So it's been a frustrating process. The 60-member unit of nurses and a social worker had been organized as an independent union. Schepisi said the overwhelming vote last summer to affiliate with New York State United Teachers showed that members were confident that United Teachers could best represent them in today's managed health climate that brings increasing demands on visiting nurses. Daily, nurses are called on to perform more complex procedures, because managed care typically allows patients less time for recovery in the hospital. We administer home IV therapy.
Some people are on ventilators.
We often find ourselves in the role of teacher, working to help both the patient and the family members participate more fully in the patient's recovery. Each nurse also oversees patient nutrition. The visiting nurse agency for Utica and Oneida County feels the financial impact of the federal balanced budget act, Schepisi explained, as do visiting nurse services statewide, particularly small ones. Funds are tight. Reimbursement delays compound problems.