Media attention on Sunmount highlights problems in OPWDD facilities TUPPER LAKE — Recent media attention on concerns at the Sunmount Developmental Center is shining a renewed spotlight on the difficulties CSEA members working in the care of the developmentally disabled are facing, not only at Sunmount, but throughout the entire system. Recent articles in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise have raised community awareness of multiple issues, especially understaffing and the mandated overtime that results, leading to employee morale which is “at an all-time low” according to Sunmount Developmental Center Local President Steve Delair, who was quoted in several articles. “Regular direct care staff are working anywhere between three and five double shifts per week,” Delair told the newspaper. He noted that excessive overtime is taking its toll on the workers. “Obviously people are frustrated. It’s a tremendous burden on them. They’re totally exhausted.” Contributing to the problem is when staff are placed on administrative leave due to charges of alleged abuse, primarily being investigated and handled by the state’s Justice Center. CSEA has shared concerns with the state that cases handled by “Regular direct care staff are working anywhere between three and five double shifts per week. Obviously people are frustrated. It’s a tremendous burden on them. They’re totally exhausted.” the relatively new agency are taking far too long to resolve, compounding short-staffing. CSEA Broome Developmental Center Local President Dave Jenkins said that often those allegations are blown far out of proportion. Every allegation is investigated. Jenkins said that workers at BDC are dealing with the same situation as Sunmount and other OPWDD facilities when it comes to regular mandated overtime shifts. “Everybody’s doing 16 hour shifts, sometimes four or five times a week. We basically don’t have enough people to serve the individuals properly, and it’s having an impact on the staff, their families and the individuals. Morale? It’s not even crappy, it’s just none.” In the newspaper articles, CSEA said that while there is no excuse or tolerance for abuse, risk of mistakes are increased when workers are exhausted and overworked. At Sunmount, Delair said he’s working with facility management to try to come up with staffing solutions that will offer the workers some relief. CSEA Central Region President Colleen Wheaton said that she’s hopeful that the attention drawn to the issues at Sunmount will have a positive impact on all OPWDD CSEA Broome Developmental Center Local President Dave Jenkins said workers at Broome are stretched thin trying to serve the facility’s clients. facilities facing similar situations. “We need to find solutions to these problems so that people can work regular schedules, have time away from work to spend with their families, and be able to properly care for the individuals in their care,” she said. Jenkins said that his workers and those they care for deserve as much. “I want people to understand that even with all this going on, our workers come in every day and every night and they don’t know when they’re going home, or if they’re going to end up in the emergency room, but they still do their best, and they deserve a lot better. So do the individuals we care for.” — Mark M. Kotzin Sunmount Developmental Center Local President Steve Delair said Sunmount workers and others across the state have experienced plunging morale and exhaustion due to understaffing. 12 The Work Force March 2015
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