The 2,200 registered nurses from the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNS), who are represented by the Federation of Nurses/UFT, have negotiated a new contract which they ratified overwhelmingly on Jan. 31.

The federation has worked closely with the home healthcare agency over the years and has managed to forge a positive relationship, says Anne Goldman,
FN/UFT special representative. The 31-member negotiating committee made its priorities clear and applied pressure where it was needed. The result is “a slam-dunk” contract, says Goldman. 

The two-year contract, retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year, increases base salaries by 3.67 percent this year and 2.38 percent in 2006. Staff nurse salary will increase to $63,000 this year and then up to $64,500 next year. Salaries for nurse practitioners will rise to $75,000 this year and $78,000 next year. The contract also increases the per diem visit rate to $52.25 per visit. Next year, that figure will rise to $52.50 per visit, with additional increases depending on the type of visit. This will benefit 500 nurses. The contract also expands the VNS experience scale to provide an additional $15,000 when employees reach 20 years with the service.

The union also negotiated a benefit that allows nurses who have worked for the VNS 20 years or more and are at least 60 years old to receive a one-time lump sum of $4,000 when they retire. “It’s a wonderful retention tool,” says Goldman.

In addition, the VNS will contribute $9,900 to the nurses’ health benefit fund for each employee this year. The amount will increase to $11,088 next year.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a faster and more effective test for tuberculosis that could help eradicate the highly infectious disease.

QuantiFERON(R)-TB GOLD, an indirect test for TB, could replace the traditional skin test that has been in use for more than 100 years. The new test is said to be more accurate and reliable than the current test, which can give false positive results in people vaccinated against TB or exposed to related environmental bacteria.

Although overall TB cases in the United States are slowly decreasing, the disease is resurfacing in a number of metropolitan areas. The transmission of TB also is high among individuals with immunosuppressive diseases such as HIV. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 10 million to 15 million Americans are infected with TB in its latent phase. Without intervention, about 10 percent of those infected will develop active TB at some point and become sources of transmission.