NYSNA Issues Response to NYS Department of Health Nurse Staffing Study

(Photo : NYSA)
The New York State Nurses Association, which represents more than 42,000 nurses across the New York State, recently issued a statement, responding to highly-anticipated research on the enhancements of nurse staffing.

The New York State Nurses Association or NYSNA, which represents more than 42,000 nurses across the state, recently issued a statement, responding to highly-anticipated research on nurse staffing enhancements. The New York State Department of Health released the said study last month. 

According to the association, the study obtained authorization in the 2019-2020 New York State Budget, after considerable mobilization by frontline nursing professionals and patient supporters across the state. These advocates include the NYSNA, as well as other unions in the field.

Members of the NYSNA formally testified to the state in two public hearings in the summer and fall seasons last year, outlining the importance of safe staffing to provide quality patient care. 

Although the study was supposedly scheduled for release in December 2019, it was only published in mid-August this year.

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Failure to Hear Frontline Nurses

The association issued a statement saying this is 'unfortunately' the latest example of the NYS Department of Health's failure to listen to frontline nurses and integrate their expertise into the process of policy-making.

According to NYSNA, the said report exhibits an astounding lack of understanding of how nursing care is delivered, and its approach is critically faulty.

Approximations of the economic effects of minimum staffing standards are also "wildly overstated," says the association. The report is also unable to integrate any key lessons from the first wave of this pandemic.

The statement also states that the DOH approximates that hospitals in New York would need an additional of more than 24,000 registered nurses to meet the recommended ratios for staffing considering Albany.

Of these RNs needed, about 42 percent or more than 10,400 of the total number of RNs would be new Operating Room or OR nurses, required to meet the 1:1 staffing ration.

In 2013, the NY state already passed legislation requiring one RN in each OR during surgical procedures.

Amending this single error, according to the association, would lessen the cost estimate for New York hospitals by 42 percent from $776 million to $1 billion.

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An 8-Month Delay

The NYSNA said that the release of the study was delayed by eight months, supposedly to combine the COVID-19 experience in New York. 

The health department allegedly ignored one of the most extensively reported research findings from the past five months, the evident discrepancies in COVID-19 mortality rates according to race and zip code.

The association also said that developing a minimum standard for staffing is a proven tactic to guarantee that hospitals providing care to Asian, Black, and Latin communities have adequate RNs and other healthcare practitioners to offer quality patient care.

The NYSNA expressed apprehension over the delay of the study release saying, "It's deeply troubling that at a time when New Yorkers are relying on the DOH to keep us safe, the department seems more interested in protecting the financial interests of the state's largest hospitals and nursing home operators, releasing a report that validates the frequently repeated claim that proposed safe staffing legislation would cost over $2 billion and be prohibitively expensive."

According to the association, the DOH seems to be more interested in the financial interests of operators of nursing homes, issuing a report that verifies the often repeated claim that recommended staffing regulation would cost more than $2 billion and would be too expensive.

While the research has proven useless in terms of policy-making purposes, NYSNA said it would continue to work with lawmakers, the academe, and other scientists interested in an evidence-based method to address the crisis in staffing in hospitals and nursing homes of New York.

According to NYNSA Executive Director Pat Kane, RN, the DOH's careless report "is a slap in the face to frontline nurses" who've had so many sacrifices during this crisis.

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