Dozens of nurses and other medical staff gathered outside the Wynn Hospital in Utica days before it opens to call for a fair, unified contract for all nurses that will
Dozens of MVHS nurses and their union reps, picketing outside St. Elizabeth Medical Center, in Utica, Thursday, say there s no sugarcoating what s happening inside hospital walls.
She cries at least once every shift from sheer emotional exhaustion, said a nurse at the St. Luke’s Campus of the Mohawk Valley Health System.
“You just look at your patients and they’re not getting better,” said the nurse who has been caring for patients with COVID-19 at the New Hartford hospital.
One day five patients died, she said. “That’s disturbing on every level,” said the nurse, whose name is being withheld because she fears retaliation for talking to the media without permission.
This nurse and seven others five from the health system’s St. Elizabeth Campus in Utica and three from the St. Luke’s Campus told remarkably similar stories of trying to care for too many patients with too little help as the number of COVID-19 patients surged in January.
MVHS activates surge plan; nurses plead for more staff
Nurses gathered for a rally outside of St. Elizabeth Medical Center Thursday morning, urging Mohawk Valley Health System officials to address staffing shortages.
Posted: Dec 10, 2020 12:49 PM
Updated: Dec 10, 2020 5:59 PM
Posted By: WKTV
UTICA, N.Y. – They made it in the spring, but haven t needed it until now. MVHS says they re in the early stages of their surge plan, which Governor Cuomo directed all hospitals to have, and would increase bed capacity by 25%.
“Both MVHS hospitals are very busy right now. In the spring, we developed a surge plan which enables us to significantly expand our capacity. The surge plan is designed to be flexible and phased in as patient needs require. Given the increasing needs of our patients, we are in the early stages of our surge plan and increasing our capacity to 25 percent, as mandated by the Governor,” read a statement from MVHS late Thursday afternoon.