ALBANY MEDICAL CENTER FINED RECORD $375,000 BY DOH AFTER FAILING TO SAFELY STAFF HOSPITAL
For immediate release: June 11, 2025
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
ALBANY MEDICAL CENTER FINED RECORD $375,000 BY DOH AFTER FAILING TO SAFELY STAFF HOSPITAL
After issuing a staffing deficiency report with a record 500+ staffing violations, the Department of Health issued massive fines to Albany Medical Center
Nurses applaud strong safe staffing law enforcement action, essential to safe patient care.
Albany, N.Y. -- After a lengthy investigation, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) issued a record $375,000 in fines to Albany Medical Center for failing to safely staff the hospital. This is the largest fine issued to a hospital for breaking the state staffing law to date that New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses are aware of. In August 2024, the DOH issued a staffing deficiency report that outlined over 500 staffing violations of the state’s safe staffing law, more than any other hospital to date. The report was shared publicly for the first time in February by nurses who received a copy via the Freedom of Information Act Law.
NYSNA nurses have been calling attention to the crisis of understaffing at Albany Med for years and have submitted numerous complaints detailing the hospital’s staffing crisis. Last week, they held a speak-out to call for the Board of Directors to intervene and make the hospital follow New York’s staffing laws and settle a fair contract with the nurses who work in the hospital.
Correspondence between the DOH and the hospital showed that hospital administrators denied official DOH findings of staffing deficiencies and failed to submit adequate plans of correction multiple times. After notifying the hospital in December 2024 that the case was being referred for enforcement, the hospital was given another opportunity to submit a plan of correction. On May 23, hospital administrators asked nurses on Albany Med’s clinical staffing committee for the first time to collaborate on a plan, as required by law. Throughout the lengthy investigation and enforcement process, hospital administrators, including CEO Dr. Dennis McKenna, continued to deny the seriousness of the staffing violations.
According to recent reporting, the DOH accepted Albany Med’s most recent corrective action plan late last week. The settlement that Albany Med reached, which is not yet public, includes an admission from the hospital that there was “substantial evidence of violations.”
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said: “We applaud the Department of Health’s effort to hold Albany Medical Center accountable. Although we continue to be deeply disappointed in Albany Med’s refusal to follow the law and safely staff their hospital, we believe this enforcement action from the DOH is a necessary step in the right direction. We hope this can be a wakeup call for this hospital and others who refuse to invest in safe patient care. Nurses will not back down until Albany Med makes a real effort to safely staff the hospital by working to hire and retain experienced nurses.”
NYSNA nurses at Albany Med are continuing their call for the hospital to negotiate a fair union contract with a comprehensive plan to recruit, retain, and respect nurses to solve the nurse staffing crisis at the hospital and ensure quality care for the community.
Local NYSNA leader Jennifer Bejo, RN, “Admitting you have a problem is the first step in solving a problem. Hospital administrators have finally admitted they have a staffing problem. Nurses hope that the DOH’s enforcement of the staffing law will get us closer to achieving safe patient care. Our next step is negotiating enforceable safe staffing standards in our union contract.”
Nurses have been negotiating for more than a year, with a focus on improving nurse staffing and retention. Their contract expired in July 2024. Instead of settling a contract and hiring more full-time staff to address the problem, hospital administration has closed beds and hired expensive temporary travel nurses. The hospital has continued to hide how many travel nurses are at the hospital and how much money is being spent on just travel nurses at Albany Med.
Nurses who have been at the forefront of the fight to get Albany Med to safely staff have been met with retaliation by hospital management. In response, NYSNA has now filed 8 unfair labor practice charges (ULP) in response to Albany Med’s actions.
Jaimie Alaxanian, RN, said,: “Albany Med needs to stop wasting money on expensive travel nurses and DOH fines for understaffing and start investing in hiring and retaining more nurses. Instead of fighting against the Albany Med nurses who are committed to providing the best care possible, hospital administrators should come to the table and work with us on long-term solutions that benefit the hospital and communities we serve."
Over the last year, NYSNA nurses at Albany Medical Center have held townhalls and an informational picket, hosted community forums, delivered petitions to hospital leadership, and held speak-outs for safe staffing. Unions, community groups, and elected officials have penned letters of solidarity calling on Albany Med to listen to its nurses and demanding that the Department of Health take action. Nurses also launched an ad campaign across the capital region to draw attention to the staffing crisis at Albany Med. Visit albanymedqualitycare.org to find out more.
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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.