Brooklyn Safety Net Hospitals Make Staffing Safer

As patient advocates, NYSNA nurses are always fighting to ensure that New Yorkers have access to the safe, quality care that all patients deserve. That’s why NYSNA nurses fought to have safe staffing standards enshrined in New York state law. And that’s why they work so hard to win enforceable safe staffing standards in their contracts.  

This spring and summer, NYSNA members at three safety-net hospitals in Brooklyn — The Brooklyn Hospital Center (TBHC), Maimonides Medical Center, and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center — used new enforcement mechanisms won in their latest contract fight to address understaffing and protect patient care in their communities.  

Three Victories at TBHC

Fresh from a successful contract campaign and the fight to restore their health and pension benefits, NYSNA nurses at TBHC won three consecutive staffing victories that will address chronic understaffing at their hospital. First, through the new staffing enforcement language won in their latest contract, TBHC nurses secured 15 additional union positions to fully staff the intensive care unit (ICU) at the levels members fought for and are contractually obligated to. After winning in the ICU, NYSNA nurses won again in the cardiac telemetry unit, securing an additional 10 full-time positions, a 45% increase in staffing on the unit. Lastly, nurses won a critical staffing victory in the emergency department, where hospital management will now have to hire an additional 12 full-time nurses. In total, these three staffing victories will add 37 new full-time nurses to the ranks at TBHC.  

Maimonides Nurses Win Big

NYSNA nurses at Maimonides Medical Center also made a significant improvement to staffing ratios at their hospital this summer. Through the hard work, determination, and advocacy of nurses on surgical units 8 East and 8 West and the NYSNA executive committee, hospital management agreed to reduce the nurse-to-patient ratio on both units from 1:5 to 1:4. This significant improvement will enhance patient safety, improve working conditions for nurses, and help nurses provide the quality care all patients deserve. Maimonides will now have to hire more than 20 full-time nurses to meet the new ratio requirements.  

Wyckoff Nurses Win 21 New Emergency Department Positions

Finally, NYSNA nurses at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center won a huge victory for both nurses and patients. After strong nurse advocacy, hospital administrators agreed to hire 21 new emergency department (ED) nurses in the coming months. By documenting unsafe conditions, attending clinical staffing committee meetings, and participating in the contractual staffing process, nurses were able to hold management accountable – even after they missed mediation sessions and canceled multiple dates. Management also committed to returning to mediation in October to address overall staffing at the hospital.  

Safe Staffing Saves Lives

The staffing victories at all three safety-net hospitals are huge wins, not just for nurses but for the communities and patients they serve. Frontline nurses know that safe staffing saves lives and that all patients deserve enough nurses at the bedside—whether they are patients at a large academic medical center or a small safety net hospital. That’s why NYSNA nurses work day in and day out to track staffing at their hospitals and to hold management accountable for understaffing. Congratulations, TBHC, Maimonides, and Wyckoff nurses!