Albany Med nurses fight to protect patient care

Hospital is of crucial importance not only for the capital region, but for the entire state

By Joseph Celestin

National Nurse Magazine – Issue July | August | September 2024

For months, New York State Nurses Association nurses at Albany Medical Center have been raising the alarm about unsafe staffing levels at their hospital — pointing to staffing shortages as the primary cause of a troubling decline in patient care at the facility. At the same time, they've sat at the bargaining table fighting for a contract that puts patients over profits. But as Albany Med's administration continues to stonewall the bargaining committee and delay the drafting of a contract, the question remains what will happen to the patients who rely on Albany Med's health care.

Over the past 20 years, Albany Medical Health System has consolidated health care throughout the Capital Region. After acquiring a significant number of nearby hospitals, the system now serves approximately one-third of all Capital Region patients. But the role Albany Med plays throughout New York State is far greater. As the only Level 1 trauma center between Westchester and the Canadian border, AMC serves residents of 17 counties and is the only hospital capable of providing specialized medical care to patients with traumatic injuries.

But amid a staffing crisis, the hospital's nurses say they can't provide that care. And they're right: Albany Med's emergency room wait times are the longest in New York State, among the longest in the country, and have only gotten worse over the past decade. Nurses on the front lines say that's largely because hospital management isn't doing what it needs to do to hire enough qualified nurses and keep them at the bedside.

Since February, NYSNA nurses at Albany Med have been organizing town hall meetings, public speaking events and forums, and press conferences to raise awareness of the hospital's severe staffing shortages and the negative impact these shortages have on safe, high-quality patient care. The patient stories shared by community members echo nurses' concerns: that the hospital's staffing shortages have led to excessive wait times and deteriorating patient care.

Following the success of these community forums and a press conference after their contract expired on July 31, the nurses held an informational walkout and candlelight vigil in late August to show Albany Med administration the seriousness of this issue and the tremendous support for their fight in the Capital Region. They were joined by hundreds of nurses, elected officials, union leaders and community members, all sharing the same message: It's time for Albany Med to invest in safe, high-quality patient care for the community.

In late August, the nurses returned to the bargaining table. A mediator led the talks between the bargaining committee and Albany Med administration. The nurses stuck to their demands, which include secure staffing and a concrete plan to recruit and retain experienced nurses. Despite working with NYSNA nurses earlier this year to create a joint plan for secure staffing, hospital administrators refused to include enforcement mechanisms for staffing in the contract. They also refused to meet the bargaining committee's demands regarding nurse pay and including union rights in the contract.

But nurses hope that change will come with the drafting of a fair contract and additional validation by the Department of Health of a long-awaited report on staffing shortages. Although Albany Med administration has so far refused to give nurses a copy of the report, NYSNA nurses know what it will say: that the hospital violated the previously agreed-upon staffing plan it submitted to the state. Nurses' spirits also improved when the Department of Health, in a separate communication from the report, acknowledged more than 50 complaints about staffing shortages that NYSNA nurses had filed since the beginning of the year.

Although hospital administration refuses to budge on several key priorities, Albany Med's executive and bargaining committees remain committed to their fight for a fair collective bargaining agreement. Nurses know that patients suffer when a hospital is understaffed, so they will not give up their fight until they have the resources necessary to provide Capital Region residents with the safe, high-quality patient care they deserve.