STATEN ISLAND, NY — More than 100 nurses, including some Staten Islanders, gathered on the steps of City Hall to call for improved hospital staffing and patient protections as the healthcare system faces potential federal funding cuts.
The New York State Nurses Association held a rally at the city government building on Tuesday, Nov. 18, before members testified at a City Council oversight hearing on the state of nursing.
At the event, the union and its supporters addressed current conditions at the city’s private hospitals and asked City Council members to support them in their fight for stronger safeguards for patient care. This rally comes as healthcare experts warn of significant cuts to federal healthcare funding under the Trump administration.
“We are currently waging a battle in quality care on two fronts. The first one is against the federal administration and its attack on our most vulnerable patients and our health care funding,” stated Staten Island resident Nancy Hagans, the president of NYSNA and nurse at Maimonides Medical Center. “We have heard federal health care cuts will mean fewer insured patients and higher costs. We have all been speaking out to reverse the cuts and protect our most vulnerable patients. Maybe these hospitals are too busy expanding their empires, investing in AI and hiking executive pay and hospital prices. We see the disastrous consequences of inaction.”
Staten Island healthcare workers joined over 100 NYSNA members at City Hall to testify about hospital conditions and security concerns following a Mount Sinai active shooter incident on Tuesday, Nov. 18.Advance/SILive | Nicolette Cavallaro
Nurses and union supporters also cited multiple concerns affecting patient care, including fear among some patients about coming to hospitals due to potential ICE raids.
“Nurses are very concerned about access to care for vulnerable communities, including immigrants, trans, uninsured and underinsured patients,” stated Michelle Jones, the secretary of NYSNA and a long-time nurse at Flushing Hospital Medical Center in Queens. “We are already seeing fewer patients come to the hospital because of affordability and out of the fear of deportations. Patients are not seeking the necessary preventative care they need to keep them healthy, including vaccinations, cancer screening and follow-up care.”
This event also follows an active shooter incident that occurred at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, which many of the nurses highlighted as a symptom of the numerous security concerns they say hospitals must address.
“Just last week at Mount Sinai an active shooter was almost able to make good on his threats to shoot up the hospital,” said Hagans. “This is a hospital that has refused to increase safety and security measures that the nurses have demanded.”
The rally also included members of the City Council, along with NYS AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento and NYC Central Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Janella Hinds, who all called attention to the importance of nurses in the healthcare system.
“I had a child 11 years ago, and I remember labor and delivery. It was a nurse that held my hand. The doctor came in last minute,” Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa, a Democrat who represents parts Manhattan, recalled. “If it wasn’t for the nurse that was standing there calming my nerves, making sure my blood pressure wasn’t spiking up, maybe I wouldn’t be here today. So we owe all of you a debt of gratitude, and these hospital systems must invest in the people who are actually the backbone.”
Lisa Yeno, a resident of Dongan Hills, has been a nurse for over 30 years and currently works at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton. She expressed her worry regarding the upcoming medical cuts, and how they would impact her patients.
“We’re relying a lot on funding from the city and the state,” she said. “We just want the city to know that RUMC is vital to Staten Island. We’re in a socioeconomic area that is more deficient. We serve a big population on the North Shore, so we have to maintain the services for these people.”
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