(ALBANY, NEW YORK) - A coalition of New York State Legislators representing the Capital Region - including Assemblymember Gabriella Romero, Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, Assemblymember Phil Steck and Assemblyman Scott Bendett, have penned a letter to the State Department of Health (NYSDOH) calling for greater accountability at Albany Medical Center (Albany Med).

The letter points to repeated violations found at Albany Med that jeopardize the safety and quality of care for both Staff and patients at the hospital. 

“Albany Medical Center has to do better for its staff and for the people of the Capital Region,” Romero said. “I’ve listened to Nurses’ concerns about understaffing, I’ve seen the NYSDOH reports - this is a deeply worrying situation and it needs to be addressed. We’re coming up on a year since the NYSDOH findings and we don’t have any substantive change. It’s long past time to act.”

Nurses at Albany Med have raised serious concerns about the lack of adequate staffing and the NYSDOH found more than 500 Staffing Law violations at Albany Med last year.

In a report published on July 25th, 2024, the NYSDOH found numerous safety violations and a lack of coordination with Nurses, as well as an overall lack of transparency.

A December 2024 letter to Albany Med from NYSDOH Commissioner Johanne Morne noted that due to its extensive violations, the Department would refer the matter for administrative enforcement.

Yet the Department has yet to act as of May (2025), leading Legislators to call for accountability for the Nursing Staff and patients at Albany Med.

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said: “NYSNA Nurses at Albany Medical Center, who have been calling attention to the staffing crisis that puts patient care at risk for over a year and a half, are glad our Legislators take this issue just as seriously as we do. We need the NYSDOH to listen to Nurses and Legislators and hold Albany Med accountable because patient safety in the Capital Region is at risk. Patients are waiting far too long for care and our Nurses are at their breaking point. We need action now.”

NYSNA, which represents more than 42,000 Members across the State, is New York’s largest Union and Professional Association for Registered Nurses.

NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the country's largest and fastest-growing Union and Professional Association of Registered Nurses, with more than 225,000 Members nationwide.

To Read This Labor News Report In Its Entirety, Go To: Capital Region Legislators Call for Accountability at Albany Med | New York State Nurses Association

Albany Med File Photo Courtesy Of NYSNA.