NY Nurse: February 2019

Nurses around the country are assaulted in the workplace every day. In fact, acute and long-term subacute care hospitals have the highest rate of workplace violence of any work setting nationwide. At Bellevue Hospital Center, part of the NYC Health + Hospitals system, a recent incident had NYSNA members saying enough is enough.

Here are the words and images of members who were among the thousands who carried out informational pickets on February 13. The message was clear: "Safe staffing saves lives!" and “The time for a fair contract is now!” Mr. Moneybags was there to reach out to his brethren CEOs. We will fight for a contract that gives our patients the care they deserve, and nothing less.

“We have right now a system that makes us have to rush. A system that forces us to not be able to be present with our patients, and we want to be able to give them the care that they deserve.”

Make no mistake: New York and other states became targets of the federal government when they expanded Medicaid for those in need. This malicious attack on vulnerable patients—on health systems that provide care to the under-served, uninsured and others who rely on fair and equitable funding—will do irreparable harm to millions of Americans.

That’s why we’re working with a coalition to fight cuts to healthcare and to make the super wealthy pay their fair share.

As I write this, thousands of nurses in New York are taking strike votes. Thousands more are struggling with impossible patient loads. Most of us leave work exhausted and unfulfilled, unable to deliver the kind of care we’re trained for. Like teachers, we’re responsible for a precious yet vulnerable population, are beloved by the communities we serve and exploited by the systems we work under.