NYSNA Update: December 20
NYSNA Releases Report on the State of Safe Staffing
On Tuesday, Dec. 17, NYSNA released a critical report on the crisis of understaffing in New York. It took a deep dive into the impact of New York’s safe staffing laws that NYSNA members advocated for and passed in 2021. Analyzing data that NYSNA gathered through surveys and members collected and case studies from the experience of frontline registered nurses, the report exposes what nurses have been experiencing for years: Hospitals are not staffing hospitals adequately, and this negatively impacts patient care.
We found that hospitals understaffed critical care units on more than 50% of shifts. The report also shows that, all too often, hospitals are not complying with the law, and although the Department of Health (DOH) is tasked with enforcing it, nurses have taken on the burden of holding hospitals accountable.
The report examines the roots of the nurse staffing crisis and provides recommendations to improve safe staffing conditions across the state, including strengthening the state’s staffing law. The report is gaining attention in the news, including Politico, WNYC, Gothamist, El Diario and news stations in five different cities.
Mount Sinai Nurses Demand That Management “Pay Your Nurses”
Nurses and nurse practitioners (NPs) at Mount Sinai Morningside and West have been fighting for correct and full wages for over one year. Despite winning their payroll arbitration, the issues have only gotten worse with the implementation of a new payroll system. As the discrepancies add up, nurses have had enough.
On Tuesday, Dec. 12, nurses came together to deliver a petition with over 900 signatures, making it clear they will no longer tolerate this treatment. At Sinai Morningside, nurses gathered inside the payroll and nursing office to deliver the petition in a respectful way, but payroll dismissed them. At Sinai West, the payroll office locked its doors and closed its windows, refusing to receive the petition from nurses. Nurses at both facilities took to the hallway or the lobby to make their voices heard.
At a time when hospitals should be valuing their healthcare workers, nurses and NPs are ready to fight back to stop wage theft at Mount Sinai!
Westchester Medical Center Nurses Tell Administration: “Hands Off Our Healthcare”
In November, Westchester Medical Center unilaterally made changes to nurses’ healthcare and dental benefits without informing NYSNA members. The changes raised deductibles and switched members to a dental HMO. On Wednesday, Dec. 18, nurses fought back and delivered a petition of over 1,400 signatures as part of their “Hands Off Our Healthcare” campaign to Chief Nursing Officer Phyllis Yezzo. This isn’t the first time that Westchester Med has attempted to make changes to benefits behind the nurses’ backs. Nurses are ready to keep making their voices heard and win again!