Unionized nurses at Albany Medical Center are once again sounding the alarm about short-staffing.
In 2018, staffing issues, benefits and raises drove more than 2,000 nurses at Albany Medical Center to vote for union representation. The nurses – represented by the New York State Nurses Association – say the staffing issues have continued to this day. They recently gathered across the street from the hospital to detail their concerns. Jennifer Kiehle works in AMC's neonatal intensive care unit.
"It's been two years since the state safe staffing law went into effect in New York State, but Albany Med still doesn't have any internal process for making sure we're safely staffed, something that we're required to have under the law," said Kiehle. "When nurses raise concerns on my unit about unsafe staffing by filling out a POA [Protest of Assignment], they're berated by our managers, and they're told that their clinical judgment is wrong. Albany Med hasn't offered any solution to secure staffing. They just don't want to be bothered by it."
State Assemblymember Phil Steck, a Capital Region Democrat, says cutting corners in medicine is not acceptable.
"I was on the Health Committee when we passed safe staffing and it made it through both houses of the legislature and was signed into law by the governor. One thing I know as an employment attorney is that the law doesn't mean anything unless it's enforced, and we need to enforce the law, and the consequences of not doing so are very dire. Albany Medical Center was reported to us as having the highest wait time in the emergency room of any hospital in New York state. That was absolutely staggering to learn. When you look at all the hospitals in New York City that are under duress, and yet, right here in Albany, we have that worst record, and it leads to dire consequences. People have died because of it," Steck said.
Capital District Area Labor Federation Director Mark Emanatian says he's been attending nurses' safe staffing rallies for the last 12 years.
"Stop! Let's just get this thing done. And one thing I want to say for the nurses, who I absolutely love. We're going to win. We're going to win. Sisters and brothers out in Ellis just got a tentative contract. Burdett birthing center, because of the work of human beings, is open. So we're gonna win here," Emanation said.
The agreement at Schenectady-based Ellis Medicine increases wages by more than 13 percent, adds extra shift and longevity bonuses, according to the nurses union.
NYSNA nurses at Albany Med are bargaining for a contract before their current one expires on July 31 and have made safe staffing a top priority. Kiehle says Albany Med isn't.
"Albany Med refuses to listen to its nurses, but the New York State Department of Health is finally listening to us and has launched an investigation into unsafe staffing at Albany Medical Center. We say it's about time. On the day of the Department of Health visit to investigate staffing at our hospital, management didn't even know why they were there," Kiehle said.
Responding to request for comment, an Albany Med spokesman tells WAMC: "I would defer to the Department of Health to speak on its own practices. We — and all hospitals — are subject to planned and unplanned visits from the department. This was no different. Due to the wide amount of specialties we offer, those visits occur regularly. We have yet to hear the findings from this one."
The Department of Health did not reply to a request for comment.
