Contact:  Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489 
Eliza M. Bates | eliza.bates@nysna.org | 646-285-8491

NYC nurses are sounding the alarm on the growing short staffing crisis as tripledemic of RSV, Flu and COVID-19 threatens to worsen hospital-created RN shortage

NYSNA members and allies will hold press conference at 12:00 p.m.; City Council oversight hearing begins at 1:00 p.m.

New York, NY — On Wednesday, November 30 at 12:00 p.m., NYSNA nurses and supporters will hold a press conference on the steps of City Hall ahead of a City Council oversight hearing on the state of nursing in NYC and on solutions to the short-staffing crisis. NYSNA nurses and allies say NYC can’t afford to wait another minute to address the hospital-created RN staffing crisis with pediatric units already overflowing with RSV cases, and with the threat of a tripledemic of COVID-19, RSV and flu as winter months approach. 

WHAT: Nurses to hold press conference ahead of City Council oversight hearing on the state of nursing in NYC
WHO: More than 100 NYSNA nurses and healthcare professionals, New York City Council Hospitals Chair Mercedes Narcisse, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, NYC Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and other allies. 
WHERE: Steps of City Hall, NYC
WHEN: 12:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 30, 2022

*** City Council Hearing will begin at 1:00 p.m. in the committee hearing room. NYSNA nurses from the largest academic medical centers to the smallest safety-net hospitals will testify about working conditions in the city’s hospitals, including the safe staffing and healthcare crisis that is putting patients at risk and driving nurses from the bedside. *** 

Background: 

Approximately 17,000 NYSNA members at twelve hospitals in New York City, including some of the biggest private hospitals such as Montefiore, Mt. Sinai, and NewYork-Presbyterian have contracts expiring on Dec. 31. Hospital executives paid themselves millions in sky-high salaries and bonuses during the pandemic at the same time they hiked hospital prices. Nurses are calling for their bosses to invest in hiring and retaining enough nurses to keep their patients safe. 

Instead of supporting nurses, many of whom contracted COVID-19 at work while saving lives, hospital trustees of the NYSNA benefit fund are looking to cut healthcare for RNs. When they get sick, nurses often turn to their own hospitals for care. But some NYC hospitals have been jacking up fees for healthcare services, meaning they’re profiting from getting nurses sick, and now they don’t want to pay the bill. 

With two-thirds of RNs across the country saying they are planning to leave the profession in the next two years, NYSNA nurses are sounding the alarm on the staffing crisis that has left caregivers burnt out and at their breaking point. Nurses say that hospitals are not doing enough to keep them at the bedside – from safe staffing ratios to good healthcare benefits to competitive pay. 

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The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.
For more information, visit nysna.org.