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The Fight for Healthcare and Services for Our Communities

This week’s federal government’s “pause” in funding created chaos and uncertainty among our members, hospitals, and allied unions and elected officials. While the administration reconsidered its approach and “unpaused” some —but not all —federal funding on Wednesday, we will continue to monitor and triage the situation to keep our members informed and prepared to protect our patients and our profession. We will also work on legal, political, and operational solutions, especially in hospitals, institutions, and organizations that rely on Medicaid, grants, and other federal funding.

Read NYSNA’s full statement on the federal government’s “pause" and reach out to your NYSNA Rep to share what is happening in your hospital and how these threats to defund vital services are affecting you and your patients. 

 

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Albany Med Town Hall Jan 2025

Albany Med Nurses Hosts Town Hall to Discuss Care Crisis in Capital Region

Capital Region nurses held a town hall meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 28, to update elected officials and community allies about the ongoing staffing and patient care crisis at Albany Medical Center.

Despite a record number of Department of Health staffing violations in 2024 — more than 480 — the hospital administration continues to deny the truth about understaffing and the impact it’s having on patient care. The hospital is closing neonatal intensive care unit beds and continuing to understaff the most vulnerable patients. Instead of solving delays in care in the emergency department, the administration is shifting the problem, placing patients in unheated hallways to wait for care. Nurses highlighted the alarming fact that Albany Med has spent over $80 million on travel nurses instead of hiring and retaining local nurses and negotiating a fair contract. See press coverage of the townhall on CBS 6 and Spectrum News 1.

Tuesday’s town hall was representative of a renewed outpouring of community and labor support for Albany Med nurses as they enter 2025 without a new contract. In addition to attending last week’s Labor Roundtable, LBU President Jenn Bejo, RN, appeared on NYS AFL-CIO's Union Strong podcast to talk about the ongoing contract fight at Albany Med. Listen to the episode.

To learn more about the fight for a fair contract at Albany Medical Center, visit albanymedqualitycare.org.  

 

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MSSN Bargaining Jan 2025

Mount Sinai South Nassau Nurses Return to the Bargaining Table to Demand Fair Contract

On Wednesday, Jan. 29, nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau showed up to their bargaining meeting to continue fighting for a fair contract. Neonatal intensive care nurses and maternity nurses presented on the negative impacts that short staffing has had on them and their patients. They also shared the negative effect that short staffing has had on the recruitment and retention of new nurses. Management’s “solution” to this has been to constantly move nurses between units to increase coverage, but nurses testified that the practice only makes their jobs harder and is not a replacement for safely staffing all units.

As bargaining heats up, nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau are organizing their colleagues to speak out and show up at future meetings to ensure Mount Sinai listens to their voices. On this website, they’ve called out Mount Sinai on prioritizing profits before patients and gained community support through their petition.

All NYSNA members are encouraged to add their name in solidarity with Mount Sinai South Nassau nurses!

 

View the rest of this week's newsletter.