(SARANAC LAKE, NEW YORK) - New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA)-represented Nurses employed at the Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake held a speak-out for a fair contract earlier this week and called for an agreement with a plan to recruit and retain Nurses, including respectful wages and affordable health benefits.

This is the first time in more than 25 years that Adirondack Medical Center Nurses have spoken out or rallied in front of the Hospital. Their previous contract expired on December 31st, 2025.

Adirondack Medical Center is the last NYSNA-represented Hospital in the North Country without the NYSNA Benefit Fund, which will deliver better and more affordable health benefits to nurses. Instead, Nurses are forced onto an expensive employer-provided health plan. And the Nurses report being denied coverage for medically necessary procedures and high co-pays for services not provided at the Adirondack Medical Center.

Registered Nurse (RN) Bill Schneider, a NYSNA Second Vice President, said: “Our Hospital must work harder to draw Nurses into our community and keep them here. Saranac Lake is beautiful and the people are welcoming, but other Hospitals in the region provide more generous packages. Adirondack can change that by settling a fair contract that includes an affordable benefits package and respectful wages, especially in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.”

RN Denise Velez, who lives with a progressive auto-immune condition that may lead to a liver transplant in the future, said:. “If we stay on Adirondack’s medical plan, I will have to make a decision between putting my family into debt to get the medical care I need or, very frankly, dying. I wouldn’t have to make that decision if our health insurance was provided by the NYSNA Benefit Fund.”

An affordable benefits package that helps to recruit and retain qualified, experienced Nurses is a priority for NYSNA Members during contract negotiations.

Currently, the Nurses’ only option at Adirondack is an expensive, employer-provided plan.

Nurses believe that as Front-Line Health Care Workers, they should have access to the affordable health care benefits they need to stay safe and healthy, not a plan that their employer profits from, Union Officials said.

In addition to being denied coverage and the expensive co-pays, some Nurses have reported enrolling their children in the Child Health Plus plan, New York’s State Health Insurance Plan for kids, because Adirondack’s plan is too expensive

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said: “It’s time for (the) Adirondack Medical Center to listen to its Nurses and settle a fair contract that includes an affordable benefits package. Nurses are Front-Line Health Care Workers and need health benefits that will keep them, their families and their patients safe and healthy.”

To Read This Labor News Story In Its Entirety, Go To: NYSNA Nurses at Adirondack Medical Center Speak Out for a Fair Contract | New York State Nurses Association

Photo Courtesy Of NYSNA’s Facebook Page.