Fanwood Council Supports Safe Nurse Staffing Measure

Amanda Leger of Piscataway, a nurse at Robert Wood University Hospital, spoke in support of the borough’s resolution and state legislation for safe staffing of nurses.

Leger said the recently concluded 130-day strike at Robert Wood “shouldn’t have to happen at any other hospital in New Jersey.” Short staffing was among the issues nurses had gone on the picket line.

She said one New Jersey survey found that 75 percent of beside nurses feel the staffing is inadequate.

“No patient should ever go into a hospital wondering ‘am I going to get the care I deserve,’” she said, especially when patients are paying for what is “supposed to be quality health care.”

Council President Katherine Mitchell, who ran Tuesday’s meeting in absence of Mayor Colleen Mahr, commented that “nurses give the best care, but there has to be more of them.”

John Hsu of Edison also spoke in favor of the safe staffing measure. He noted that Fanwood is the 23rd town council to pass a resolution in support of legislation for safe staffing for nurses, Senate bill 1941.

The council also approved a proclamation for Dr. Martin Luther King Day, which was celebrated on Monday, and presented to Delois Dawson, a member of the MLK Day of Service Committee, by Deputy Clerk Courtney Agnello.

Agnello noted that Dawson was a student Clark College in Atlanta at the time of Dr. King’s assassination and was asked to be an usher at Dr. King’s funeral in 1968. Dawson is a retired 37-year educator.

“Martin Luther King Day is a Day on not a day off,” Dawson said. “Every year around this time I get a little sad because I go back and I think about that sad day when we were asked to be ushers at the funeral.”

Councilwoman Mitchell said the issue of immigrants was brought up at a meeting of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Ministerium she attended in response to a group of immigrants dropped off over the New Year’s weekend to board a train to New York City from the Fanwood Train Station. She said there were questions if immigrants are left in Fanwood in the future.

Business Administration Jesse Moehlman said the state has been issuing daily reports on which New Jersey train stations have been receiving immigrants including how many board trains and how many don’t. He said counties and the state are actively figuring out what to provide municipalities when this happens.

Borough Engineer Antonios Panagopoulus said construction of the new borough library is 65 percent complete and that the borough anticipates getting a certificate of occupancy in March with the opening of the building before summer.

Councilwoman Patricia Walsh noted that Fanwood will be participating in the American Revolution 250, marking the 250th founding of the U.S. Fanwood will partner with Scotch Plains.

Councilwoman Mitchell said the borough’s recycling center will be open on Saturday, February 3 from 8 to 11 am.

She also reminded residents that the last day for curbside pickoff of Christmas trees is January 31.