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Lutheran hospital nurses show gains March 24, 2004 If doctors are known for their bedside manner, then nurses at the Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn may be known for table manners - at the bargaining table and conference table, this group of nearly 500 has made gains for their profession. Nurses at Lutheran are able to do most of their work under the guidlines of nurse-patient ratios they established last year. Also, nurses' input was sought in planning renovations of the hospital's hyperactive emergency room. And for the first time in the history of the hospital, nurses have medical insurance upon retirement. "The hospital is really working with us to make sure the guidelines are met," said Renee Setteducato, chapter leader for the Lutheran Medical Center local of the United Federation of Teachers. For the medical-surgical unit, nurse-patient ratios are 1-to-8; in both intensive care and recovery, it's 1-to-2 - a rarity in today's hospitals. The hospital meets these guidelines most of the time, she said, and fills in gaps with visiting nurses or agency nurses. New York State United Teachers has been lobbying for a statewide standard on nurse-patient ratios. Decades ago, there was no nurse input, said Setteducato, a nurse at Lutheran for 32 years. Now, recruitment and retention of nurses are addressed in monthly meetings between management and union nurses. A union health and safety committee monitors working conditions. Union leaders walk through the hospital's units to talk to nurses directly about work situations. "We're not only an active union, we're an interactive union," said Setteducato, who serves on NYSUT's Health Care Professionals Council. Nurses were on teams evaluating efficiency and comfort of the ER. "Who best knows how a place functions?" Setteducato asked. Last year, 57,000 people were treated at the emergency room, according to Setteducato, who worked it for 28 years. The ER has a trauma center, critical care, medical evaluation, bereavement and counseling areas, and isolation and psychiatric rooms. Curtained areas, where patients used to lie on stretchers, have been replaced with individual treatment rooms. A nurses' station is positioned in front. Nurses now have more options about retirement. "The idea is to pay some homage to the people who've given their careers through all kinds of situations, such as shortage of staff and hospital overcrowding," said Setteducato. "Sometimes the people who have been here the longest are forgotten." - Liza Frenette |
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