POUGHKEEPSIE – Hundreds of nurses were joined by other hospital staff and local leaders at an informational picket in front of Vassar Brothers Medical Center (VBMC) in Poughkeepsie on Tuesday. The nurses held the protest to bring awareness to staffing issues at the hospital.
There are more than 800 nurses employed at VBMC that are members of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) union. They have been working under an expired contract while negotiating with Nuvance, the parent company of VBMC since the beginning of this year.
Nurses at VBMC have been vocal in letting the community know that there is a nursing shortage at the hospital and the current nurses are being asked to make up for the shortage by caring for additional patients. Under the expired contract, VBMC nurses are supposed to care for four-to-six patients. According to NYSNA, they have been required to treat eight-to-nine patients during their shifts.
In a prepared statement, NYSNA pointed to dangerous conditions at the hospital. “Last week, wait times in the emergency department reached 17-19 hours at times, and labor and delivery and neonatal intensive care units stopped taking patients for a time period because they did not have enough staff.” The union also noted that nurses are being mandated to work overtime, despite the New York State Legislature passing bills in June that limit mandatory overtime for nurses. The bills are awaiting Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature to become law.
Vassar Registered Nurse Angelina Reynoso told Mid-Hudson News that the nurses are angry, noting that they want to provide the best care possible but staffing levels make it difficult. “We have not had enough staff. The ratio is currently one nurse for nine patients and that is just not safe.” Reynoso is a nurse in the operating unit and warned the public that “You don’t want to be someone’s fifth patient, let alone someone’s ninth.”
Nuvance and VBMC have been conducting a public recruiting drive for more nurses and the topic routinely comes up during the contract negotiations. “They tell us they are trying to recruit but I have seen situations where people (applicants) never get a callback.
Poughkeepsie Common Councilmember Evan Menist was at the picket line and said, “I am angry because we here in the City of Poughkeepsie have been cared for by members of NYSNA and Vassar Brothers Medical Center for more than 100 years and it’s time that Vassar Brothers Medical Center takes care of our nurses.” He claims that VBMC is losing nurses “in droves” because they are taking jobs at other facilities that are offering better pay and better working conditions. “People in the City of Poughkeepsie are losing out on quality care due to the staffing issues.”
