TODAY, OCT. 19: NYSNA to Host Virtual Town Hall on Northwell Health/Putnam Hospital Nurses’ Fight for Safe Staffing

*MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MONDAY, OCT. 19*

Contact: Joseph Celestin | press@nysna.org | (518) 776-8337
Emma Alabaster l press@nysna.org l (917) 826-8646

NYSNA to Host Virtual Town Hall on Northwell Health/Putnam Hospital Nurses’ Fight for Safe Staffing

Hospital seeks prestigious nursing recognition while fighting against fair contract with safe staffing standards

NYSNA to present on concerning trends in Northwell’s acquisition of community hospitals

[VIRTUAL] - NYSNA members from Northwell Health/Putnam Hospital will host a virtual town hall meeting on Monday, Oct. 19 alongside elected officials and labor allies. Speakers will update the public on NYSNA nurses’ ongoing contract negotiations with the hospital, highlight staffing issues that nurses are facing and give a presentation on the challenges experienced when Northwell has purchased small, community hospitals and healthcare costs increase for patients. Nurses’ previous contract expired on Dec. 31, 2025, and since last October, nurses have been bargaining for a new contract that prioritizes enforceable safe staffing standards to protect quality patient care.   

WHO: NYSNA nurses at Northwell Health/Putnam Hospital and allies, including Senator Pete Harkham. 

WHAT: Virtual town hall meeting to update the public on the status of contract negotiations including a push for enforceable safe staffing standards to protect patient care

WHEN: Monday, Oct. 19 from 6 p.m. - 7 p.m.

WHERE: Virtual: bit.ly/putnamtownhall (Press must register)

Visuals: nurse and elected official speakers, and a presentation about Northwell, New York’s largest private employer, which examines trends and past practices that should concern the staff and patients at Putnam Hospital. 

Northwell has repeatedly ignored nurses’ input in establishing and maintaining staffing guidelines that ensure safe staffing and better patient outcomes. They also refuse to include any meaningful enforcement mechanisms in the contract, preventing nurses from holding hospital administrators accountable when units are understaffed. Nurses say that as the largest private employer in the state and one of the wealthiest healthcare systems, Northwell Health can afford to include enforceable staffing standards for Putnam Hospital in writing.   

Concurrently, Northwell is pursuing Magnet Accreditation at several hospitals, including Putnam. Magnet status is the highest credential a hospital can receive for nursing excellence and quality patient care. Considering the ongoing staffing issues and Northwell’s refusal to settle a contract that includes enforceable safe staffing ratios, NYSNA nurses do not support their application for Magnet status.  

"Over the years, I have seen Putnam nurses be asked to take on more roles and more patients with less resources,” said NYSNA Local Bargaining Unit President Nicole Cadella, RN. “I care about my patients and don’t want them to feel rushed when being discharged from surgery. Sometimes we can’t get breaks until late in the day or at all because there’s not enough staff to cover us. People have resigned because they were given impossible workloads. All of these issues need to be addressed in our contract, and it feels like Northwell is stalling.” 

“It always feels like we are on the verge of a crisis because we are so short staffed,” said Hannah Bozsik, RN. “I’ve been a Putnam nurse for three years, and since Northwell took over, staffing levels have gotten worse. We work extremely hard and we deserve to have a fair contract with staffing standards that will protect our patients and ourselves.” 

Northwell has acquired several smaller community hospitals in recent years, including Putnam Hospital and other Nuvance Health System hospitals in New York and Connecticut. A report by the state of Connecticut details the impact Northwell has on healthcare prices in communities where it has acquired hospitals: "Northwell’s four most recent hospital acquisitions (all in New York) show signs of considerable price increases post-acquisition. Price data obtained from Northwell for Mather Hospital shows that commercial inpatient hospital prices increased by 70% on average between 2017 (the year prior to Northwell acquiring Mather) and 2023 across the hospital’s top 30 discharges by commercial revenue." 

Despite making an excess of revenue over expenses—approximately $252 million for the entire Northwell system for the first half of 2026—Northwell has undertaken three rounds of layoffs since October 2025. Northwell has not clarified how many people have been laid off, where they worked, what jobs are being affected, or whether more layoffs are planned. Historically, Northwell executives are highly paid—former CEO Michael Dowling made $5.8 million in 2024, and 14 other employees made over $1 million in salaries, benefits and perks. It is unclear if executives have been laid off or had their outrageous executive compensation cut. 

“In recent years, Northwell has acquired small community hospitals, increased their revenue and the cost of care to patients. Now at Putnam, they are failing to invest in safe staffing,” said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN. “It’s shameful that the state’s largest private employer and one of the richest hospital systems is deciding to shortchange nurses and the patients who rely on the dedicated care that nurses deliver every day. The 45,000 nurses of NYSNA are united in calling on Northwell to settle a fair contract now!”   

"The Westchester-Putnam Central Labor Body and its more than 100,000 members stands with the NYSNA Nurses of Putnam Hospital in their efforts to secure safe staffing ratios and a fair contract,” said Martin Sommer, Vice-President of the Westchester-Putnam Central Labor Body.

The virtual town hall follows a nurse speak-out in June, and petition delivery this fall, signed by more than 1,000 community members calling on Northwell to settle a fair contract for nurses.  

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The New York State Nurses Association represents approximately 45,000 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.