**MEDIA ADVISORY FOR TODAY, FEB. 7 AT 6 P.M.**
Contact: Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
ALBANY MEDICAL CENTER NURSES AND ALLIES HOLD TOWN HALL TO DISCUSS STAFFING CRISIS
Critical Care in Critical Condition: ICU Nurses Detail Understaffing that Puts Patients at Risk
Nurses Update Public on Staffing Law Department of Health Complaints
Albany, N.Y. — New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses and labor and community allies are hosting a public town hall meeting to raise concerns and propose solutions to quality care issues at Albany Medical Center. Nurses from the hospital’s intensive care units (ICUs), including the neo-natal ICU (NICU) and medical ICU will describe the effect of persistent understaffing on patient care and nurse retention. In the last few months, nurses have submitted numerous complaints to the New York State Department of Health detailing chronic unsafe staffing ratios and the hospital’s refusal to address staffing — in violation of state law. Labor leaders and elected officials will also speak about their experiences as Albany Med patients.
WHAT: Staffing Crisis Town Hall
WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 7 from 6-8 p.m.
WHERE: NYSNA Albany Office, 155 Washington Ave., Albany, NY
First Floor Conference Room. Parking in back of the building.
Also livestreaming online. Register at bit.ly/AMCTownhall
WHO: NYSNA nurses at Albany Medical Center; NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN; Capital District Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO Director Mark Emanation; and elected officials, including Albany County Legislator Dustin Reidy.
The Albany Med Health System has consolidated significantly in the last 20 years and now its flagship hospital, Albany Medical Center, serves approximately one-third of Capital Region patients. With the acquisition of nearby hospitals, the system has sharply increased its market share.1 While expanding its market share in the region, Albany Med has not invested as heavily in hiring and retaining enough nurses to improve quality care. The hospital has some of the longest Emergency Department wait times in the state, frequently understaffs patient care units despite state-mandated guidelines, and had low hospital safety scores in 2023.2
Albany Med nurses have raised concerns about quality care with the New York State Department of Health (DOH), filing numerous complaints that hospital administrators have failed to set safe staffing standards in all patient care units, failed to discuss staffing levels in staffing committee meetings, and failed to uphold their own safety standards. Conditions in critical care units are particularly concerning, where New York state law dictates that nurses should care for a maximum of two patients.
In two recent complaints about critical care units filed in December, nurses detailed how "Albany Med has refused to provide break coverage which has put every ICU over the 2 patients to 1 nurse ratio every day on every shift." A complaint about unsafe staffing in the NICU, where nurses care for the most vulnerable, critically ill babies, said: "The ratio should be 2 patients to 1 nurse. They have consistently been running at 3 or 4 patients to 1 nurse."
Nurses and allies are speaking out to demand Albany Med invest in care for the community. They are asking hospital administrators to follow the staffing law and invest in improving care by recruiting and retaining more nurses for safe, quality care.
Jen Bejo, RN, president of NYSNA’s labor bargaining unit at Albany Med, said: “Staffing is a huge issue for us – everyone feels the pressure to do more with less support. It's overwhelming, especially when we're already stretched thin. As nurses, we want to do more for our patients, but we can’t because of the hospital’s consistent failure to provide a safe working environment for us and our patients. Unsafe staffing destroys our moral and leads to more to exhaustion and burnout.”
“I’ve been at Albany Med’s NICU for 12 years because I love what I do. I love teaching families how to care for their precious newborns and caring for babies until they’re well enough to go home and live a full life. But over the time I’ve been here, I’ve seen Albany Med grow to care more about the bottom line than safe patient care,” said Jennifer Kiehle, RN. “Albany Med nurses will continue to fight for safe staffing because we know that is the only way nurses will stay in this facility and patients in the Capital region will get the care they deserve.”
“It’s extremely difficult to go to work and see people you care about feel defeated. We chose to be nurses for a reason, because we love our patients, and we trust in one another. We stay because we are fighting for each other. We must stop the bleed of valuable, experienced nurses leaving this profession. The only way to do this is to improve staffing, implement retention measures, and for management to let nurses know they are listened to and appreciated,” said Bethany Thurston, RN.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said: “It is completely unacceptable that Albany Med is not listening to its hardworking frontline nurses when it comes to patient safety and flouting New York state laws meant to ensure quality care. As the major academic medical center for the Capital region and beyond, they need to invest in care for the community and put patients before profits.”
Sources:
- Analysis of SPARCS data: https://health.data.ny.gov/Health/Hospital-Inpatient-Discharges-SPARCS-De-Identified/nxi5-zj9x/about_data and https://health.data.ny.gov/Health/Hospital-Inpatient-Discharges-SPARCS-De-Identified/q6hk-esrj/about_data
- https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/h/albany-medical-center
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The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) 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. For more information, visit nysna.org.
