REPORT: July/August 2006

For these nurses, the bad old days are back

by Nancy Webber

During the nursing shortage of the 1980s, thousands of registered nurses came to the U.S. from the Philippines. A recent federal survey of RNs estimates that more than half of the foreign-educated nurses in the country are from that island nation.

At the time, Filipino nurses were in high demand because they spoke English and had received quality education. For many, the transition brought success and opportunity. But for some, the American dream became a nightmare when they were exploited and mistreated by unscrupulous nursing agencies and employers.

Based on the recent experience of a group of Filipino nurses, those bad old days might be coming back.

“We need help.”

That was the subject line on an e-mail sent to NYSNA in April by a group of registered nurses from the Philippines. The 27 RNs, all of whom had come to the U.S. through the Sentosa Recruitment Agency, had walked away from intolerable job situations.

“We arrived in New York on Nov. 11, 2005,” wrote Ritchel Salve. “We were brought to an apartment where there were 12 of us staying in three rooms with one bathroom. We were each given a bed, some groceries, and $50, which we had to budget until we could start working.”

It was just the beginning of their problems with Sentosa. Later, Salve claimed, some of the RNs did not get the promised two months of free housing and others were not reimbursed, as promised, for fees associated with taking the exams and obtaining their New York nursing licenses.

On Nov. 23, Salve and other nurses were given a one-day orientation at Brookhaven Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Queens. The next day, they were sent out on the floors.

“As we were the least senior, we were the ones floated to the different floors although we were not oriented there,” Salve wrote. “The posted schedule wasn’t really followed. There would be two nurses listed, but in reality only one would be there because the other one was floated to another area. The quality of care given to the residents was being compromised.”

In addition to working long hours, said Salve, the Filipino RNs were not paid their promised salaries and benefits. After nearly five months, they had reached the limit of their endurance. On April 6 they filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice. During the following three days, the nurses resigned from their various facilities.

Within a week, however, Salve learned her former employer was suing the nurses for breach of contract and charging them with professional misconduct. Their RN licenses were put on hold by the state, preventing them from applying for work elsewhere.

NYSNA offers help

In response to the nurses’ e-mail, NYSNA staff went to work.

Deputy Executive Director Tina Gerardi contacted the State Board for Nursing and the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) about the RNs’ plight.

Barbara Conklin, associate director of the NYSNA Economic & General Welfare (E&GW) Program, also offered support.

In response to the request from NYSNA, the state board promised to expedite the hearing on the professional misconduct charges. In early June, Salve reported that she had passed the NCLEX exam. Then on July 2, word came that the nurses’ licenses had been released.

Later that week, the state Labor Department wrote to Gerardi, noting “a review of the information you provided indicates that there are possible violations of both state and federal wage payment statutes.” A coordinated state and federal investigation is expected to be underway soon.

“Words are inadequate to express how thankful we are for all your help,” wrote Salve to Conklin. “When the news came that the hold over our licenses was lifted, we were jumping and hugging each other and some even cried. We know it was because you all helped us and believed in the cause we are fighting for.”