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Recent agreement with Doctors Council SEIU and efforts to improve physician working conditions
1:49:37
ยท
7 min
Dr. Mitch Katz discusses the recent agreement with Doctors Council SEIU and ongoing efforts to improve working conditions for physicians at NYC Health + Hospitals facilities.
- The agreement includes salary increases, bonuses, restoration of sick leave hours, and benefit contributions
- The full out-year cost of the agreement is estimated at $180 million for the affiliated portion of the contract
- H+H is implementing various initiatives to improve physician well-being, including wellness rooms, anonymous mental health counseling, and dedicated social workers for clinical staff
- There's a shift in organizational culture towards recognizing the stress of medical work and supporting staff mental health beyond just offering perks like yoga classes
Mercedes Narcisse
1:49:37
I know.
1:49:38
I used to do business with the city Of New York and the state.
1:49:41
And when the cash flow is not there, you cannot maintain anything.
1:49:46
In January 2025, nearly 1,000 H and H physicians who were part of the Doctors Council SEIU planned a strike in response to burnout and stagnant wages.
1:50:00
A tentative agreement was reached between the Doctors Council and H and H to avert the strike.
1:50:07
Thank God.
1:50:07
The agreement includes salary increases, bonuses, restoration of cuts to sick leave hours, and contributions to existing benefit.
1:50:18
Does the administration anticipate an increase to H and H budget to fulfill this agreement?
1:50:24
If so, how much funding will need to be added?
Dr. Mitch Katz
1:50:29
So, yes, I mean, it significantly increases our out year costs.
1:50:34
I don't know.
1:50:35
Do you have a a figure, James?
James Cassidy
1:50:40
So I think at, like, the the full out year, it's about a 80,000,000 for the affiliated portion of the contract.
Dr. Mitch Katz
1:50:46
A hundred and 80,000,000 a year.
Mercedes Narcisse
1:50:51
Alright.
1:50:52
H and H budget would increase because of this agreement.
1:50:56
When will the increase take place?
Dr. Mitch Katz
1:50:58
So it's it's a graduated and you won't see it on these particular documents again because these documents are the city budget and the city employees.
1:51:10
And most of the cost of the increases are where most of the doctors are on the affiliate contracts.
1:51:16
So the it affects the size of the the contracts that we have with our three big affiliates.
Mercedes Narcisse
1:51:26
I hope we're still working on the hours that the doctors keep on calling me on that, doctor Katz.
1:51:32
I know we're not gonna talk about the budget.
1:51:34
We've I mean, we're not talking about the hours.
1:51:36
We're talking about the budget, but I'm still receiving calls.
Dr. Mitch Katz
1:51:39
I understand.
Mercedes Narcisse
1:51:40
Alright.
1:51:41
Can you please describe the efforts the administration is making to improve working conditions for physician at h and h facilities?
Dr. Mitch Katz
1:51:48
Sure.
1:51:49
I mean, being a being a doctor has always been a stressful job, and I think that people used to be to use the vernacular told to suck it up.
1:51:59
And I think
Mercedes Narcisse
1:52:00
You cannot say that anymore.
Dr. Mitch Katz
1:52:01
I think we now recognize that that was never a very good thing to say.
1:52:05
And because it then people, you know, that that internalized anger or bitterness, you know, just affects other things.
1:52:14
That's not what we want.
1:52:15
Mhmm.
1:52:15
We want people to come to work to enjoy the the privilege of being able to take care of people, to make them better, and to leave whole.
1:52:24
So but we're all sort of feeling our way into what what what does that mean?
1:52:31
We have opened up wellness rooms.
1:52:33
We have we provide mental health counseling that is anonymous so that you don't have to worry about, you know, disclosing it.
1:52:43
We have a social worker at each of the hospitals dedicated to the well-being of the the clinical staff.
1:52:51
And, you know, we we have I think we have changed the culture to make it not a punitive culture, but to have people understand that what we care is do you show up.
1:53:03
Right?
1:53:04
We all make mistakes.
1:53:06
Every doctor has made mistakes.
1:53:07
Every nurse has made mistakes.
1:53:09
There's a difference between you came and you did your very best versus you didn't show up.
1:53:15
If you didn't show up, that's not good.
1:53:18
Right?
1:53:18
You shouldn't be part.
1:53:20
If you showed up, you did your best, but it turned out that you made a wrong choice, well, that we're all human.
1:53:26
And we need to we need to recognize that if people do their best, we're not gonna punish them.
1:53:33
So I think it's definitely a work in progress.
1:53:36
Mhmm.
1:53:37
I think we all also recognize that that keeping people's mental health is not necessarily, you know, yoga classes Mhmm.
1:53:46
Much as I'm in favor of people going
Mercedes Narcisse
1:53:48
I love yoga classes.
Dr. Mitch Katz
1:53:49
Right.
1:53:49
But I don't think that's I think it's you successfully connect people with their mission and make them feel good about their job as opposed to, okay, your job is horrible, but now for this hour we're gonna do yoga.
1:54:03
I think people realize that that that is not how you you have to address the job.
1:54:10
You can't say that, okay, well, now I give you an hour off to enjoy because then you just go back to the same thing that's making you unhappy.
1:54:18
So again, while I'm in favor of yoga and yoga classes, I highly recommend them for your health.
1:54:23
I think for for well-being, you have to address the job itself.
1:54:28
People should feel good
Mercedes Narcisse
1:54:30
About
Dr. Mitch Katz
1:54:30
the job.
1:54:30
They have their skills as a doctor, a nurse, a social worker, a phlebotomist.
1:54:35
These are useful skills.
1:54:37
You have them.
1:54:38
You should feel good about it.
1:54:39
To the extent people don't, we have to work on that.
1:54:42
What how how do we as an employer help to connect people to the joy of helping people?
Mercedes Narcisse
1:54:49
That's what I always say.
1:54:50
I'm counting on you because you're a practicing doctor.
1:54:53
You know what the resident are going through.
1:54:56
So myself personally, being in the hospital, I'm so happy to see you all the time in that position
Dr. Mitch Katz
1:55:02
Thank you.
Mercedes Narcisse
1:55:03
Because we have to make it happen.
1:55:04
It's a different mentality, different approach from our time.
Dr. Mitch Katz
1:55:07
Yes.
Mercedes Narcisse
1:55:08
So mental health, they never been to COVID.
1:55:10
They never been to all that.
1:55:12
So mental health is real.
1:55:14
And if your job is stressful, the the fax machine, the phone ringing, they're all gonna annoy you.
1:55:21
A patient call you twice is gonna call is gonna annoy you because you are human, mental health.
1:55:26
So before my deputy speaker leave, I wanna tell you too, what he's what she was talking about MET, I wanna talk about Elmhurst Hospital.
1:55:36
We need to enlarge that too.
1:55:37
We need a space.
1:55:38
I
Diana Ayala
1:55:39
asked first.
Mercedes Narcisse
1:55:41
Because they keep on asking me because Baxter Street can be closed so we can have a better ER.
1:55:46
When I go to that ER emergency room, I feel bad for everyone that work there, and I feel bad for the patient too.
1:55:52
We need to enlarge that.
1:55:53
There's too many people at that era.
1:55:57
Where?
1:55:57
I don't want to lose the okay.
1:56:00
I think we already asked you that.
1:56:02
So alright.
1:56:03
South Brooklyn.
1:56:04
Since I don't have no hospital in my district, South Brooklyn is the closest.
1:56:09
In twenty twenty five, twenty twenty nine, preliminary capital commitment plan includes 6,000,000 for the creation of the Collaborative Learning Center for the Practice of Medicine, a training facility for medical staff that was announced in August 2023.
1:56:26
Is there a timeline for a completion of this facility?
1:56:30
Is there a planned head count?
1:56:33
If so, can you provide it?
1:56:35
Booking down by category.
1:56:37
Is there a plan size of the facility?
1:56:39
If so, can you provide it?