© 2025
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

National Nurses Organizing Committee nurses rally against understaffing in Albany

Stratton VA RN's Gwendolyn Freiermuht and Justine Huffman with colleagues along New Scotland Avenue in Albany, January 16, 2025.
Dave Lucas
/
WAMC
Stratton VA RN's Gwendolyn Freiermuht and Justine Huffman with colleagues along New Scotland Avenue in Albany, January 16, 2025.

Registered nurses from Albany Stratton VA Medical Center rallied Thursday in support of safe staffing and patient protections against AI.

The early evening gathering along New Scotland Avenue was part of a day of national action staged by the National Nurses Organizing Committee and National Nurses United union. The nurses are demanding the hospital industry ensure safe staffing levels and patient safeguards amid the rapid introduction of artificial intelligence technologies. NNOC/NNU represents more than 15,000 registered nurses at 23 Veterans Health Administration facilities across the country, including many nurses who are veterans themselves, like Air Force veteran Gwendolyn Freiermuht, an RN at Stratton VA.

 "We're out here today because the past couple of months we've seen a lot of cuts to nursing staffing due to budgetary issues, and it's really compromising patient care. And we're kind, we're out here just so that people can hear our concerns and why we should be focusing on patient care," said Freiermuht. 

RN Justine Huffman says staffing methodology eliminated many RN positions, compromising patient care.

 "We would like that to change," Huffman said. We need it to be readdressed. We just don't have the staff to meet the veteran needs right now in the hospital. So obviously, having more community support, any veterans that are out there that want to reach out to, you know, the local division or the hospital, and let them know that they demand to have more staff so that they can get the competent care that they deserve. And we would like them to eventually, just to hire more nurses and support staff as well. We've seen a huge reduction in the support staff available, including NA'S, phlebotomy, even housekeeping. And you know, a lot of that responsibility ends up getting heaped on the shoulders of the RNs that are still on the unit."

Huffman says there is an immediate need to mandate nurse-to-patient ratios. She suggests a minimum of three nurses per unit at Stratton VA.  

"We've been down to like a skeleton crew, where even one emergency, one callout can decimate a shift, and that just shouldn't be the case. We're seeing nurses denied, you know, their time off requests or even training opportunities. It makes it hard to leave the floor, to get any of those extra things done. And like I said, with the extra responsibilities, you're seeing a lot of moral injuries, and, you know, in our community, amongst the nurses, as we continue to try and show up for our veterans the way that we want to, but unfortunately, sometimes can't," Huffman said.

 The hospital says it employs a methodology that determines staffing levels. It declined to offer specific ratios.

Darlene DeLancey is the Executive Medical Center Director at Stratton VA.

 "Safe staffing ratios and patient safety, those are the tenets that we strive for every day, and those are the tenets of a high, reliable organization, and that's what we have at Albany. The nursing leadership team, I have to say, here in Albany, they complete staffing analysis, and these staffing analyses are reviewed, and what these look at is specifically to ensure safe staffing to patient ratios," said DeLancey.

The nurses also contend artificial intelligence has brought new challenges. Huffman notes concern is high that the new technology has the potential to threaten nurses professionally and put patients at risk.

"We haven't seen it here in Albany as of yet," Huffman said. "Unfortunately, I have heard from some of the other RNs in the union that have stated that they're seeing, you know, patients complain because they feel like they're, you know, they're afraid that they're not going to have an actual human in the room with them as a result of some of the programs that they're using. It's not tested, it's not approved. Our basic line is that 'nothing's safe until it's proven safe.'"

DeLancey says the federal Department of Veterans Affairs has a strict implementation process for any new software, and at Stratton, before any technology is deployed it goes through multiple reviews by "subject matter experts."

 "The AI platforms that we use here by the VA, what they are used for. It is to complement patient care, but that never replaces the direct care that of nursing staff, of nursing staffing, and this is because, as we do the analysis, these things are required to deliver safe, quality care to our veterans. And the unique skills of nurses deliver that direct patient care. So we're looking at hiring more nurses," said DeLancey. 

Safe staffing has also been a battle cry for nurses at nearby Albany Medical Center. The New York State Nurses Association says the year's first bargaining session will be held on Thursday. A spokesman says the hospital is continuing to negotiate with the union.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
Related Content