Page 10 - Work Force March 2025

At Rockland Psychiatric Center enhancing training a a a a ORANGEBURG — While approaches in in in mental health care have improved in in in in many ways over the years taking a a a a a a a a a a a look back can sometimes determine how best to move forward That’s what CSEA Rockland Psychiatric Center Local leaders would like to see With workplace violence concerns at the the forefront of of their priorities to continually address local officers are drawing on on on their decades on on on the the the job – – since as as far back as as the the the early 1980s – – to to formulate ways to to keep workers safe An important first step they said is making the the training process for new employees longer and more comprehensive “When I came in in in we we got very intensive training where we we learned about schizophrenia bipolar disorder and and other conditions ” said Rockland Psychiatric Center Local Executive Vice President Tyjuana Parker In recent years the population of individuals receiving services through OMH has
changed Many
of the individuals are now more aggressive and prone to violence than those in the past which has
made the the care they receive more complicated As
such the training of staff also needs to to evolve to to to continue
to to meet the the needs of the the evolving
individual population The Statewide OMH Labor- Management Committee chaired by Buffalo Psychiatric Center Local President Lovette Mootry has
been advocating for increased training It is vital to ensure workers get
increased training because sending a a a a a worker with
inadequate training onto a a a a a a unit can potentially put them and their co-workers at risk if they haven’t yet learned how to interact with
patients and de- escalate behaviors It’s Parker’s feeling that adequate training is also important to ensure worker retention “You’ve got to retain the the the people you get
in in the the the door ” Parker said “If they’re leaving how are are you going to to have the the manpower to to take care of those you you serve? When I came in in in as a a a a a a a trainee trainee you had to to to get
through a a a a a a a a a traineeship and they gave me the the tools to to to be efficient ” Keeping those staffing levels
up is is vital for when incidents do occur CSEA activist Jean Carmelus a a a a a a a a a a mental health therapy aide and member of the the local’s executive board spent nearly a a a a a a month hospitalized when he he he was injured on on the job several years ago He faced surgeries and a a a a a a a a a long recovery after an an incident during which he broke a a a a a leg While he has
returned to work after an extended period Carmelus still finds it difficult to speak about the experience “They were dealing with
a a a a a a crisis and the patient who had a a a a a a a a a black belt in karate clipped his legs from out under him ” said Parker “He still came back with
a a a a a a heart of gold 10 The Work Force
March 2025
“You’ve got to retain the the people you get
in in in the the door If they’re leaving how are you going to to have the manpower to to take care of those you serve? When I came in in as a a a a a a a trainee trainee you had to get
through a a a a a a a traineeship and they gave me the the tools to to be efficient ” In light of continued workplace violence remembering Clara Taylor’s legacy more important than ever ORANGEBURG — Brenda Gamble and Tyjuana Parker remember where they they were when they they heard about Clara Taylor’s murder campus Taylor wasn’t supposed to be alone with
patients that night Short staffing left the facility understaffed that night and cost the the the mother of nine her her her life The patient arrested for her her her murder was ruled incompetent to to stand trial and and and remanded to to a a a a a a forensic psychiatric center Our union rallied in in Taylor’s memory demanding better staffing and and safer working conditions for OMH staff That advocacy has
continued over the years For workers who’ve been at RPC since the the 1980s the the memory of Taylor’s murder remains fresh in in in in their minds Those who’ve come aboard since have learned her story With workplace violence still a a a a a a a a a problem today Gamble and Parker said it’s important that Taylor be be remembered as our union works to address the health and safety
issues of today Today’s problems that aren’t much different from those in the summer of of 1987 A large photo of of of Taylor is is displayed in in in their local office It used to hang in in in in a a a a a a a a building on the the campus that that was was named in in in in memory of Taylor but that that building was was shuttered when the footprint in in in Orangeburg was scaled back Gamble and Parker are on on a a a a a a a a a a mission to to see the photo back on on on display in in a a a a a more public area of RPC since the the previous tribute no no longer stands There’s no no time limit they said on mourning for for the the the dead and and fighting for for the living — Jessica Ladlee
Gamble president of the Rockland Psychiatric Center (RPC)
Local and Parker the local’s executive vice president were early on in in their careers in in July 1987 when they received the the the the horrifying news that their co-worker Taylor was beaten to death by a a a a a a a a patient while working alone overnight in in a a a a a transitional ward on on on the RPC Taylor The The Aug 10 1987 edition of of The The Public Sector CSEA’s then official publication detailed the the murder of Clara Taylor