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Kelli Jemott

Emergency Room Nurse / Bowie Health Campus / Maryland

Kelli Jemott, an emergency room nurse at Bowie (MD) Health Campus, has been an 1199SEIU member since 1995. But, since moving to Maryland last year, she has become a Union activist. 
 
Kelli previously worked at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, NY. She was inspired to become a Delegate in Maryland because, in New York, “the Delegates were so knowledgeable about the Union and our rights. Everyone at my old hospital was competing to get involved. So at my orientation here in Maryland, I said that I wanted to be a Delegate.” 
 
Kelly was elected as a Delegate in April. She was also motivated by the potential closure of her facility, which is part of the Prince George’s hospital system. Kelli says that if she wants to see change, “I have to be part of the change.”
 
A participant in SEIU’s Member Political Action Conference (MPAC) in Washington, DC last month, Kelli was randomly chosen to meet in a small group with Sen. Hillary Clinton, as well as hearing from the presidential candidates who are running in 2008. Kelli says, “I am so impressed by the Union’s ability to pull candidates together to talk to us. There are so many great candidates, I don’t know who to pick. I want to make an educated decision, not just for me but for my co-workers, my children, my grandchildren to come, and everyone else.”
 
Looking forward to the presidential campaign, Kelli says, “I see myself canvassing and picking up the phone to educate friends, family and co-workers because it’s time for a change. I need to be more of a voice – I’m not afraid to talk and I know that I can have an impact in the election.”
 
Kelli is learning how to be an effective advocate for her co-workers at the Bowie Health Campus. She recently addressed the issue of a nursing supervisor who was belittling the nurses who work under her. Kelly put together a petition to request a meeting with management and the supervisor to express dissatisfaction with her attitude toward workers. “She was making a stressful situation [working in the emergency room] worse for nurses and the ER techs.” The meeting was fruitful with the supervisor agreeing to work on changing her communication style.
 
Kelli says, “I love being a Delegate and fighting for my co-workers because we have rights and a voice in our workplace. And I’m also developing rapport with management because we are all working together to deliver quality care to our patients.”