Nurse Testimonials
“Safe staffing ratios are an issue that the hospital and NYSNA nurses just cannot agree on. Well, management agrees to our safe staffing numbers, they just don’t agree to making those numbers a reality! While we insist that a safe hospital requires enough nurses to provide quality care, management continues to value their bottom line over patient safety.” - Tonia Bazel, RN
"We're in the midst of a staffing crisis at Albany Med [...] Safe staffing in the ED means we can have shorter wait times in the waiting room, patients seen and cared for by competent staff, and not using on staff member to take care of critically ill patients. With current staffing levels we have to close areas of the ED because we can't staff them. That means more patients having care in hallways, in emergency room stretchers, not hospital beds. It means poorer outcomes, because [of] a higher number of patients for a lower number of nurses." - Hannah Palmer, RN
"As a NICU nurse, it makes me angry that Albany Med doesn’t seem to care enough about our smallest, most vulnerable patient population to make sure our NICU is safely staffed. We’re asking community and elected leaders to join us in putting pressure on Albany Med to listen to frontline nurses, to fix the staffing crisis, and to take better care of our community.” - Jennifer Kiehle, RN
“Safe staffing is essential for quality patient care and for reducing nurse burnout, moral injury, and turnover. As the largest healthcare system in the region, Albany Medical Center should be a leader in providing safe conditions for nurses and patients, but unfortunately, they refuse to listen to their nurses or abide by our state's safe staffing laws.” - Jessica DeStefano, RN
“Nurses prioritize patient safety, and so should our hospital administrators. New York's safe staffing laws dictate that nurses should care for no more than two critical care patients, but Albany Medical Center routinely breaks this law — putting nurse and patient safety at risk.” - Mike Fitzsimmons, RN
“It’s not fair that our patients have to wait so long for care. Albany Med is the largest healthcare provider in the capital region, and they should be a leader in quality care and maintaining an excellent nursing staff. If Albany Med hired and retained more nurses, our patient outcomes would be better, and nurses would be more satisfied with our work and stay and build our careers here. That’s what so many of us want to do. We need a fair contract to do it.” - Jaimie Alaxanian , RN
Patient Stories
“Long ER wait time. Was [only] able to get a room after 36 hours.” - Anonymous
Have you been a patient at Albany Medical Center? Do you feel like the level of care your received was impacted by the ongoing staffing crisis at the hospital?
“My niece has been an off and on patient at Albany Med for the past 12 years. The nursing staffing has been amazing, despite the conditions they’re forced to work in. It’s scary to hear how much more the Albany Med administration cares about their bottom line than our community.” - Sarah
“My identical twins were born at Albany Med in 2007 and, let me tell you, a dedicated, professional, and attentive nursing staff makes ALL the difference. My girls stayed in the NICU for two months and it's the nurses whose names I remember. Nurses taught me how to handle and change and feed 3.5-pound babies, and how to make sure they were breathing while they sucked on that bottle. Why in the world would anyone want to skimp on pay and benefits for nursing staff is beyond me. Pay them so you can retain them; pay them so they are there to take care of you when you need them!” - Kate
“I waited in the Emergency Room for 31 hours to get a bed. After waiting for another 6 hours, I asked the desk clerk how long it would be until I was seen—I got scolded in response. I ended up staying for nearly 12 days, and while I was there every single nurse was phenomenal, but incredibly overworked and understaffed.
The amount of care for patients should not be sacrificed for profit at a not-for-profit hospital. Yes, nurses cost money but they also save lives—and isn’t that the point? Do better, Albany Med!” - Nicole
“I waited 12 hours in the ER after seeing a doctor in triage who said I needed assistance urgently for arrhythmia. 12 hours later, I converted on my own in the waiting room. [I was] never checked on or examined past the initial encounter. I was told by nursing staff that they were horribly understaffed—[by] 3 or 4 nurses. The nursing staff deserves better. My community deserves better. I deserved actual care.
My cardiologist is affiliated with AMC and their staffing makes me feel alienated and deeply limited in regard to my care. Nurses can only do so much with limited resources and it is not their fault. I worry that this situation will only become more dire for the community in the future as administrators have failed to meet their obligations.” - Danielle
“I took my mother to the Albany Med ER recently and the wait time was unbelievable. Give these amazing workers what they deserve so they can continue to provide safe care!” - Olivia