Nurses at Buffalo VA to speak out against hospital administration

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — National Nurses United (NNU) says registered nurses at the Buffalo VA Medical Center will be holding a conference on Tuesday at 11 a.m. to address issues with hospital administration.

“When the deadly snowstorm hit over the holidays, nurses stepped up to provide care for our patients because we are committed to serving our veterans but we found ourselves woefully short-staffed, which we know jeopardizes care,” Nicole White, a union leader and registered nurse in the float team at the VA, said. “Management’s denial of our staffing crisis and failure to prepare for the anticipated storms led to the avoidable and intolerable situation of nurses working as many as 96 hours over four days with only a few four-hour breaks to sleep. We are very proud of the veteran-centric care the VA offers and we provide, but for the sake of our patients, the administration must listen to us and act immediately.”

Another registered nurse, Amy Clarke, said staffing has been “a long-standing issue.”

“The shameful neglect of our crisis has impacted nursing and our veterans,” Clarke, a union leader who serves in the community care unit, said. “We stand here united, fighting for a better future for us, for our veterans, and for our community.”

The union represents over 400 registered nurses at the Buffalo VA. We will stream the conference live on this page.