(NEW YORK) – The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) welcomed the news this week that State Lawmakers and Governor Andrew Cuomo have rejected a Proposal to bring For-Profit Healthcare to New York.  NYSNA had raised Serious Concerns about Proposals in the initial State Budget to loosen Certificate of Need Requirements and to allow the creation of a For-Profit Hospital Pilot Project.  

“Albany Lawmakers listened to us and so did Governor Cuomo. We thank all of them for listening to Front-Line Caregivers,” said Bellevue Hospital Registered Nurse (RN) and NYSNA Elected Leader Anne Bove. “For-Profit Hospitals sacrifice Patients ‘for’ Profits.  Nurses, Caregivers and Patients should be the ones making decisions about Patient Care – ‘not’ Hedge Funds and Private Equity Investors.  I’m glad our Lawmakers and the Governor listened to us and stopped For-Profit Hospital Chains from invading our State.”

The final State Budget omits several proposals floated in earlier versions:

·       Two For-Profit Experimental Hospital Pilot Projects, one in Brooklyn and one in an unnamed Upstate Location.

·       Deregulation of Certificate of Need, the process that gives Communities a voice when Hospitals want to Close or Cut Services.

·       Reducing the control Home Health Nurses have over the Administration of Medicine, by allowing Unqualified Caregivers to administer Medication.

NYSNA-Represented Nurses, meanwhile, made more than 2,000 Phone Calls to Lawmakers and hundreds of Nurses visited Lawmakers.  In addition, busloads of Nurses traveled to Albany for last-minute Lobbying Visits.  As a result, NYSNA Officials said State Lawmakers and the Governor acknowledged and acted on the Unionized Nurses’ concerns.  The Grassroots Legislative Campaign, NYSNA Officials said, was the first of its kind for the Union, which Elected New, Progressive Leadership in 2011.

“We’ve won this battle, but our fight for New York Patients is just beginning,” Montefiore Medical Center RN and NYSNA-Elected Leader Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez said. “Our opponents can re-introduce these changes as Non-Budget Bills at any time this Legislative Session.  That’s why we’re not letting down our guard.  We thank our Lawmakers and the Governor for taking this stand and we’ll keep working with them to stop the attack on New York’s Patients.”

NYSNA’s Top Legislative Priorities include: Ensuring Adequate Funding for Patient Care for the State’s Public and Safety-Net Hospitals; and Winning a Law that will Set a Limit on the Number of Patients Hospital Administrators can force Nurses to care for at one time.

NYSNA - The Voice For Nursing In The Empire State - Represents more than 37,000 Members, and is the State's Largest Professional Association and Union for RNs.  The Union also supports Nurses and Nursing Practice through Education, Research, Legislative Advocacy and Collective Bargaining.