Opinion: Listen to your nurses

[Editor’s note: The following letter comes from Diane Earl, RN, submitted on behalf of the NYSNA nurses at AO Fox and Fox Hospital Tri-Town Campus]

Like nurses everywhere, the nurses at A.O. Fox Hospital and Fox Hospital Tri-Town Campus have experienced some of the most harrowing times of our careers these last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. As soon as a patient is discharged from the hospital, that bed is then almost immediately filled with a patient who has been waiting — sometimes for days in the ER — for a bed to open up on the inpatient unit. Our hospitals are overwhelmed and understaffed.

Nurses on the frontlines are dedicated to caring for our patients, but we often leave our shifts feeling like we haven’t been able to give our patients the best care — even when we stay late. It’s a terrible feeling. To make matters worse, we don’t feel like we have the support from management to improve the situation. There are not enough nurses; what used to be a nursing shortage is now a crisis as more nurses leave due to feeling underappreciated for the work we do.

Back in July, we felt more optimistic. Bassett Healthcare Network’s new president and CEO, Dr. Ibrahim, started making some changes to better serve our patients in a multi-county area.  The nurses at A.O. Fox Hospital and Fox Hospital Tri-Town Campus, represented by the New York State Nurses Association, negotiated a union contract that was fair to the hospital, to NYSNA members, and ultimately, to our patients.

So, it came as a shock when money was donated by a generous benefactor to give all Bassett employees a $3,000 year-end “thank you” bonus for their courageous work during the COVID-19 pandemic and Bassett excluded the Fox and Tri-Town nurses unless we reopened our contract and agreed to a proposal we had already rejected during the negotiation process.

Like all nurses in the Bassett system, Fox and Tri-Town nurses have worked throughout the pandemic with the same shortage of staff, reusing personal protective equipment not designed for reuse, working many extra hours, and exposing ourselves and, by extension, our families to the deadliest pandemic in our lifetime. We did not do this work expecting a bonus, we did it because we are caring professionals dedicated to saving lives and serving our community.

Despite our hard work and sacrifice, executives at Bassett decided Fox and Tri-Town nurses were not worthy of a bonus unless we agreed to a proposal we had already rejected. Like all working people, we want to be fairly compensated for challenging and dangerous work, but we are extremely disappointed in our employer for turning a thoughtful gesture of appreciation into a thoughtless bargaining chip.

All the other nurses in the Bassett system have received retention bonuses, higher incentive pay, and this new year-end “thank you” bonus—with no strings attached. Meanwhile, Fox and Tri-Town nurses are being shortchanged, our bonuses held ransom for concessions in our union contract.

The frontline healthcare heroes at Fox have endured so much during this pandemic and are still bracing through the Omicron surge. We need hospital leadership to listen to us, support us, and respect us. The least Bassett can do is honor our hard work and dedication like the other nurses in the Bassett system—with no strings attached.