RNs at Buffalo VAMC will protest VA management’s delays in supporting nurses who are committed to providing our veterans the highest quality of care.

Registered nurses who work at the Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Buffalo, N.Y., will hold a protest on Aug. 2 to highlight their patient safety concerns, including short-staffing, nurses working as long as 20 hours straight, and management inaction on addressing these issues, announced National Nurses United (NNU) today.

“As nurses, we pride ourselves in taking care of our patients, but we can’t provide the care they need and deserve when we’re short-staffed,” said Nicole White, RN, an NNU leader. “There is a dire need for management to address this to improve patient care, decrease nurse fatigue, and improve nurse recruitment and retention at our facility. Lengthy shifts aren’t a long-term solution.”

• Who:  RNs at Buffalo VAMC
• What: Protest for Safe Staffing and Patient Care
• When: Tuesday, Aug. 2, at 7 a.m.

“We’ve seen a downward spiral of nurses leaving, staffing getting even worse, and more nurses leaving,” said Mary Brady, Nurse Practitioner, an NNU leader. “That’s why we need management to agree to more flexibility in nurse scheduling. When management leaves nurses behind, they leave patients behind, too.”

NNU represents about 380 registered nurses at Buffalo VAMC.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 175,000 members nationwide.