Nurses at Albany Med Held Speak-Out to Sound the Alarm on Unsafe Staffing
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Contact: Eliza Bates | press@nysna.org | 646-285-8491
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
Nurses at Albany Med Held Speak-Out to Sound the Alarm on Unsafe Staffing
The New York State Department of Health opened an investigation into unsafe staffing after frontline nurses filed numerous complaints, but NYSNA members at Albany Medical Center say that hospital management is still refusing to listen to frontline nurses
Albany, N.Y.– On Tuesday, June 11 NYSNA nurses at Albany Medical Center held a speak-out across from the hospital to sound the alarm on unsafe staffing levels that put patient care at risk. Nurses were joined by allies and elected leaders, including Assembly Member Phil Steck, Assembly Member Pat Fahy, Albany County Legislator Dustin Reidy, Albany City Council Member Gabriel Romero, Albany City Council Member Owusu Anane, the Capital District Area Labor Federation, Albany County Central Federation of Labor, the NYS Labor-Religion Coalition, Citizen Action, and New York State Council of Churches.
Today’s action came on the heels of the New York State Department of Health launching an investigation into nurse staffing levels at Albany Medical Center after receiving dozens of complaints from nurses tasked with more patients than they could safely care for. Nurses say management at Albany Medical Center has failed to follow the state’s staffing laws and failed to listen to frontline caregivers who have been telling them that staffing levels at the hospital are unsafe and lead to nurse burnout and high turnover. The Department of Health is finally starting to listen to nurses; nurses are demanding that Albany Medical Center administrators listen, too.
Albany Medical Center NICU nurse and NYSNA member Jennifer Kiehle, RN said, “When nurses raise concerns about unsafe staffing by filling out protests of assignment, they're berated by our managers and told their professional judgement is wrong. It’s hard to see young nurses come to work in our NICU and get burnt out and leave so quickly because of unsafe staffing. They talk about going home and crying every day after work. They stay late for hours finishing up charting and feel like they’re putting their licenses at risk when they come to work and like they can’t do a good job. Albany Medical Center management hasn’t offered any solutions to unsafe staffing, they just don’t want to be bothered with it.”
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) recently opened an investigation into staffing levels at Albany Medical Center after nurses raised concerns about quality care. Nurses filed numerous complaints that hospital administrators have failed to set safe staffing standards in all patient care units, failed to publicly post staffing standards and daily staffing data, 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 complaints about critical care units filed in December 2023, 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."
Albany Medical Center Adult Emergency Department Nurse and NYSNA member Hannah Palmer, RN said, “I’m speaking out because staffing in our emergency department is so unsafe it’s outrageous. On a recent shift, I had 8 patients to care for and one of them was in cardiac arrest. It’s not only unsafe for me to care for this many patients at once, but if I’m with one of those patients for a long time it means the rest of my patients aren’t getting anything because it’s impossible for me to be in more than one place at the same time. We went into this profession to do a certain job and we can’t do that job when we aren’t given the staffing and support we need.”
According to Albany Medical Center’s own staffing plan submitted to the state, a nurse in the Adult Emergency Department should care for an average of 2.58 patients per shift.
Albany Medical Center infectious disease nurse and NYSNA member Tonia Bazel, RN said, “As a nurse, I aspire to give the same loving care to my patients in the hospital that I give at home to my family, the same way I cared for my mother when she went through sepsis, stroke, and later hospice, and through her death. That’s what nurses bring to the bedside. But if I have 6, 7, or 8 patients to take care of in my unit where I can only safely care for 4 patients, I cannot give my patients the tender, loving, and highly specialized care they need from skilled nurses.”
NYS Assemblymember Phil Steck said, “The medical system is in crisis. Albany hospital ERs have the longest wait times in the state. The solution is to have more nursing staff, not less. Inadequate staffing puts both patients and nurses at risk, and drives our most experienced nurses out of the profession. It is critical to implement safe staffing now and not make excuses for failing to get it done.”
"The State Legislature worked to pass safe staffing legislation that protects and supports our nurses, physicians, and healthcare staff," said Assemblymember Patricia Fahy (D--Albany). "I stand in solidarity with our union nurses at Albany Medical Center. We know that when safe staffing ratios are implemented, they help to produce better patient outcomes and reduce burnout among nurses and hospital staff, while supporting safety."
Albany Medical Center nurses sounded the alarm about the hospital failing to meet safe staffing standards at a town hall in February and at the state capitol in May. They continued filing complaints about ICU understaffing directly with the DOH. Last week, the DOH finally sent investigators to the hospital to interview nurses and see conditions first-hand.
The Albany Med Health System is the largest private employer in the capital region and has consolidated significantly in the last 20 years. Its flagship hospital, Albany Medical Center, now serves approximately one-third of Capital Region patients. While expanding its market share in the region, Albany Med has not invested in hiring and retaining enough nurses to improve quality care. The hospital has had 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.
NYSNA nurses are bargaining for a fair contract before their current contract expires on July 31 and have made safe staffing a top priority. 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.
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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.