Nurses in Two Major NYC Hospitals go on Strike

Nurses Strike Highlights Issues in the Healthcare Industry

If you are preparing for a career as a nurse, it is important to keep up with current events in the healthcare industry. On Monday, January 9, 2023, more than 7,000 nurses at two major hospitals, Montefiore and Mount Sinai, in New York City walked out, citing unsafe working conditions caused by staffing shortages.

One nurse from Montefiore’s neurology department said that nurses in her department often have to work without breaks or meals. She said the nurse to patient ratio is now one nurse for every 6 patients, when previously it was one nurse for every 4 patients. She added that this is a safety problem for patients.

The president of the New York State Nurses Association, Nancy Hagans, says “too often one nurse in the emergency department is responsible for 20 patients instead of the standard of three patients.” Since the pandemic, the number of vacant positions at Montefiore has doubled.

Both hospitals criticized the strike. A spokesperson for Mount Sinai said “NYSNA leadership walked out of negotiations shortly after 1 a.m. ET, refusing to accept the exact same 19.1% increased wage offer agreed to by eight other hospitals, including two other Mount Sinai Health System campuses, and disregarding the governor’s solution to avoid a strike.” Montefiore said “NYSNA’s leadership has decided to walk away from the bedsides of their patients.”

It is important to note that patients will still get the care they need. The union insists that the strike is to improve patient care and that going into the hospital to seek care is not crossing the picket line. The union announced its plan to strike 10 days ago, and hospitals have been preparing. They plan on hiring temporary travel nurses and have already started transferring patients.

What is the Ideal Nurse to Patient Ratio and Pay Rate?

This strike showcases the need for hospitals to have the proper nurse to patient ratio. A law in California states that hospitals need a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:5. A 2010 study at the University of Pennsylvania showed that this law saves lives, and if implemented in other states, New Jersey would have 14% fewer deaths and Pennsylvania would have 11% fewer deaths.

This strike also brought to light pay issues in the industry. A recent study shows that as a 90% female profession, nursing is no exception to the gender wage gap in the healthcare industry. Many nurses feel they are underpaid for the work they do, especially after the pandemic.

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