New York

CIR Leaders Speak Out in the LA Times, NY Times

CIR leaders on both coasts had letters published in major newspapers recently, addressing issues that affect resident physicians across the country.

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A Greenwich Village Institution, St. Vincent’s Closes Its Doors

CIR Mobilizes to Protect Resident Physicians During Hospital’s Final Days
A fixture in Greenwich Village in Manhattan for over 161 years, St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center in Manhattan closed its doors in April 2010. Although there can be no mollifying the heartbreak of those who worked in its halls or the continued health access crisis for the local community, the 370 resident physicians employed by the hospital took comfort in knowing that they had the staff and leadership of CIR on their side and looking out for their interests throughout the hospital’s months-long decline.

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Remembering Dr. Vajinder Toor

Housestaff, attendings, nurses, and other healthcare workers at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY were shocked to hear of the death of former member Dr. Vajinder Toor on April 26, 2010. Dr. Toor had been a popular delegate, the chief of the negotiating committee at Kingsbrook, and an active member throughout his residency, which he completed in 2008. At the time of his death, Dr. Toor was a fellow in Infectious Diseases at the Yale School of Medicine. He was tragically shot to death outside of his home in Branford, CT while leaving for work.

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Change Is Coming to St. Barnabas Hospital

Legal Victory Paves Way for Residents’ Voices to Finally Be Heard
Almost a year after the resident physicians at St. Barnabas Hospital voted on whether to join CIR, their votes were unsealed and counted on June 11, 2010.  With 119 voting in favor of the union and only two against, it was a resounding victory for the residents who have fought for almost two years for a union.  An additional 47 ballots were not included in the vote count because of legal challenges from the hospital.

For the residents who started the organizing campaign in 2008, it was a sweet victory. Many had already started to discuss concrete improvements they could negotiate when the hospital comes to the bargaining table.

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New York Downtown Docs Win Raises, Rent Protections

After more than four years with no raises, resident physicians at New York Downtown Hospital ratified a contract that guarantees them rent protection, bonuses and raises, among other gains, on May 19, 2010.

The 64 internal medicine and obstetrics/gynecology residents at New York Downtown affiliated with CIR in April 2009, after their independent housestaff association had struggled and failed to get administration’s attention on negotiating a new contract. Organizing committee members were motivated by uncompetitive salaries, a punitive policy on sick days, and a sense that they had no voice at their workplace. After 10 months of negotiations, the CIR leaders felt that they had a contract that adequately addressed those issues.

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CIR Hosts Screening of the Movie Money Driven Medicine at St. Luke’s Hospital

The U.S. spends twice as much per person on health care as the average developed nation, yet our outcomes, especially for chronic diseases, are often worse. How did we get to this point? That’s the central question that Maggie Mahar set out to answer in her book Money Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much.

On April 7, 2010, CIR hosted a screening of the documentary based on Ms. Mahar’s book at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City. Resident physicians, nurses, and community members came out to see the film and to participate in a question-and-answer session with the author.

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Senator Schumer, Meet Dr.Whittaker

As the push to reform the inequities of the American health care system spilled over into 2010, CIR continued to make sure that the national debate was as much about doctors and patients as it was politicians and process. 

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New CIR Chapter at LICH Wins Its First Contract Victory

CIR officially grew by 130 members when resident physicians at Long Island College Hospital (LICH) ratified their first union contract on January 14, 2010. The contract guarantees all residents a 3% raise retroactive to October 2009, another 3% raise in April of this year, and greatly improved health coverage, as well as a book allowance and meal provisions.

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Facing Contract Delays, NY Downtown Residents Launch Outreach Campaign

The resident physicians of New York Downtown Hospital have been waiting for their new contract for a very long time. To give themselves a stronger voice in contract negotiations, the 60-plus housestaff voted to affiliate with CIR on April 14, 2009. In the face of continued delays during bargaining, the residents have taken matters into their own hands. In mid-November, they launched an outreach campaign both inside the hospital and outside in the larger Manhattan community, challenging the hospital to “Be Fair to Those Who Care.”

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CIR Contracts Stay Strong in Tough Times

The economic downturn dominates the headlines and is a source of concern across the country. But for safety-net hospitals, including most hospitals staffed by CIR resident physicians, the bad economy brings twice the trouble. More people are losing their health insurance when they lose their jobs and relying on public programs like Medicaid or joining the ranks of the uninsured. This means more people depending on our hospitals. At the same time, tax revenue is down at the state, county, and city level, causing governments to cut their budgets for health care precisely at the time when more people are using these services.

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CIR Doctor Featured in New York City Hall Rally for Health Care

As the health care reform fight heats up, CIR doctors in New York are adding their voices to the call for quality, affordable health care.

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St. Barnabas Residents Continue to Fight for Recognition

The resident physicians at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx held a secret ballot election on June 18 on whether to join CIR.  Although the hospital has taken action to delay recognition of the union and it could be months until the votes are counted, residents said those who came out to vote were overwhelmingly in support of joining the Committee of Interns and Residents.   

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NLRB Rules in Favor of Union at St. Barnabas

After months of hearings, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) sided with the resident physicians at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx who are seeking to join a union and has directed that a union election should be held within 30 days. The decision was issued May 22.

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CIR Comments on Impact of Caritas Closures on other Queens Hospitals

When Caritas Health Care announced it would close two Queens hospitals in February with little warning and no transition plan, CIR warned that neighboring hospitals were already overwhelmed and overcrowded and couldn’t handle the loss of more hospital beds. Now, a report issued by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. on June 1, 2009 substantiates the devastating impact of these closures on the community.

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Teamwork & Communication the Focus of Union - Management Conference

Poor communication not only creates interpersonal problems between staff in different hospital departments, it can also lead to poor patient care. This was the message driving a one-day conference organized jointly by CIR and New York City's Health and Hospitals Corporation on April 21 at Metropolitan Hospital in East Harlem.

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Residents Settle Contract with North General; CIR Welcomes NY Downtown Members

Residents at North General Hospital settled a contract after a 16-month standoff, winning salary increases of $1,500.

CIR welcomed 63 new members at New York Downtown Hospital, who in April voted to affiliate their independent housestaff association with CIR.  

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CIR Leaders Discuss Health Care Reform with Sen. Gillibrand

CIR leaders participated in a roundtable discussion and press conference on April 13 with US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. CIR President Dr.Toni Lewis co-chaired the event,which was organized in conjunction with Health Care for America NOW! (HCAN).

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St. Barnabas Residents File Petition; LICH Residents Win Their Vote

Residents at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx and Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn are proof that in these tough economic times, it’s more important than ever for housestaff to have a voice in their hospitals.

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CIR Fights for Residents and Patients at Caritas Hospitals

After a hard-fought battle, workers at St. John’s Queens and Mary Immaculate Hospitals in Queens had to face the news that the two facilities were filing for bankruptcy and preparing to close, with almost no transition plan.

CIR represents roughly 200 residents at the hospitals, which are operated by Caritas Health Care and had been struggling financially for several years.

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Patient Care Funds Support Innovative Projects

Through Patient Care Funds, CIR members have a chance to create and fund programs based on needs they identify in their hospital and their communities. Residents in Los Angeles originated the idea when they negotiated for dedicated funding to cover patients’ needs into their contract starting in 1975. Since then, housestaff around the country have followed suit, using their voice as a union to advocate not just for better compensation and working conditions, but for better care for their patients.

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CIR Residents Learn About Life After Residency

Residents in Northern California, Southern California, Massachusetts and New York got answers to their most pressing questions about life after residency at a recent series of Post-Residency Life Workshops. More than 150 residents attended the sessions.

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CIR & HHC Join Forces for Safety

New York City public Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) and CIR joined forces on February 6, 2008 to host a first-ever conference on improving the transfer of patient information (also known as hand-overs).

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CIR V.P. Testifies At Governor's Healthcare Hearing

CIR NY Vice President Karen Morice, MD, a PM&R resident at St. Vincent’s Hospital-Manhattan, took the opportunity to testify on November 2, 2007, and share her  knowledge of what goes wrong for patients with Medicaid and Medicare, patients with no insurance, and even residents and attending physicians who need to access their healthcare coverage.

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New Contract Solidifies Gains at Brooklyn’s Maimonides Medical Center

For the 384 residents at Maimonides Medical Center, located in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, their second contract brought solid economic gains in the form of raises from 12-13%, depending on PGY year, an improved education allowance, and either a day off or extra pay for those who work on holidays.

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Residents "Stick to Guns," Win New Contract

After several long negotiation sessions, CIR members at Brooklyn Hospital reached a contract agreement with hospital administration on July 26, 2007.

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CIR petitions for SCHIP at screenings of "Sicko"

The last two weeks of July 2007, CIR members attended New York-area showings of Michael Moore’s movie “Sicko” to collect petition signatures in support of expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

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NYC Public Hospital Victory Yields Big Gains for 2,000 Residents

CIR members at nine Health & Hospital Corporation (HHC) public hospitals in New York City reached an agreement with city negotiators after five months of negotiations on March 16, 2007. The agreement covers approximately 2,000 resident physicians at Bellevue, Jacobi, Coney Island, Gouveneur, Harlem, Kings County, Lincoln, Metropolitan, and Woodhull hospitals in New York City.

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Kings County Hospital Wins HHC Best Practice Award

The Department of Internal Medicine at Kings County Hospital, in Brooklyn, NY won CIR’s 2006-2007 HHC Best Practice Award of $20,000 with innovative scheduling that reduces work hours for all PGY levels.

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