New York City – August 29
 
It started strong on the streets of midtown Manhattan.  By 9 am, 30 RNs had distributed 1,000 leaflets outside the Manhattan VA Hospital, part of the New York Harbor Healthcare System, to a very interested and concerned community.  Manhattan VA is located in a busy residential neighborhood and many who live there had questions for the nurses. The leaflets carry an important message from the RNs: there are conditions within the facility that undercut patient care standards.  There are 335 RNs, members of National Nurses United, at the Manhattan VA.

The nurses have pressed hospital management to address the lack of RN staffing guidelines, essential, say nurses, to providing quality patient care.    A particular focus at the Manhattan VA has been on the telemetry floors, where on some shifts in the last year and a half the number of RNs has been reduced by as much as half .  Other units report staffing shortages, as well.  So far, management has refused to address the situation.
 
“Our veterans deserve a lot better,” said Sam Aldi, RN.  “We receive no information, no planning, no feedback from management.   It is a brick wall.  That helps no one, especially patients for whom quality of care remains an issue.  That’s the priority for us: getting our patients quality care.”
 
There are, say the nurses, equipment shortages and concerns about adequate maintenance of hospital gear, made aware to management by the RNs.

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