Nurses at The Brooklyn Hospital Center (TBHC), represented by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), took to the streets of Downtown Brooklyn on March 17 to rally and march in protest against the 45-day cutoff of their health insurance benefits.
The nurses demonstrated by chanting slogans and holding banners, urging TBHC’s CEO, Gary Terrinoni, to recognize the urgency and the growing crisis they are facing as frontline healthcare workers are still serving their community while they don’t have critical healthcare coverage.
The rally began at the hospital’s main entrance on 121 Dekalb Avenue and wound its way over to the outside of City Point at 138 Willoughby Street, where TBHC’s CEO maintains a home. The nurses called out — “we are sick and tired of corporate greed!” — and marched to the blare of a tuba and the playful swirl of bubbles.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso joined the crowd in front of City Point, and emphasized the fundamental role of healthcare coverage: “This is how healthcare works,” Reynoso declared. “We protect ourselves in case of an emergency, for regular checkups. We show up for each other in New York. These health institutions have to do the same.”
TBHC nurses’ frustration has been mounting since their healthcare coverage was abruptly terminated on Jan. 31. While other staff and management at TBHC maintained their benefits, NYSNA nurses alone found themselves uninsured — a decision, according to nurse educator Rehana Lowtan, made without transparency or sufficient justification.
“Initially, when we got the notice that there was going to be a lapse in our healthcare coverage, what [Senior Vice President of Human Resources] Guy Mennonna informed us is that they basically had no money to continue payments,” Lowtan said in an interview. “They had to make a choice between paying payroll or paying our benefits. And they chose to make payroll instead of paying the nursing benefits. Our benefits were the only ones not paid by the hospital. Everyone else’s benefits were maintained.”
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Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso speaks at the TBHC nurses rally in front of City Point.
TBHC nurses march through Downtown Brooklyn to the home of their CEO, at City Point.
Financial strain has plagued The Brooklyn Hospital Center for years, with CEO Terrinoni publicly warning of possible bankruptcy as recently as this past November. Hospital executives have cited ongoing fiscal challenges and recently requested $160 million in emergency state aid to avert closure. Despite this, nurses say management’s communication has been sparse and opaque.
“There has been very little, if any, communication from management, and they have not been transparent with us as to what their financial status is or what’s really happening with them,” Lowtan told the AmNews. She noted that, even after the hospital received $15 million in state funds, only a partial payment was made toward the outstanding amount owed for health benefits, leaving coverage unreinstated. “We have nurses that, in spite of not having health coverage, still showed up for our patients. It’s just disgusting and disrespectful. It’s shocking for a hospital.”
TBHC nurses’ march was peaceful, with City Point security observing from the sidelines. One guard remarked, “As long as they don’t come in here, they’re fine. You know, it’s free speech and all that. As long as they don’t make any public threats. Like, if they’re saying like death to someone, like, no, you gotta go, you know what I mean?”
Tensions have been building since TBHC nurses narrowly avoided striking during the recent historic NYSNA walkouts at other New York City hospitals. A tentative agreement with management initially prevented disruption, but the subsequent loss of health benefits has left nurses feeling betrayed.
When asked if TBHC nurses were being somewhat disrespectful by showing up at their CEO’s home, Lowtan said, “I think he needs to be shamed. He needs to be shamed because we have been shamed. It is shameful as a healthcare professional to show up in a doctor’s office or emergency room and say, ‘I have no healthcare coverage,’ and then not receive care. You’re playing with people’s lives.”
Borough President Reynoso noted that removing nurses’ health benefits has caused lasting reputational damage to the institution.
“They’ve tainted their name forever. … They’re the hospital that didn’t give healthcare to nurses. They’re the…only one. How embarrassing is that?” he told the assembled nurses and supporters, adding, “You have ‘Brooklyn’ in the name of your hospital and that you would do this? Shame on you!
“These nurses standing behind me are willing to stand with you if you take care of them,” Reynoso told the crowd of people in front of City Point. “We want to be allies and partners in this work. We don’t want to fight against giving people high-quality healthcare.”
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