CVPH Healthcare Professionals Speak Out to Save the Adirondack Blood Donor Center
On Tuesday, June 30, NYSNA nurses and healthcare professionals from University of Vermont Health-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (UVMH-CVPH) held a speak-out to save the Adirondack Blood Donor Center. Elected officials, including New York State Assembly Member Michael Cashman, labor allies and community members whose lives have been greatly impacted by the Center, joined members. ABC22, NBC 5, North Country Public Radio, and the Press Republican were among the news outlets that covered the speak-out.
In early June, UVMH announced that it would be closing the Center and transferring responsibility for blood products to the American Red Cross. The Center currently provides 95% of the blood used at CVPH, as well as blood used at other UVMH hospitals in New York and the Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake. Losing the Center would be a huge blow to patient care in Plattsburgh and the North Country as a whole.
NYSNA members sprang into action as soon as this threat to patient care was announced. Just a few days after learning about the potential closure, NYSNA members launched a digital petition, collecting over 1,000 signatures to keep the Center open. Community members also submitted patient stories via the petition, and nurses and healthcare professionals invited directly impacted community members to share their stories during the speak-out.
The number of signatures and patient stories CVPH members received is a testament to the culture the Center has built around blood donation in Plattsburgh. For nearly 20 years, the Center has been operated by two nurses who have spent decades building relationships with donors in the community and know exactly who to call if a specific blood type is needed.
At the speak-out, Nancy Roberts, RN, one of the Center’s long-time nurses, said, “In just a few short days, more than 1,000 community members have signed our petition to save the Adirondack Blood Donor Center. We couldn’t be more excited to see the level of community outrage, because, ultimately, this fight is about you – the patients that we work hard to care for day and night. We are demanding that UVM stop bleeding New York dry! Since they took over CVPH and other community hospitals in New York, they have reduced services here in the North Country. We are saying, ‘No more!’"
What’s Next?
The Adirondack Blood Donor Center is scheduled to close on July 10, but nurses and healthcare professionals will not let its doors close without a fight. In addition to the speak-out and digital petition, NYSNA members also launched social media ads and an email action this week demanding that UVMH rescind its plan and keep the Center open. NYSNA members and Plattsburgh residents agree: an out-of-state healthcare system that prioritizes profits over patients should not be cutting healthcare services for the North Country. NYSNA members, alongside elected officials, labor allies, and community members, will do whatever it takes to keep the Center open and to keep care local.