**MEDIA ADVISORY FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPT 6, AT 8 PM**
Contact: Diana Moreno | press@nysna.org| 917-327-2302
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org| 646-853-4489
NYSNA Nurses at Gracie Square Hospital to Hold Vigil for Safe Staffing on First Day of Strike Authorization Vote
NYSNA nurses from Gracie Square Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, one of the few dedicated psychiatric hospitals in New York City, are voting to authorize a strike over workplace safety and safe staffing concerns
New York, N.Y.– After more than five months at the bargaining table, NYSNA members from Gracie Square Hospital, an affiliate of NewYork-Presbyterian, are voting to authorize a strike.
Nurses are also holding a vigil outside the hospital to demand safe staffing and a fair contract.
As New York City faces a mental-health crisis exacerbated by the closure of psychiatric beds throughout the city, Gracie Square hospital management has refused to staff enough nurses to care for patients safely. While the hospital has increased its bed capacity from 120 to 140 beds to meet increasing mental healthcare demands, administrators have failed to increase staffing to meet this demand. Nurses are being forced to address the dramatic increase in the number and acuity of psychiatric patients without safe staffing.
Last month, a Gracie Square security staff member was hospitalized from injuries sustained by an altercation with a violent patient. Nurses are sounding the alarm over insufficient staffing as a matter of workplace and patient safety. They are calling on hospital administrators to start negotiating in good faith to address safe staffing demands and invest in nurse recruitment and retention efforts rensure safe patient care.
Nurses begin voting to authorize a strike today and will conclude the vote on Friday, Sept. 8. If a majority of nurses vote to authorize a strike, they would have to deliver a 10-day notice before going out on strike.
Jacqueline Battice, RN, says, “NewYork-Presbyterian settled fair contracts with their other campuses. Gracie Square Hospital nurses are fighting for the same. We’re their smallest campus, yet we’ve seen a 15% increase in our bed capacity without seeing an increase in nurses at the bedside. We take care of an underserved, high-needs population and want to continue to do so safely for them and for ourselves. We shouldn’t have to go to such lengths to get what nurses and our patients deserve.”
WHO: NYSNA nurses from Gracie Square Hospital
WHAT: Vigil and Strike Authorization Vote over Safe Staffing at Gracie Square Hospital
WHERE: Gracie Square Hospital, 420 E 76th St, New York, NY 10021
WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 6 from 8 – 10 p.m.
VISUALS: Dozens of nurses holding candles, marching. Nurses will describe conditions in the hospital and detail the fight for safety and a fair contract.
###
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.
