For Immediate Release: Feb. 28, 2024
Contact: Eliza Bates | press@nysna.org| 646-285-8491
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org| 646-853-4489
**MEDIA ADVISORY FOR TODAY, FEB. 28 AT 6PM**
NYSNA NURSES SPEAK OUT AT BURDETT CLOSURE TOWN HALL ABOUT HEALTHCARE CUTS PUTTING PATIENTS AT RISK
Capital Region Nurses Sound Alarm to Stop Cuts to Maternal Healthcare
Advocates Warn that Hospital Consolidation Leads to Healthcare Cuts, Compromises Community Care
Troy, N.Y.– NYSNA nurses from Ellis Hospital, Bellevue Woman’s Center, and Albany Medical Center will speak out at a public forum hosted by St. Peter’s Health Partners about the proposed closure of Samaritan Hospital’s Burdett Birth Center.
As patient advocates, nurses are raising concerns about the impact that St. Peter’s proposed closure of maternal health services at Burdett will have on community care. Since St. Peter’s merged with Samaritan and St. Mary’s Hospital, hospital administrators have cut vital healthcare services. Ellis Medicine has also cut services after entering a merger agreement with St. Peter’s. Nurses are particularly concerned about the future of the Bellevue Woman’s Center, Schenectady’s only maternal-child health center, if the merger is approved.
WHO: New York State Nurses Association nurses and concerned community members.
WHAT: St. Peter's Health Partners Public Information Session About Burdett Birth Center Closure.
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 28, 6-7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Hudson Valley Community College, Bulmer Telecommunications Center
80 Vandenburgh Ave., Troy NY 12180
Watch the live stream at https://hvcc.zoom.us/j/97084398862?pwd=RzF6cVFISUtSUlFPUjJXMGxuQi9Edz09
Bellevue Woman’s Center NICU nurse, Dawn Zipp, RN, said: “We have a maternal and child mortality crisis in this country, and St. Peter’s is closing these essential healthcare services at exactly the wrong time. I am deeply concerned about St. Peter’s commitment to women’s rights and maternal health based on this proposed closure. They need to stop the cuts and start investing in safe patient care for our moms and babies.”
Albany Medical Center nurses also spoke out against St. Peter’s proposed closure and the impact it will have on quality care in the Capital Region. They compared St. Peter’s consolidation to Albany Med’s rapid expansion and consolidation, which has resulted in healthcare service cuts and quality care concerns. The labor and delivery unit and neo-natal intensive unit (NICU) of Albany Med are frequently understaffed, putting patient care at risk.
Albany Med nurses recently filed complaints with the New York State Department of Health (DOH) about NICU understaffing. New York state law dictates that nurses should care for a maximum of two patients in the ICU, but Albany Med nurses documented consistent unsafe staffing levels of 3 or 4 patients to 1 nurse.
Albany Med Labor and Delivery nurse Kathryn Dupuis, RN, said: “We are frequently understaffed and overwhelmed with patients. I'm concerned about the impact Burdett's closure will have on the care I can deliver to my patients, because Albany Med is not investing in safe patient care or hiring more nurses, either. They are staffing to the bare minimum, and they are certainly not ready to absorb more maternal health patients. We want to give the best care to our moms and babies, but these giant hospital corporations are making it nearly impossible because they are putting profits before patients.”
Nurses lent their solidarity to the Burdett Center nurses and patients who are fighting back against this closure. They distributed community leaflets updating the Troy community about their struggle for safe staffing and a fair contract at Ellis Medicine, and urged supporters to sign their petition and visit their website about St. Peter’s and Ellis Medicine’s threat to quality care.
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The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.
