Senator Murphy's visit

I was running slightly behind, emphasis on slightly, when I saw break lights ahead of me, lot's of them.
Oh no........
Traffic jam on the interstate, as far ahead as I could see.
I was near an exit, so I did what any normal person would do.
I pulled a U turn and drove up the on ramp.
I mean, it's not like anyone was coming down to drive into a traffic jam.
The back roads were better but still clogged with traffic.
I called the hospital and asked for the info desk.  They seamed a bit unbelieving but it was true.  I was meeting the hospital CEO, CNO, and chief of staff, to give US Senator Chris Murphy a tour of our hospital.
And....I was late.
Not to worry, I arrived about 2 minutes before Chris did.
We toured several parts of the hospital and then met with nonprofit healthcare providers from the area in a roundtable discussion.
The changes in healthcare are a bit like the changes in technology, they evolve quicker and quicker every day.  The concerns of the people around the table are how to make it work.
Chris Murphy is a friend of the working class and the poor.  He is pragmatic.  He believes the road ahead will have twists and turns, but that ahead is the only way to go. He listens to all without a preconceived notion.  He's a hard worker.
OK, I'm a fan, but it's more than that, more important than that, I have respect for him, and his staff.
And he and his staff have respect for me, our Local, and all of organized labor.  That's why they asked that I join them for the tour.
Respect can be contagious. 
I believe that at the end of the day the relationship between Labor and Management was improved, a result of us working together.
The road ahead, of healthcare and Labor/Management, will have twists and turns. (It may even have traffic jams).  But like Chris, I believe that only direction to go is ahead, even if we sometimes need to use on ramps and back roads.

Testifying in Hartford

I wanted to share with you my testimony on SB 1128, An Act Concerning Influenza Vaccinations for Health Care Employees.  I was unable to be in Hartford to testify on this day but I was able to submit my testimony electronically.  It looks fancy, but in reality, all I did was write up my rough testimony and send it to our lobbyist, Jennifer.  She polished it up, added the header, and placed it in the correct format.
I encourage you to do the same on issues that are important to us.  Erin Cummings and Carol Adams recently did the same, on this same bill and on SB 968 An Act Requiring hospitals to report nurse staffing levels.

 

TESTIMONY OF

JOHN BRADY, RN

PRESIDENT, BACKUS FEDERATION OF NURSES, AFT LOCAL 5149, AFL-CIO

MEMBER, AFT CONNECTICUT HEALTHCARE COUNCIL

MEMBER, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH QUALITY OF CARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

 

Public Health Committee

March 19, 2013

 

SB 1128 AN ACT CONCERNING INFLUENZA IMMUNIZATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE EMPLOYEES

Good afternoon Senator Gerratana, Representative Johnson and distinguished members of the Public Health Committee.  My name is John Brady. I am a Registered Nurse at Backus Hospital in Norwich. I am also President of the Backus Federation of Nurses, a union representing approximately 400 registered nurses at Backus Hospital.  I submit this testimony in opposition to SB 1128, An Act Concerning Influenza Vaccinations for Health Care Employees.

I strongly encourage my members to carefully consider receiving the flu vaccine every year. However, I also understand that there may be many reasons why some of my members may chose not to be vaccinated, including religious objections and health concerns.   Health concerns range from an adverse reaction to a full allergy.

 

As an emergency room nurse, I care for many patients who have received the flu vaccine and then tested positive for the flu. The decision of which strains of influenza to vaccinate against is an educated guess. Some years this guess is close and other years it misses badly. . The CDC estimates this year’s vaccine to be 62% effective. There is a strong argument that wearing a mask provides better protection, for both the health care worker and patients.  Failure to comply with this legislation could place health care workers’ jobs in jeopardy. The CDC has set a goal of 90% vaccination rate among health care workers, a goal that is achievable with a voluntary labor/management program.

 

For all of these reasons I stand opposed to mandatory vaccinations of health care workers. Instead, I propose a common sense approach. Health care workers should be given the opportunity to either be vaccinated or wear a mask while at work during the flu season.

 

I urge a no vote on SB 1128.

 

I am at your service if I can be of help.

John Brady, RN
President, Backus Federation of Nurses
860-908-9711
backusnurses@gmail.com
http://backusunited.ct.aft.org

 

Safe staffing saves lives

We all have had days where staffing was so poor that we feared for our license and our patients safety.  Nothing burns health care workers out faster and drives them out of their occupation than this.  Worse than that, is when it becomes a chronic problem, as it sometimes does.
In Connecticut, we have legislation that says each hospital should have a safe staffing committee to monitor this.  That's how important it is.  The people of Connecticut have made it law.
This committee needs to be at least 50 % RNs working at the bedside, so that the people at the bedside, the ones who know safe and unsafe, have a voice. 
This year, we have introduced a bill that would make reporting by these committees an automatic occurrence.  On a regular basis the hospitals would need to post on a public website, what the ratio of staff to patients has been.  This is information that is readily available and posting it is in the public interest. 
This bill is not without opposition.
Some claim it would cause an undue burden on hospitals.
Reporting of safe staffing should not be considered a burden, it should be considered a responsibility.
As health care professionals we entered the field to advocate for our patients, and we do that at the bedside and at the statehouse.
I urge you to write you legislators supporting this bill and also to check out the web page below that contains links to more information.

Contact legislators on Bill No. 968

Safe staffing website

Lessons of Passover and Easter

Passover and Easter hold many lessons for me.
In Passover, God protected the Israelites from the angle of death and delivered them from the slavery of Egypt. 
It reminds me that we all have the right to be free and that if I trust in my Higher Power, whom I chose to call God, that I will be protected.
Thousands of years latter, Jesus entered Jerusalem to prepare to celebrate the Passover. He is met as the King of the Jews, with palms being laid on the road in front of him.  Only days latter, he is crucified. 
In the past two years I have met congressmen, senators, governors and union presidents.  Sometimes, I think to myself, "is this really happening to me?"  Jesus' story reminds me that I am but the spokesperson for a group of people who deserve all the credit, people who have dedicated themselves to the care of others. It also reminds me that the greatest accomplishment is the opportunity to be of service to others.  
May God bless you and your family at this holy time of the year.

The Governor's (third) Visit

Wednesday morning I was reading the paper and I saw that Governor Malloy was coming to Norwich on Thursday for a town hall meeting.  I give the man credit, he travels around the state holding town hall meetings and basically gets beat up by the electorate, because, well, people complain.

So I thought, if the Governor is coming to Norwich, we should invite him to stop by our union hall.

The Governor has been our friend.  He met with us very early in our organizing campaign, two years ago, after another Norwich town hall meeting.  He told us he supported the rights of workers to organize and that his mom and aunt were nurses.  He came again one year ago to our rally on the street near the hospital when we were struggling to get our first contract.  He stood with us, telling the hospital, "get a contract, get it done."

There are many people who we need to thank for helping us get where we are.  But the Governor did what a leader does,

he led. 

He was out in front.

So, on Wednesday morning, I emailed Terri Merisotis, our Membership Mobilization Coordinator, at AFT-CT, and asked her to pass on our invitation, you know, just to be polite.

Latter that morning she called.  The Governor wanted to know who would be there because he was considering coming.  I said, the Governor can have whomever he wants there, he's THE GOVERNOR.  If he wants a crowd, I'll get a crowd.  If he wants to relax and regroup, he has a place to stop.

Latter that day, Terri called and said his schedule wouldn't allow the time to stop.  OK, I thought, at least we offered.

Thursday morning I received a call again from an excited Terri.  The Governor's schedule had cleared and he wanted to come for a visit.

We spent about 45 minutes with the Governor. We had refreshments and talked.  He wanted an update on our Local and how our relationship was progressing with the hospital. We discussed changes in health care, Obama Care, the state budget. 

At one point he asked us, as health care professionals, if he could partake in one piece of cheese.

(I hope I don't get him in trouble with Mrs Governor or his doctor)

His aide let him know when it was time to head to Norwich City Hall, we snapped a picture, and reminded him that whenever he is in Norwich, we are his home.