**MEDIA ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY, SEPT. 12 AT 11 AM**
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
INSTEAD OF SETTLING CONTRACT WITH SAFE STAFFING, ALBANY MED CANCELS NEGOTIATIONS BLAMING 50+ DOH VIOLATIONS
Working over a month without a contract, NYSNA nurses demand Albany Med come to the bargaining table, share the Department of Health’s Staffing Deficiency Report, and address serious staffing crisis
Albany, N.Y.– On Thursday, Sept. 12, nearly two weeks since Albany Med received the Department of Health’s Staffing Deficiency Report and nearly six weeks after contract expiration, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses will hold a press conference to discuss the staffing crisis that management refuses to address. Albany Med canceled bargaining originally scheduled for today, Tuesday, Sept. 10, and continues to avoid making substantive progress toward addressing the hospital’s safe staffing issues.
WHO: NYSNA nurses
WHAT: Press Conference at Albany Med
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024 at 11 AM
WHERE: Across the street from Albany Medical Center (43 New Scotland Ave)
The Department of Health continues investigations into Albany Med after having delivered a Staffing Deficiency Report to Albany Medical Center nearly two weeks ago. The hospital has 45 days after receipt of the report to develop a plan with NYSNA nurses to correct deficiencies. While management has refused to share the report with nurses as required by law, nurses who have filed staffing complaints with the state have received letters that substantiate over 50 violations.
Albany Med cites the DOH’s “continued presence” as the reason they had to delay bargaining. While the hospital says the DOH has supposedly “consumed everyone’s time and focus,” Albany Med continues to violate the state law’s safe staffing ratios, as substantiated in the complaints that have been made since the DOH’s original investigation in June. These legal violations are a near daily occurrence in the region’s only Level 1 trauma center, serving the sickest and most vulnerable patients from counties that span into VT and MA.
At this time, Albany Med has provided no indication about when or how they will resolve these serious DOH patient safety violations or how they will include frontline NYSNA nurses in addressing these problems.
NYSNA nurses are urging Albany Med administrators to come to the bargaining table and settle a fair contract with a comprehensive plan to recruit, retain, and respect nurses in order to solve the nurse staffing crisis at the hospital and ensure quality care for the community.
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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. For more information, visit nysna.org.
