CSEA Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) Unit members set up an informational table, which serves as a setting to have conversations.
EAST MEADOW — CSEA is fighting back against Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) officials, who falsely claim the hospital has not received enough funding from the state to keep the hospital open.
Closing the hospital is a move that would leave many Long Islanders without access to quality care, as NUMC is a safety-net hospital that provides vital health care services to community members who can’t afford the costs.
More so, a closure would leave more than 3,000 CSEA members who are employed at NUMC without a job, along with hundreds of CSEA members who work at the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility and the Nassau County Correctional Facility.
From left to right, CSEA Long Island Region President Jarvis Brown speaks with a NUMC worker about the facts.
“The reality is that hospital officials have grossly mismanaged the funds that were allocated to NUMC to keep it afloat,” said CSEA Long Island Region President Jarvis Brown.
CSEA Long Island Region officers, CSEA Nassau University Medical Center Unit President Shakira Settles, Nassau County Local officers and CSEA Legislative and Political Action staff have been sharing the facts with members employed at the hospital. Supporting them in this effort are CSEA Nassau County Local President Ron Gurrieri.
Every week, CSEA sets up an information table at NUMC, where union activists at the hospital campus hold conversations with members about the misinformation they have been told by the hospital board versus the facts CSEA is sharing. The conversations are then reinforced with the distribution of written materials that reiterate what was discussed.
CSEA has also been having weekly labor-management meetings with hospital administrators to discuss what needs to be done to keep all the impacted facilities open and CSEA members gainfully employed.
“Communication is key,” said Brown. “By putting boots on the ground, we’ve been able to increase our communication with the hospital and improve member engagement.”
CSEA NUMC Unit President Shakira Settles shows a member a palm card with facts about the hospital’s financial capabilities.
CSEA’s efforts are starting to pay off. The hospital has begun to work with former hospital patients to resolve outstanding debts, which is helping to adjust the hospital’s deficit, along with communicating with CSEA hospital employees frequently about the monetary status of the hospital and the board’s ongoing plan to improve NUMC’s financial position.
“With urging from CSEA, Nassau Health Care Corporation Administration is implementing new initiatives that are directly addressing longstanding issues at the hospital,” said Settles. “Members working together to create a plan of action is why we’re moving in the right direction.”
— Wendi Bowie
