Eight Months Later, Still No Safe Staffing in N.Y.

CWA members in New York are incredibly disappointed with the staffing study that the N.Y. State Health Department released last Friday night, eight months past the given deadline. This study adds further insult to injury to all the healthcare heroes who, just months after fighting in the trenches against a global pandemic, are desperate for the state to take decisive action to address the dangerous and urgent crisis of staffing in our healthcare facilities.

As the COVID-19 crisis has shown us, adequate staffing can mean the difference between life and death. If implemented uniformly throughout New York, safe staffing would improve patient outcomes, save lives, and increase the state's capacity to respond to future public health emergencies. The DOH report completely ignores the reality of frontline healthcare workers. CWA members in District 1 remain committed to fighting for statewide mandated staffing ratios in hospitals and nursing homes.

Last October, CWA members testified in NYC on the importance of safe staffing before the Department of Health and rallied outside along with members of the New York State Nurses Association, the Public Employees Federation, and several elected officials and community allies.