NYSNA Objects To Senate Plan On Foreign RNs

By HOWARD MEGDAL

A provision in the U.S. Senate bill on immigration reform that would allow an unlimited number of Registered Nurses to come to the United States drew sharp criticism from the New York State Nurses' Association.

The bill passed earlier this year but still needs to be reconciled with the House of Representatives' version, which does not include the nursing stipulation.

Bill 'Short-Sighted'

"Although we have welcomed many foreign nurses as NYSNA members, solving a shortage of nurses by bringing in RNs from overseas is short-sighted and irresponsible," said NYSNA Deputy Executive Director Tina Gerardi. "The government should be investing in U.S. nursing education programs rather than 'outsourcing.' Qualified nurses are being drained from areas of the world where they are desperately needed."

The city has yet to take a position on the bill. Ana Marengo, a spokeswoman for the Health and Hospitals Corporation, said that "HHC welcomes qualified nurses from any part of our city and any part of the world. We strongly support programs that make it easier for local men and women to enter the nursing profession. We are very proud of our diverse nursing staff who are both homegrown and from abroad and believe they are vital to our mission to serve NYC's diverse communities, including the many new immigrant New Yorkers who depend on the public hospital system for their health care."

But NYSNA is concerned that many foreign RNs are being lured with false assurances. Others are reportedly given jobs as interns, leaving them ineligible to be represented by NYSNA.

'Broken Promises'

"We have already gotten reports that recruiting agencies are not living up to their promises," said Lorraine Seidel, director of the NYSNA Economic and General Welfare Program. "According to postings on the Internet, Nurses were not informed about where they would be assigned to work, salary rates were below prevailing wages, and provided housing was substandard." At present, about 14,000 RNs immigrate to the United States annually, and 35 percent of city Nurses are foreign-born, according to NYSNA President Verlia Brown.