Mount Sinai System: Patients Cannot Heal When Nurses are Stretched So Thin Post-COVID, staffing has been a challenge across the Mount Sinai Health System. There are major staffing issues at Mount Sinai Main in oncology (related to rapid increase of program and poor retention), Maternal Child Health (due to unpredictability of births), and a stepdown unit (poor recruiting). Nurses are pressing the hospital while doing their part to formulate short and longterm plans to care for themselves and patients. But one thing is crystal clear; patients cannot heal if their caregivers are overwhelmed and stretched thin.
“In the last three months, we’ve only had 26 full-time nurses, versus the allotted 56 required for the recommended 2:1 nurse-to-patient ratio,” said Philipp Lee Carabuena, RN, and an NSICU nurse at Mount Sinai. “Nine travel nurses have been hired to fill the gap, which still leaves us 40% under capacity. Daily, we are taking on three to four patients due to the shortage. Nurses are often staying 24 hours to fill the gap. This is unsafe for our patients and a moral injury for hardworking nurses.”
Noting that conditions are worse than they have ever been, Mount Sinai nurses and community leaders held speak outs on Dec. 6 and Dec. 15, 2021. The speak outs were part of a broader series of rolling actions at facilities downstate. It is clear that staffing is an issue across the Mount Sinai system, but nurses all over the state are suffering due to staffing shortages.
The staffing shortage comes as Mount Sinai oversees $1.7 billion in cash and liquid assets, and invests millions in advertising. Meanwhile, more than 300 nursing positions are vacant. This is not a new problem. All year, nurses have sounded the alarm about understaffing. While this year has been painful, there have been small victories. Read on to learn more.
Rays of Hope — Victories The Mount Sinai system was one of the few NYSNA facilities that permitted executive committees to verify the COVID PPE stockpile. Access was granted after an aggressive campaign to get access. There have been numerous overtime incentives and recruitment incentives to improve the staffing levels on hard hit units. The results have been mixed with some improvements to staffing levels, although this is an area for continued focus. Mount Sinai Morningside/West held new Committee Elections in May 2021. Over half the committee is comprised of new leaders eager to make an impact. For the first time in New York Eye and New York Eye history, management responded to NYSNA and agreed to convert one unit to flex time. Nurses at the New Jewish Home recently ratified an extension to their collective bargaining agreement that included pay increases and improvements to the experience scale. For the first time in over 25 years, nurses will experience an increase in their experience pay. In most instances the increase would be 50-100% higher than the previous scale. The experience scale at the New Jewish Home has not seen improvements for over 25 years.
Nurses from Mount Sinai West host a speak out for safe staffing on December 1, 2021. 18
2021: We are one
The largest issue at the New Jewish Home remains staffing and the new staffing law that comes into effect on 1/1/2022. The membership agreed to the extension with the intent of increasing leverage during the required joint staffing meetings with management and 1199. The extension contract will expire during the first quarter of 2021.
