Blog
RNs at Manhattan VA Spreading the Word on Patient Care
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.
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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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