Albany Med's Alleged 'Final Offer' A Slap in the Face for Nurses and Patients
For immediate release: Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Eliza Bates | press@nysna.org | 646-285-8491
ALBANY MED’S ALLEGED ‘FINAL OFFER’ A SLAP IN THE FACE FOR NURSES AND PATIENTS
Albany Med CEO Dennis McKenna shares so-called ‘final offer’ at press conference, refusing to address staffing crisis at the hospital while bullying and silencing nurses for speaking out for safe patient care.
McKenna claims the staffing crisis is improving but plans to cut nurse jobs at South Clinical Campus and reduce healthcare services for patients.
Albany, N.Y. - Albany Med CEO Dennis McKenna publicly shared his so-called ‘final offer’ in union contract negotiations with frontline nurses at a press conference today in the latest attempt to avoid accountability and silence nurses who have been sounding the alarm on unsafe staffing at the hospital. While McKenna falsely claims to have solved the hospital’s staffing issues, instead of investing in quality care, the hospital plans to eliminate 14 nursing positions at South Clinical campus on Jan. 1, 2025. Meanwhile, NICU nurses are sometimes tasked with double or triple the number of babies they can safely care for, and patients continue to wait far too long for care. Nurses will not compromise patient care and will continue to negotiate for a contract that recruits and retains experienced nurses.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said: “We’ve watched as McKenna wastes thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on avoiding the real problem: unsafe staffing that harms patient care. While nurses are understaffed and leaving because they don’t want to put their licenses at risk, McKenna sues his own nurses because he is so upset about bad publicity, and ultimately, the truth. I am continually inspired by the nurses who refuse to keep their heads down and who speak out about patient care while managing the burdens of understaffing.”
Albany Med has spent untold thousands of dollars and countless hours using cynical PR tactics to try to silence nurses and distract the public from the staffing crisis. While Mckenna spouts union security as a sticking point in negotiations, hospital management continues to bully frontline nurses who speak out for safe patient care. To date, Albany Med has disciplined vocal nurses, held a sham election in an attempt to replace union nurses on staffing committee, and filed a lawsuit against the nurses’ union in an attempt to take down the website AlbanyMedQualityCare.com that shares essential information with the public. NYSNA has filed several charges with the National Labor Relations Board about Albany Med’s unlawful behavior.
Albany Med is also embroiled in negotiations with CDPHP, the main insurer for our low-income families and children in the region. The system is in mass crisis, unable to staff units and keep services open. They are now at war with the nurses and one of the largest providers in the Capital region- CDPHP. Instead of addressing the major problems our hospital faces, McKenna seems to be declaring war on the nurses and patients.
If Albany Med wants to improve care at the hospital and their reputation in the community, they need to deliver a fair contract with enforceable safe staffing. Nurses are fighting for fair pay to attract and retain enough qualified nurses, and a union voice to advocate for patient care.
Management’s so-called last and final offer is an attempt to trick the public into believing that Albany Med cannot afford to pay nurses fairly while the hospital spends millions on CEO pay, investments, advertising, their shiny new website, and, crucially, expensive, temporary travel nurses. If Albany Med was so concerned with their bottom line, they could focus on retaining staff instead of paying expensive temp nurses. There is plenty of bargaining still to be done.
Jaimie Alaxanian, RN, said, “If Albany Med cared about saving nurses money, they would make a better proposal on our unaffordable health insurance, so nurses wouldn’t have to put their children on Child Health Plus. We are very concerned about Albany Med’s negotiations with CDPHP, the main insurer for our low-income families and children in the region. If AMC cared about their patients, they would work on hiring and retaining experienced nurses from the community.”
Jennifer Kiehle, RN, said, “Management has disciplined nurses for talking about our union while at work, but McKenna holds captive-audience style meetings to mislead nurses about negotiations while we're at work. He put out the YouTube video about the so-called final offer while we were still at the bargaining table. He drowns the hospital with videos playing on loop telling nurses to accept his contract proposals. He makes union security a sticking point in negotiations while trying to silence his most vocal nurse advocates in order to hide the staffing crisis. McKenna continually talks about what HE is doing, claiming he is the hero and union nurses are standing in his way of saving us. He is focused on himself and on his image, but we are focused on our patients and serving this community.”
Earlier this year, Albany Med nurses launched an ad campaign and created a website to inform the public about the crisis of understaffing in the hospital. The campaign website www.AlbanyMedQualityCare.org shares information the hospital would rather keep from public view. The website highlights the 480+ violations of New York’s safe staffing law that were substantiated by the Department of Health. In the hospital’s lawsuit, they claim that NYNSA nurses’ campaign constitutes “trademark infringement” which has caused and “will continue to cause serious and irreparable injury” to the hospital. They cite the over $1 million spent to redesign their website and the additional $1 million on average they spend yearly on advertising, showing that again the hospital prioritizes its profits over patient care and safe staffing.
Over the last year, NYSNA nurses at Albany Medical Center have held an informational picket and hosted community forums, delivered petitions to hospital leadership, and held speak-outs for safe staffing. Nurses recently launched an ad campaign across the capital region to draw attention to the staffing crisis at Albany Med. Visit albanymedqualitycare.org to find out more.
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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.