Mount Sinai drug counselors Colinda Castillo and Jeremy Chase at April 24 meeting of Certified Substance Abuse Counselors

The 1199 Professional & Technical Department held a union-wide meeting for Certified Substance Abuse Counselors (CASAC) on April 24 at 1199’s Manhattan headquarters.

The Union represents CASACs at scores of hospitals, rehabilitation centers and community based health organizations throughout New York.

The meeting’s agenda included a discussion on continuing education, compensation issues, a report on new professional regulations, the impact of the impending Janus decision and upcoming negotiations with League of Voluntary Hospitals and Nursing Homes.

CASACs are facing mounting caseloads complicated by increasing documentation requirements, broadening scopes of practice, higher productivity demands and an increasingly complex and crossaddicted client population. Short staffing, as for many professions, is a constant struggle for CASACs.

“If we don’t have the correct staffing we cannot do our jobs effectively,” said Charmain Lezama, a CASAC who works at Brooklyn’s St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Treatment Center. “Short staffing impedes our job performance. It’s very simple: without the proper tools no one can do their job effectively.”

“If we don’t have the correct staffing we cannot do our jobs effectively,” said Charmain Lezama, a CASAC who works at Brooklyn’s St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Treatment Center. “Short staffing impedes our job performance. It’s very simple: without the proper tools no one can do their job effectively.”

At the meeting, counselors described burnout related to caseloads and management demand. There was a lively conversation about a campaign on rising caseloads and what the challenges would be, especially with revenues directly linked to increasing patient numbers. Some spoke of using labormanagement committees in their institutions as a strategy to address this problem. Many signed up for the 1199 CASAC Committee to flesh out implementation strategies and wider Union involvement.

The meeting brought 17 members from various institutions on to the Union-Wide CASAC Working Committee, which will be assisted by 1199SEIU’s Professional and Technical Department.

“It’s a good start for us to be here so we can talk about stuff, but it takes involvement to move things forward,” said Delegate Anthony Nicholas, a CASAC at Mount Sinai/Beth Israel in Manhattan. “A committee may walk out of this room together, but we have to be sure to take the work back to the shops so everyone can get involved.”

- 1199 Magazine | May / June 2018