(THE BRONX, NEW YORK) - Montefiore Hospital is planning to lay off real Nurses and replace them with Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered software, so says the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA).

NYSNA Nurses just hosted a virtual town hall with directly-impacted Nurses to discuss Montefiore’s plan, its negative impact on jobs and patient care in the Bronx, and how Health Care Practitioners and communities can fight back against untested AI in their Hospitals.

Community members and elected officials joined NYSNA Nurses at the town hall.

The Nurses use their decades of bedside experience and clinical judgement to review insurance denials and make sure patients get the care they need covered by insurance, Montefiore Hospital Nurses said. Replacing real Nurses with AI is terrible for Workers and the economy in the Bronx, NYSNA said. In the end, it could also have negative consequences for patients in the Bronx.

Registered Nurse Marilyn Shuler, a Utilization Review Nurse who is slated to be laid off after working at Montefiore for 39 years, said: “What we want from Montefiore is simple: Stop the layoffs, keep a Licensed Nurse on the final review, use AI to support us instead of replacing us, and sit down with the Nurses who actually do this work.”

Shuler is one of 12 Nurses that Montefiore intends to replace with AI-powered software.

Utilization Review Nurses read patient charts and make the case for a patient’s insurance company to cover the care a Doctor orders.

Montefiore is gambling - without evidence - that AI can do a better job.

Nurses raised concerns about the potential negative impact on patients.

If AI replaces Nurses’ clinical judgement, complicated cases may be dropped, and that means a missed diagnosis or a surgery never gets approved, NYSNA Officials said.

Nurses at the town hall also raised concerns about the company Montefiore selected.

Datavant, a Private Equity-backed Technology Company, has two partnerships with Palantir - the company U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) uses to surveil and deport Immigrants. It also has a history of data breaches.

Nurses expressed concerns about Montefiore outsourcing access to private medical records that could include Immigration status, to Datavant.

Registered Nurse Shaiju Kalathil - a NYSNA Executive Committee Member at Montefiore, said: “We are outraged about these layoffs because these dedicated Nurses are being replaced by AI. This is a violation of the contract that we recently won by going on Strike. It should also concern every Practitioner and patient who cares about the future of health care and the quality of care they receive.”

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said: “Artificial Intelligence should never replace real human caring from a Nurse. The (45,000) Members of NYSNA fully support this fight to protect our patients and practice from AI.”

To Read This Labor News Story In Its Entirety, Go To: The Bronx Needs Real Nurses, Not AI! | New York State Nurses Association