**MEDIA ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY, NOV. 17 AT 8 AM**: NYSNA Nurses at BronxCare in the Bronx to Speak Out About Understaffing that Puts Patients at Risk
Contact: Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
Eliza M. Bates | eliza.bates@nysna.org | 646-285-8491
A fair contract for nurses and equitable, quality care for the Bronx on the bargaining table
BronxCare nurses among the 30,000 NYC nurses fighting for fair contracts that protect patient care as hospitals fail to provide good jobs to caregivers who put their lives on the line during the COVID-19 pandemic
New York, NY - Members of the New York State Nurses Association at BronxCare in the Bronx will speak out about conditions at the hospital that put patients at risk and drive nurses away from the bedside. The nurses are citing a lack of frontline nursing staff as a main concern on the job and in their contract negotiations. They are calling on the hospital to invest in hiring and retaining enough permanent, local nurses to keep their patients safe, instead of spending on short-term travel nurse contracts. They are demanding respect and community input to deliver quality, culturally competent care to all patients and to train the next generation of nurses in the Bronx. With reductions and restrictions to their health benefits being considered, nurses are also speaking out about why good benefits are essential to keep them healthy and able to care for patients.
WHAT/WHO: NYSNA RNs at BronxCare speak out about staffing crisis and fight for fair contracts, along with allies including the New York Immigration Coalition and Northwest Bronx Community Clergy Coalition.
WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 17 at 8:00 a.m. in the Bronx
WHERE: BronxCare, 1650 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY
*Media availabilities with individual nurses*
With two-thirds of RNs across the country saying they are planning to leave the profession in the next two years, NYSNA nurses are sounding the alarm on the staffing crisis that has left caregivers burnt out and at their breaking point. Nurses say that hospitals are not doing enough to keep them at the bedside – from safe staffing ratios to good healthcare benefits to competitive pay. NYSNA members at twelve hospitals in New York City, including some of the biggest private hospitals such as Montefiore, Mt. Sinai, and NY-Presbyterian and safety-net hospitals such as BronxCare, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Maimonides, Interfaith Medical Center, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center have contracts expiring on Dec. 31. Hospital executives paid themselves millions in sky-high salaries and bonuses during the pandemic at the same time they hiked hospital prices.
More than 30,000 NYSNA members around New York State are currently in bargaining. This is the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that so many nurses will be bargaining for their profession and their patients. Nurses are coming together like never before because they are exhausted and demanding change from New York’s hospitals. They are uniting with labor, community, and political allies and are ready to do whatever it takes to win fair contracts that improve patient care, strengthen the nursing workforce, and uplift communities. NYSNA recently affiliated with National Nurses United, uniting the voices of 42,000 NYSNA RNs with the 180,000 members of NNU across the nation.
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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. For more information, visit nysna.org.