TODAY, MAY 20: NYSNA Members at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital Hold Speak-out to Demand Safe Staffing
**MEDIA ADVISORY FOR TODAY, MAY 20 AT 11 A.M.**
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
NYSNA MEMBERS AT CHAMPLAIN VALLEY PHYSICIANS HOSPITAL HOLD SPEAK-OUT TO DEMAND SAFE STAFFING
After management lowered safe staffing standards and put patient care at risk, healthcare professionals hold speak-out to demand better for their patients and respect for nurses
CVPH lowers safety standards in violation of NYSNA members’ contract and New York State staffing law
Plattsburgh, N.Y. - On Tuesday, May 20, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses and healthcare professionals at the University of Vermont Health Network-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital Medical Center (CVPH) will hold a speak-out to demand safe staffing for quality patient care at their community hospital. In April, management unilaterally lowered safe staffing standards in four medical-surgical units, placing patient care at risk. NYSNA members are demanding that CVPH listen to its frontline staff and invest in hiring and retaining more nurses for safe staffing instead of trying to lower standards to avoid accountability.
WHO: NYSNA members and community allies
WHAT: Speak-out for safe staffing at CVPH
WHEN: Tuesday, May 20 at 11 a.m.
WHERE: Outside CVPH, Cornelia Street entrance near Draper Ave, Plattsburgh, NY 1290
The hospital already struggles with understaffing, especially in the medical-surgical units and the emergency room. When the hospital lowered safe staffing standards, they did so in violation of the state staffing law and NYSNA members' contract, and without consulting frontline staff, who are experts in patient care. Instead of hiring more nurses to address the problem, hospital administrators changed the nurse-to-patient staffing ratio to make it less safe. NYSNA members are speaking up for their patients and demanding CVPH invest in safe patient care.
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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.