered and approved for dispensing. Management was surprised to hear that these issues were being encountered at the level they are and also as widespread as this is occurring. It was pointed out that multiple departments are having multiple issues with this. We have assurance from upper leadership that they will investigate further and work to improve this situation rapidly.

We will ask for an update from management at our next meeting. However, in the meantime, it is very helpful to know the incidences that are occurring. Please feel free to email your concerns to any of the officers or your nurse representative Sue Dunlap. An easier and quicker way to document issues is via the online WSNA ADO form (found at www.wsna.org/ado ).

Remote school learning

Are you one of the many parents who will be impacted with the potential for on-line learning for children? We have heard from many that this is a huge stress and concern for multiple employees. We raised this concern at the conference committee meeting as well and were pleased to learn management is also deeply concerned. We all recognize the impact this will make on everyone. We want to let everyone know we are absolutely committed to working together to do what we can to help in this situation. In the meantime however, managers are being asked to reach out to staff individually and check in on how things will be impacted should the schools have to resort to remote learning. Of course our goal is to retain employees and work together to arrive at solutions that will enable continued work and home life balance. If you are impacted please talk with your manager.

ICU and Telemetry

There was some additional discussion regarding the situation with the ICU and the need for telemetry monitoring. Issues have been raised about break coverage for ICU nurses and comments have been made about the C.N.A. being pulled to do floor C.N.A. work leaving the ICU down staff to monitor. It was acknowledged that non nursing staff can be trained to monitor telemetry and management is looking into this. Your team noted that the telemetry monitor needs to be a fairly dedicated position and that the coordinator will need to be mindful of how many telemetry units there are and adjust the staffing accordingly. We will be asking for an update on this at the next conference committee meeting. In the meantime, please continue to identify concerns and bring them to the attention of your team.

Contract Negotiations

Thank you to everyone who participated in the town hall meetings held last week. We had some fantastic input and were able to identify the additional items we need to focus on at the negotiating table. We are officially opening the contract and will be starting active negotiations very shortly! The official notification letter has gone out to management and we will be setting dates soon,

What can you do? Well the first thing to know is that you cannot vote on the contract if you are not a member of WSNA. So if you have any questions about your membership status, feel free to email membership@wsna.org and don’t forget to include your facility name.

Secondly, consider being a unit rep for your shift and department in the hospital. This role involves very little time outside of work and mainly is a commitment to check your email and communicate between your co-workers and your team at the table. You will have direct access to the team and be the first to know what’s happening at the table! If you are interested at all, please contact Annie Mansfield WSNA Organizer at AMansfield@wsna.org and again let her know your facility and department.

Please make sure your home email and your cell phone are current and up to date as this is how we will be sending information out and updates.

ADO (Assignment Despite Objection)

Did you know these are more than just a staffing concern form? There are other things that can be documented on this form including issues with supplies and equipment and insufficient support staff etc. Did you also know that the ADO forms automatically get distributed to multiple people including your WSNA local unit chair, staffing committee co-chairs and your nurse rep at WSNA. That allows us to follow up.

Did you also know you can complete the form anywhere? You can download the link to the form on your phone and fill it out after you are home from your busy shift. You can list multiple nurses if the effect was widespread and avoid everyone having to fill out a form. You can scan a QR code to access the form immediately as well – stickers of the code can be provided upon request so you can put it on the back of your badge. Best of all however is you protect your nursing license by reporting issues that you have identified and documenting that in a format that is discoverable.

Stay Safe! Stay Healthy !

Kimberly A. McClure RN - Chair
Adrian Fewing BSN, RN - Vice Chair
Jeanne Chudy RN - Secretary
Stefanie Meyer BSN, RN - Treasurer
Kate Scherer BSN, RN, CEN– Grievance Officer

Questions? Contact Sue Dunlap at sdunlap@wsna.org.