NYSNA nurses have won staffing victories at two of the most crowded EDs in NYC.

Kings County ED nurses often had patient loads of as much as 1 to 15 — or more! In January, average wait times exceeded 29 hours, with many patients waiting for two or even three days.

We responded with a sustained effort to force management to provide proper staffing. We met repeatedly with management, tracked census numbers, and filed many POAs. Our work paid off, big time — management has agreed to post 50 positions in the ED. Ten per diem nurses are already starting orientation as a stopgap measure while the newly posted positions are filled. We’ll keep the pressure on for the staffing our patients deserve.

On the Montefiore Moses ED, we’ve won another staffing victory. Over the course of four weeks, we collected 50 POAs with over 300 signatures. And we reached out to our local Community Board.

Management responded to our campaign almost overnight: hiring new nurses, lifting restrictions on OT, and opening up an overflow unit. Conditions are still far from ideal. We’re ready to launch the next campaign when we need to!