NEW YORK – A possible strike by nurses at several New York City hospitals could take place starting Monday morning, January 9, in just three days.
“It could be a huge public health disaster,” he said. formerly a Nbc New York KenRaska, by the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA). He described the mood among hospital administrators as “extremely apprehensive” and a strike would send already-occupied hospitals into full-blown crisis mode.
The New York State Nurses Association has up to 10,000 members threatening strike action at five hospitals whose contracts expired on Dec. 31.
“Our emergency rooms are supported, tripledemia is raging,” Raske said. “Even if a hospital were to go on strike, it could affect the whole system.”
News of the possible strike comes as the city grapples with what’s being dubbed a tridemic: simultaneous and severe spikes in COVID infections, flu, and RSV respiratory conditions. In an effort to keep case numbers down and ease pressure on hospitals, the city has already issued a warning (not a warrant) suggesting that people go back to wearing masks indoors.
But what would a mock strike mean for you and your health care? This is what we know so far.
Which hospitals could see nurses go on strike?
First of all, it’s important to note that not all hospitals in New York City would have nurses on strike. A week ago, there were eight private hospitals looking into possible nursing strikes. But as of Friday morning, three of those hospitals have reached tentative deals with their nursing staff and would avoid strikes if unions vote to approve the deals.
Here are the five hospitals where a tentative deal has yet to be reached (as of Friday morning), meaning a strike is still on the table:
- Montefiore
- Mount Sinai Hospital
- Mount Sinai Morningside and West
- BronxCare
- Flushing Hospital and Medical Center
Three hospitals have reached tentative deals that have yet to be voted on by members of the nurses’ union: New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Maimonides, Hospital y University of Richmond Medical Center. If approved, those hospitals would avoid a strike.
It’s also important to note that just because one hospital would see a strike, doesn’t necessarily mean others would too. In theory, a nurses’ strike in one hospital would have no impact on the decision of nurses in another hospital. Each of the hospitals are negotiating with their nurses individually, so depending on how the talks go, there could be no strikes, a single strike or up to five strikes.
What impact would a strike have on healthcare?
For those concerned about what a strike could mean for their healthcare, the impacts are already happening or will soon be.
Mount Sinai Health System is starting to divert “most” ambulances from four of its facilities and it is transferring babies from its NICUs to other hospital systemsaccording to a memo from hospital management to staff, a copy of which was obtained from our sister chain NBC 4.
Here’s a summary of the changes coming to the reminder, as early as Friday:
- Divert ambulances from Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai West, Mount Sinai Morningside yes Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
- Cancel elective surgeries and schedule emergency surgeries only at main facilities and Morningside.
- Transfer of some patients. “Also, this unfortunately means moving babies in the NICU outside the Mount Sinai health system to ensure they get the much-needed care.”
- Discharge “all appropriate patients” and switch services: inpatient care at Main and Western facilities, and emergency and child psychiatry at the Morningside campus.
A source to work from Mount Sinai said the parents of the more than 50 babies admitted to the NICU did not yet appear to have been informed that their babies would have to be moved to another facility, although no babies had been moved so far Thursday night (indeed, sources said one had been transferred).
A spokesman for Mount Sinai He said the plan is to move patients on Friday if a deal can’t be reached. As for the other hospitals on the list, it wasn’t immediately clear which contingency plans are already in place or will be soon.
One thing patients and visitors could expect to see: a lot more travel and nurse exchanges.
Nbc New York learned that other hospitals that have not made arrangements with their nursing staff have already begun paying tens of millions of dollars in non-refundable down payments to have temporary nurses on standby, a huge expense they face, even if there are no strikes .
The GNYHA He said hospitals having to resort to this more expensive option is against the nurses’ interest in the union because it forces hospitals to spend money that could go to nurses. However, the influence of nurses also increases once the strike notice is issued.
A nurse involved in the negotiations estimated the cost of commercial nurses at approximately $10,000 per week, per travel nurse. While the skill set of commercial nurses is the same as union nurses, patients who have spent a lot of time or become familiar with specific nurses may need to get used to seeing new faces should a strike strike and last a while.
How likely is it that a strike (or strikes) will occur?
For now, it’s hard to say for sure. It all depends on what the respective hospitals offer nurses, and whether they decide to accept the offers.
Nbc New York obtained a memo from executives at Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West clarifying that most of the problems in the ongoing negotiations have been resolved, but not all, and time is running out.
The nurses said there has been some progress at some bargaining tables where hospitals are negotiating with their employees, but it has not yet been enough to prevent a strike. The nurses union said there was at least one sign of progress: All the hospitals on the list agreed not to cut health benefits.
“The New York State Nurses Association will lift a strike notice when we reach an interim agreement at Mount Sinai that respects nurses and our patients. Not before,” said New York State Nurses Association President Nancy Hagans. “There have been some offers and progress, but we’re not there yet.”
According to a source familiar with the previous Mount Sinai talks, the hospital had previously offered nurses a deal that included 14 percent raises over four years, a deal the nurses had declined and which fell far short of the extended offer. from NY-Presbyterian on the weekend.
That interim deal, if accepted, would give NY-Presbyterian nurses an 18 percent raise over the next three years, with additional incentives to retain experienced nurses. There was also a promise to address chronic staff shortages, which was the union’s biggest complaint.
While it remains to be seen whether NY-Presbyterian nurses will accept the offer, Montefiore Hospital said Wednesday that its hospital’s nursing representatives had turned down a deal that mirrored one offered by NY-Presbyterian. A hospital spokesman said the nurses were being offered “an 18 percent pay rise over three years, fully funded lifelong healthcare and a significant increase in emergency department RNs, among other benefits.”
This development could mean problems for other hospitals given the financial outlook. According to Montefiore’s spokesperson, NY-Presbyterian reported profits of $200 million in 2022, while Montefiore reported losses of $200 million. That kind of deal was deemed potentially unfeasible for other hospitals on the list, but now NY-Presbyterian nurses may think twice before ratifying the deal they’ve tentatively accepted (voting began Tuesday night and concludes Saturday).
Why do nurses threaten to strike? What do they hope to achieve?
“Nurses feel neglected and disrespected by their bosses,” Hagans said. “We held the hands of dying patients. We arranged last-minute FaceTime calls so dying patients could say goodbye to their loved ones.”
Matt Allen, a nurse on the bargaining committee at Mount Sinai, said so Nbc New York Monday that there are more than 700 open positions for nurses in Mount Sinai hospitals, something they desperately want to address.
“Staffing is the biggest issue we’re battling right now,” Allen said. “We hope to get something done this week, before our strike is even on the table.”
The union says members are angry about staffing reports at local hospitals, proposed contracts they believe drastically worsen their healthcare benefits (by paying large bonuses to managers), and Mayor Eric Adams’ recent move to forcibly hospitalize psychiatric patients. All of these elements left the workers overworked and exhausted.
“We can’t clean the patient on time, we can’t give medication on time, there are no breaks,” Allen said. “The burnout was real, so we quit the profession and went to work for a travel agency that will pay us more.”
The median salary for nurses in New York is $93,000 and $98,000 in New York City, the nurses union and GNYHA confirmed. It’s unclear how much in terms of compensation and raises the union hopes to get for its members, but it’s clear that the numbers some hospitals have gotten so far haven’t met their standards.
“If Montefiore can afford to pay its executives that much, they can hardly cry when it comes to contract negotiations with frontline nurses,” Hagans said.
Can the government intervene and force the parties to reach an agreement?
In short, no. These are private hospitals negotiating with unions and there is little the government can do officially to prevent a strike.
However, that doesn’t mean that nothing can be done.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s office previously said they are “monitoring the situation.” The sources said both Hochul and New York Mayor Eric Adams are receiving regular daily updates on the talks. While neither Hochul nor Adams has a formal role in the negotiations, some questioned whether they would lobby or try to negotiate a deal.
Assistants to Governor Hochul confirmed that she has been very busy for several days, not directly at the negotiating table, but speaking to both sides on a regular basis and pushing both sides to reach a yes. The state has also begun reviewing hospital strike contingency plans.
“We have been working with all parties to help reach an equitable solution to protect New Yorkers and health care workers,” Hochul spokesperson Avi Small told an interviewer Thursday. Nbc New York.
