ALBANY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, Dec. 7, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Public Health and Health Policy Council (PHHPC) meeting will be streamed live at 10:00 a.m. here: https://www.health.ny .gov/events/webcasts
On Thursday, nursing home workers, members of 1199SEIU, will call for the full and swift implementation of the nursing home reform package of laws signed into law by Gov. Hochul earlier this year. The reforms, originally passed by lawmakers in 2021, include provisions requiring nursing homes to meet a minimum staffing requirement of 3.5 hours per resident per day and to spend at least 70% of revenue on resident care.
The Public Health and Health Policy Council (PHHPC) unanimously approved regulations to implement the legislation on November 17, but has since faced fierce opposition from nursing home owners. 1199SEIU members are attending PHHPC meetings in Albany and New York City today to oppose industry calls for weakening laws protecting nursing home residents and staff. Currently, NYS ranks 44th nationwide for nursing home staffing with an annual staff turnover of nearly 50%.
“The pandemic has highlighted the critical need for these personnel laws. For this reason, the law was passed and signed with an overwhelming majority already in 2021! Now is the time to make sure the laws are implemented,” said Jacquelle Pinnock, CNA at the Parker Jewish Institute in Queens: “There is no time to wait!”
“We fought hard for these laws and now we have to enforce them. We’re losing staff because we don’t work enough. We need to start enforcing these laws to keep nurses at the bedside,” said Lisa Johnson, LPN at Collar City Nursing Home in Schahticoke.
Richard Romero, a veteran CNA at Albany’s Shaker Place (formerly the Albany County Nursing Home), said, “We’re losing staff because we’re underworking. We need to start enforcing these laws to keep caregivers at the bedside.”
1199SEIU’s support for full implementation of nursing home reform in New York State follows Attorney General Tish James’ announcement last week of a major lawsuit against an upstate nursing home operator and its affiliates for skimming millions of Medicaid funds and insufficient hiring employees and making outrageous decisions that allowed COVID-19 to spread throughout the facility. Without reform to improve transparency and standards in the industry, proponents say these types of practices will continue.
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 450,000 nurses throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, DC and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for everyone.
Media contact:
Stuart Marquis
[email protected]
917-273-6194
Bryn Lloyd Bollard
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
+1 732-606-5949
[email protected]
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December 07, 2022 at 11:46 p.m. |
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