(ALBANY, NEW YORK) - Nurses and their Unions are urging New York City and New York State to increase investments in hospitals to help correct a persistent staffing crisis.

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) demonstrated in Albany ahead of the April 1st State Budget deadline to advocate for a spending plan that addresses years of underfunding at Safety Net Hospitals and allows hospitals to enforce Safe Staffing Ratios by hiring and retaining Staff.

“We need funding now.  We can’t wait another year or another two years,” said NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane, who noted “it has taken far too long” to enforce Safe Staffing Statutes enacted in 2021.

Under the laws, the State Department of Health established Safe Staffing Ratios for intensive-care units and critical care units at health care facilities across New York, and hospitals were required to create Clinical Staffing Committees to develop staffing plans for every patient care unit.

Increased funding was particularly important for Safety Net Hospitals, which serve a disproportionate number of low-income and uninsured patients.

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans believed this budget “will demonstrate whether our lawmakers are ready to invest in building a stronger, more resilient health care system that ensures dignified working conditions for our Nurses."

Steve Bailey, a Nurse employed at Buffalo’s Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) and NYSNA’s Western Regional Director, said mental health services - in particular, have been cut and underfunded: “At ECMC, our comprehensive psych-emergency program is busier than ever and more understaffed than ever.”

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