|
New York Presbyterian Hospital nurses gathered in front the Milstein Hospital to protest changes to their healthcare benefits and to demand new contracts.
Holding signs, sounding blow horns, and shouting “We want contracts” at the top of their lungs, hundreds of New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) nurses gathered in front of Milstein Hospital on West 168th Street and Ft. Washington Avenue this past Tues., July 26th. The nurses carried signs that read “We care for patients, who cares for us?” and “Fight for your benefits!”
The protest was an effort to send a message to hospital officials with whom they have been negotiating a new benefits package for the more than 2,500 nurses employed at NYPH.
The protest, led by the New York State Nurses Association, began early in the morning and continued during the lunch hour, where nurses took time out of their break to march in front of the hospital.
“We’re here today to protest our health benefits plan and our staffing levels,” said Heidi Brookins, RN, senior staff nurse for the past 40 years at NYPH. According to Brookins, for the first time in 30 years, NYPH is asking their nurses to pay for a portion of their health benefits.
“We feel strongly about the need to have a solid healthcare benefits plan to stay healthy so we can keep our patients healthy too,” said Brookins.
During the protest, nurses also spoke out against NYPH’s staffing level, citing that the number of nurses employed by the hospital is not sufficient for the amount of patients they service, in addition to those patients who are acutely ill and in need of specialized care.
“The nurse staffing is an issue that needs to change. It’s an ethical issue that affects the safety of this community, the patients, and the nurses who work in this hospital. We need to be better staffed; it’s a matter of safety,” said Brookins.
According to Roxanney Romney, nurse representative with the NY State Nurse Association, over 350 names were logged into the attendance list during the protest.
“We want to show our strength in numbers, so the hospital knows that we were here today, and that we want to negotiate,” she said.
“Dr. Pardes and the board of directors will make a decision. But we want them to know that we want to come to the table to negotiate,” added Brookins.
At press time, NYPH had not responded to requests for comment.
|
