NYSNA Statement on Layoffs at Erie County Medical Center
For Immediate Release: Jan. 29, 2026
Contact: Joseph Celestin | press@nysna.org | 518-776-8337
Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
NYSNA Statement on Layoffs at Erie County Medical Center
The New York State Nurses Association released this statement in response to the layoffs announced at Erie County Medical Center:
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) is deeply concerned about the layoffs at Erie County Medical Center (ECMC), including layoffs of frontline nurses and other staff. In the midst of federal attacks on healthcare, our hospitals, including ECMC, should be looking for ways to protect safe, quality patient care for Western New Yorkers. Cuts to frontline staff will only diminish care for our patients in Buffalo and beyond who depend on ECMC, the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the region. NYSNA is in solidarity with all workers impacted by these layoffs.
Crystal Knihinicki, RN, and NYSNA member at ECMC, said "Nurses are disappointed in Erie County Medical Center's decision to lay off workers, including several senior nurses with decades of experience at the bedside and nurse educators who provide trainings to staff across the hospital. The people of Buffalo and the surrounding communities rely heavily on ECMC for access to safe, quality patient care. If hospital executives need to cut costs, they should cut executive salaries and administrative expenses, not the essential frontline caregivers who care for patients and keep the hospital running. Nurses will push back on any threat to patient care, including the layoffs of frontline healthcare workers."
###
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.