I have to start tonight with some sad news. A union brother in Connecticut, a member of SEIU 1199NE has passed from Covid-19. The thoughts and prayers of all of the AFT family are with our 1199 sisters and brothers.
We are 33 days since our first diagnosed case of Covid-19 in Connecticut.
335 have died, up 58 today
1418 are now hospitalized, up 110
8781 have tested positive, up 1000
31,700 tests have been done, up 2,664
Last night I was on a call with the Backus Nurses. Near the end of a Q&A session a nurse came on with a story. She was working an inpatient floor that was not supposed to get Covid patients but they sent a couple of PUI (patient under investigation) there. She got the assignment. She had concerns because she is currently breastfeeding. She objected to the assignment but was told that it would be safe and that she had to take the assignment. She put her foot down. She said she would take the assignment with objections but she would not without full PPE, including an N95 respirator. At first she was told no, that an N95 was not needed, that the CDC said a surgical mask was fine (not true by the way) but she held her ground and they relented. (In the end, the patients ruled out, they didn’t have Covid but when faced with the decision she did not know this) Over and over we see this happening. Healthcare workers standing up for themselves, their families and their patients, and we see management backing down.
We spend so much time speaking to “people of power” trying to gain influence but the Corona virus reminds us that the true people of power are the workers on the shop floor, like the lactating nurse who said no. We are winning this at that level, one person at a time and becoming stronger because of it.
We talk to politicians, administrators, the press, anyone who makes the rules or who might be able to influence those who make the rules. We negotiate contracts and MOUs and legislation and put things in writing and yet we are shocked when management breaks those rule, those laws, those contracts and we have to take legal action, we have to grieve, we have to protest.
I get it.
Powerful people DO have power.
We do make gains when we move them.
Elections DO matter.
But this Virus also reminds us that the real power lies not with elected leadership. Leadership has a role to be sure, but the real power lies with the members, when they stand up and say no. And that happens when they have each other’s backs.
Having each other’s backs gives us the courage. Having each other’s backs gives us the strength. Having each other’s backs is solidarity. It is happening one member at a time. One member saying enough is enough, no more. Fire me if you must, but my health, the health of my family, the well being of my other patients, is more important and when that happens, and when others witness it, power is born. A unions voice comes from its collective power, but that collective voice starts with one voice, and grows an grows and grows.
Please remember a phase that is gaining in popularity-
There is no emergency in a pandemic.
If we are sick, if we are dead, then we are all doomed, because without the caregivers to provide care, people will die.
The VNA of SE CT reached a tentative MOU (agreement)
• Symptomatic Employees: An RN or HHA who is symptomatic with COVID-19 due to exposure to COVID-19 while at work will, in accordance with applicable CDC and DPH guidelines, not be permitted to work. Similarly, an RN or HHA who has been identified as being exposed to a patient or other persons while on duty that is awaiting testing of the patient or person for COVID-19 shall, if symptomatic, be quarantined and not permitted to work while awaiting test results. Any such symptomatic employees shall be placed in paid administrative leave status during any quarantine period.
• The VNA will provide Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) in accordance with CDC and DPH guidance, as such guidance may change from time to time, in any circumstance where bargaining unit members may be tasked with treating or interacting with someone diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus or suspected to have the virus.
• Workers’ Compensation: These issues are governed by the “occupational disease” provisions in Connecticut’s Worker’s Compensation Act and involve a determination by Worker’s Compensation Commissioners based on the facts presented in any given case. An RN or HHA who believes they have been exposed to COVID-19 at work should file a first report of injury. The VNA will cooperate with an RN or HHA who files a COVID-19 related workers’ compensation claim by providing information concerning patient exposures and dates of exposure.
• Unemployment Compensation: The VNA agrees that it will not contest unemployment claims for situations in which work at the VNA is not available to an employee and agrees to respond promptly to all inquiries to minimize delays in the processing of unemployment compensation.
Medical Documentation: The VNA may require medical documentation ensuring that any bargaining unit member who has been quarantined is medically cleared to return to work.
• Effect on Existing Contracts: The parties expressly acknowledge that this Agreement shall be without precedent or prejudice and shall not be utilized by either party in the future as the basis for modifications of the parties’ collective bargaining agreements and/or associated MOU’s. Except as otherwise explicitly provided in this Agreement, the terms of applicable collective bargaining agreements will remain in effect, and nothing herein shall be construed as limiting, altering or waiving the rights of the VNA under its current collective bargaining agreements and/or associated MOU’s.
- In the event an employee contracts COVID-19 the employer will continue paid administrative leave until the employee’s eligibility date for short term disability benefits. The employer shall compensate the employee the difference between short term disability payments related to COVID-19 illness and their regular earnings to assure the employee remains whole.
- Duration: Should we reach agreement, the VNA’s obligations thereunder shall remain in effect through May 15, 2020, and the agreement may be re-visited at the request of either party at that time.
The VNA received a breakfast thank you and Skype call from Dr Jill Biden this morning.
This afternoon, the 4 Locals of L&M (the Quad Local) political action committee had a meeting with local mayors and selectmen, followed by a meeting with local senators and representatives, telling these elected leaders the challenges they are facing.
‘We have the right to be safe:’ Connecticut healthcare workers voice concerns over a dangerous lack of protective equipment
HARTFORD COURANT
APR 08, 2020 | 6:46 AM
Health care workers across the state, from emergency room nurses to home health aides, voiced concern to Sen. Richard Blumenthal Tuesday about a dangerous lack of personal protective equipment they’re facing as they care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anne-Marie Cerra, a registered nurse at the Emergency Department of Manchester Memorial Hospital, said that health care workers were recycling their masks and have been advised to use them until they fall apart.
“We have the right to be safe, the right to have the equipment we need,” she said during a teleconference call arranged by union leaders with the Democratic senator.
Many Connecticut hospitals are facing severe shortages in PPE as employees care for patients with COVID-19. At UConn Health, staff members have been asked to recycle their masks and many hospitals have relied on donations of PPE from community members.
"Workers are going to work on a daily basis without adequate protective gear,” said Rob Baril, the president of Local 1199, the New England branch of the Service Employees International Union, which represents thousands of health care workers in Connecticut.
The comments Tuesday echo concerns that have been raised since the pandemic erupted in Connecticut. Blumenthal said that legislation is needed to provide workers with the PPE they need to continue to care for patients.
“Better protection is what we owe you,” he said.
Martha Marx, a registered nurse at the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut, a nonprofit home health care service, said that she has one surgical mask she has worn “from house to house to house to the most vulnerable patients.”
“Being a health care worker in home care has been hell in the past month. We’re not flattening the curve,” Marx said.
Many health care workers on the call raised concerns about being adequately supplied with PPE — and some said they were concerned that they could be endangering their own family members.
Seth Winkleman, a registered nurse, said he was recently transferred from his usual deployment at the Hartford Regional Center, a Department of Developmental Services center in Newington, to the Torrington facility to assist with a shortage of nurses.
“When I arrived at that facility, I realized that we were completely decimated,” Winkleman said, noting that the Torrington facility is down almost a dozen health care workers.
Now, Winkleman said he is self-quarantined at home with COVID-19 symptoms, although he has not been able yet to obtain a test. He said he was concerned about potentially transmitting the virus to his family members.
As COVID-19 crisis deepens, health system operating St. Francis and three other Connecticut hospitals temporarily furloughs some employees
HARTFORD COURANT
APR 07, 2020 | 5:51
The health system that operates St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and three other hospitals in Connecticut confirmed Tuesday it will temporarily furlough some employees and reduce the hours of others as the COVID-19 public health crisis deepens.
Trinity Health of New England Tuesday would not say how many employees are affected or where, or how long the furloughs and other actions might last.
The health system said the actions it is taking were a necessary response to the COVID-19 outbreak and its emphasis on fighting the pandemic.
Cars line up on Asylum Avenue Friday morning to enter St. Francis Hospital's coronavirus testing site. (Brad Horrigan/The Hartford Courant)
“While the majority of our colleagues will continue to work full-time in their current roles, we are redeploying some different roles and locations, reducing hours and temporarily furloughing a portion of our workforce, primarily non-clinical colleagues,” Trinity Health said in a statement.
“This will enable us to focus our resources on the functions directly related to essential COVID-19 patient care needs that we anticipate, while protecting people and helping prevent the spread of the disease.”
In addition to St. Francis, Trinity Health also operates Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital in Hartford, Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs and St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury.
In Connecticut and Massachusetts, Trinity Health employs more than 11,000.
The furloughs come a week after another health system, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center announced that it would temporarily furlough 400 as elective and surgeries were delayed, dramatically cutting into revenues.
Trinity Health also said it planned to reduce the compensation of its executives; freeze all capital expenditures except those necessary to fight the pandemic and significantly reduce our “discretionary” spending.
“These are difficult steps that are intended to make sure we are able to provide the best possible care for our patients and communities through this unprecedented time,” Trinity Health said. “We hope to bring back as many of our impacted colleagues as we can at the appropriate time, and, as the situation evolves, affected colleagues may be asked to serve Trinity Health in new ways.”
Trinity Health said it would continue to pay for health, dental and basic life insurance for the affected employees.
Attached is a very helpful article explaining that the COVID-19 crisis does not negate the employer's responsibility to comply with the ADA and provide reasonable accommodations and maintain a safe workplace.
The following is a copy/paste of one portion of the article:
Required Process Remains
“The basic ADA legal analysis is the same – does he or she have a disability? And, can he or she be
effectively accommodated to perform essential job functions without undue hardship?” the EEOC told
Bloomberg Law in an emailed statement. “The assessment of an effective accommodation and undue
hardship will be made in light of the current circumstances.”
While employers are required by law to have a dialogue about whether an accommodation is reasonable,
or to look for another option, employers are “not obligated to create new jobs for employees if they
cannot perform the essential functions of the position even with a reasonable accommodation,” Ogletree
Deakins shareholder Neil McKittrick said.
But they must provide a safe workplace.
“Employers should carefully look at the issues presented and make a determination on a case by case
basis,” he said. “One can’t just say this is an undue hardship and if you are someone who is more
compromised than others you still have to come to work.”
Please send your questions:
April 8, 2020
Town Hall
• Donna will host another regional virtual town hall at 6 pm, Thursday, April 9. This week's special guest is Pam Delise, Director of Human Resources for the East Region.
• To dial in from an East Region location, use 88126338,,,,37358#
• From Outside of HHC, dial 860-972-6338,,,,37358#
• Questions will be curated based on submissions to Handley3@hhchealth.org
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Experts detail how imaging providers can reuse scarce N95 masks up to 10 times
Here is the link
Please send any and all complaints and concerns to the DPH. They claim everything is fine. Let’s let them know the truth.
https://dphflisevents.ct.gov/Complaints
Please be safe and well.
John
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