(PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK) - New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA)-represented Health Care Workers employed at UVM (University of Vermont Health)-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) recently held a speak-out to demand safe staffing and a fair contract. NYSNA Nurses, Health Care Professionals and IT Professionals have been fighting for a fair deal that protects patient care and ensures access to care for North Country patients since earlier this year. Northeast Center AFL-CIO Central Labor Council Secretary Kim Hartshorn joined NYSNA Members in solidarity at the speak-out. Last year, CVPH unilaterally changed staffing ratios in four Medical-Surgical Units over the objections of NYSNA, which the Union said violated their contract and in the process made the Hospital less safe. Nearly a year later, understaffing remains a widespread problem at the Hospital and puts safe, quality patient care at risk. At the bargaining table, CVPH management refuses to be held accountable for safety standards at all and has proposed changes to the contract that only stand to make staffing worse, Union Officials added. NYSNA Members at CVPH care deeply for their community and say they will not allow Hospital management to put patient care at risk. Nurses are calling attention to the current understaffing problem and to CVPH’s refusal to work with Nurses on a solution that prioritizes Nurse and patient safety over profits. NYSNA Members are continuing to push back against management’s proposed staffing changes until they reach a solution that ensures access to care and safe, quality patient care for the communities CVPH serves. Like NYSNA Members at CVPH, NYSNA Nurses at the Adirondack Medical Center and at UVM-Alice Hyde Medical Center continue to bargain for fair contracts that protect patient care in the North Country.  

To Directly Access This Labor News Report, Go To: North Country Healthcare Workers Speak Out for Safe Staffing and a Fair Contract | New York State Nurses Association

Speak-Out Photo Courtesy Of NYSNA.