astoriaboundagain t1_j3luq2d wrote
Reply to comment by Conscious_Card6261 in Talks continue as approximately 9,000 nurses threaten to strike at 4 NYC hospitals by DrogDrill
It's multifaceted.
Months ago when contract negotiations started, contingency plans began. Non-union staff (physicians, PAs, nursing management) were trained up to step in to provide direct patient care as needed. Supplemental agency and travel nursing staff positions were posted at crazy high rates. That supplemental staffing process is smoother than ever since Covid. Also, not all nurses went out on strike this morning. They had a choice, because those that did walk immediately lost all pay and benefits. There's a command center at all facilities that balances staff based on real-time patient needs.
A couple weeks ago, patient transfers began to other non-striking facilities. Capacity is tight, but to my knowledge, everyone that needed to be moved, was. EMS and intra-system transfer centers are aware of facility capacities in both private and public systems and will admit accordingly.
The Greater New York Hospital Association is very organized, both in their political lobbying and operations information sharing. C-Suite members from all systems and facilities speak frequently, during a strike, Covid, or other emergencies, about patient loads and facility needs.
The expectation was that NYSNA would hold firm and strike at all bargaining facilities. Only a few walking out is better than everyone expected.
Conscious_Card6261 t1_j3mzhck wrote
Ok.... thats a little more comforting but it boils down to getting people with other responsibilities to cover, bringing in people who may not know the hospital and moving people around to other places, which cuts into the time that cpuld be spent on them recieving care. Knock on wood the other hospitals didnt go on strike. Still seems like a bad disruption imo. And to an extent we've so far gotten lucky.
Do you believe patient loads can be accomodated city wide if other hospitals go on strike?
astoriaboundagain t1_j3n28nd wrote
This should be it for the private sector. I was a little nervous that the staff at Presby was going to vote down the tentative agreement, but it passed.
So far the load balancing is going well. My personal opinion? I don't think the strike will last very long, but Sinai does have deep pockets so we'll see. NYSNA can't afford to lose this fight now that it's got nationwide attention.
Next round is the public sector nurses. That contract expires in March and I'm very interested to see how the city reacts to the private fight. Bloomberg just delayed signing for years when he had his turn. But who knows with this administration.
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