After Victories at Three North Country Hospitals, NYSNA Members Continue Fight to Defend Patient Care

Since last Fall, NYSNA members at seven North Country hospitals have been fighting for fair contracts that protect patient care in their rural communities. Over the last decade, systemic disinvestment, in the form of bed closures, service reductions, and hospital consolidation, has significantly reduced access to care. In some counties, few healthcare professionals exist at all; in others, patients are prevented from accessing care by limited public transportation or by providers that don’t accept their health insurance or Medicaid.  

In response to the federal cuts to healthcare funding and in an attempt to protect access to care for North Country communities, NYSNA members from Adirondack Medical Center, Carthage Area Hospital, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, Samaritan Medical Center, UVM-Alice Hyde Medical Center, UVM-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH), and UVM-Elizabethtown Community Hospital joined forces to bargain for fair contracts and demand that hospitals prioritize patients over profits.  

Building Public Awareness

NYSNA members have been hard at work this winter, both at the bargaining table and inside their hospitals. In late fall, members marched on the boss, delivered petitions, and coordinated joint sticker campaigns to ensure that management heard their demands.

Across all seven North Country hospitals, NYSNA members’ contract demands include safe staffing ratios and the fair wages and benefits necessary to recruit and retain new nurses in rural communities.  

Nurses and healthcare workers also held a virtual Town Hall meeting in December, bringing together elected officials, labor allies, and community members to discuss the state of patient care in the North Country and how cuts to healthcare funding negatively impact rural communities.  

Speaking at the Townhall, Bill Schneider, NYSNA Second Vice President and member at Adirondack Medical Center, said, “Services are being cut, patients are struggling to receive care, and people are getting sicker and sicker. We’re here today to demand that our hospitals do better, and that the state hold our hospitals accountable because your zip code should not determine the quality care you receive.”

What’s Next?

In early February, after months of negotiations, NYSNA members at Carthage Area Hospital, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, and Samaritan Medical Center settled fair contracts that protect patient care in the communities they serve! Members voted overwhelmingly to ratify the new contracts, which include safeguards against artificial intelligence, protections from workplace violence, and the respectful wages and benefits necessary to recruit and retain new nurses.  

NYSNA members are excited about these victories but recognize that the fight is a long way from being over. Nurses and healthcare professionals at four other North Country hospitals are still bargaining, hoping to achieve similar contracts that will protect patient care in their communities. Restoring access to care for New York’s rural patients and communities, after decades of disinvestment, will be a long-term project. But as patient advocates, first and foremost, NYSNA members are up for the challenge and look forward to the day when every North Country resident has access to the safe, quality patient care they deserve.