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Filipino nurses in New York join strike amid hospital understaffing

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="New York State Nurses Association" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/01/11/20230111-nurses-in-new-york-city-were-on-strike-via-new-york-state-nurses-association-fb.jpg"/><figcaption>More than 7,000 nurses in New York City were on strike amid concerns of understaffing and low pay in some major hospitals, including Mt. Sinai Hospital. Courtesy: New York State Nurses Association/Facebook</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — Filipino nurses in New York City have joined more than 7,000 of their colleagues on a strike amid severe understaffing that forces them to overwork. New York-based Filipino nurse Lorena Vivas told ABS-CBN TeleRadyo that the understaffing has taken a toll on her colleagues&#x27; mental and emotional health, forcing them to quit their hospital jobs and change careers.Vivas noted that the lack of nurses increased from 350 to 500 at Mt. Sinai Hospital, one of the biggest medical institutions in the United States.Some nurses, she said, had to attend to up to 22 patients, a problem that had been persisting in the said hospital for about 6 years now.Vivas also said that they have brought up their concerns to the hospital administration, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.&quot;Kulang na nga noong COVID [pandemic], lalo pang kumulang pagkatapos ng COVID,&quot; she said.&quot;Hopefully makikinig sila this time. Hindi naman po palaging nagsa-strike ang mga nurses. Ang last strike, 1970 pa. Kaya I&#x27;m hoping makikinig na sila ngayong nasa labas na po kaming lahat,&quot; she added.(We were understaffed during the COVID pandemic, we&#x27;re worse off after COVID. Hopefully, they would listen this time. Nurses don&#x27;t always go on strike. The last strike was in the 1970s. That is why I&#x27;m hoping they will listen now that we&#x27;re all out.)<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2412723" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>Vivas also blamed the issue on the hospitals themselves, describing the understaffing problem as &quot;systemic.&quot;&quot;There&#x27;s never been a time in history na ito po ang pinakamaraming nurses na lisensyado na pwedeng magtrabaho sa Amerika. Ang problema, lahat po sila napagod, iyong iba nagpalit ng trabaho, kasi ang mental toll ng understaffing is very difficult,&quot; she added. (There&#x27;s never been a time in history when there were more nurses who can work in America. The problem is they got tired, some changed jobs, because the mental toll of understaffing is very difficult.)Vivas noted that the US Department of Health and Human Services is looking into their case at Mt. Sinai Hospital. The Philippine Consulate in New York on Monday said it supports the clamor of Filipino-American nurses at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and Mount Sinai for better wages and working condition. &quot;When New York City became the epicenter of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, our kababayan nurses stayed true to their oath to care for the sick and the dying, sometimes at the expense of their very own lives. For their compassion, dedication, and selflessness, their call for better employment terms and conditions should be heeded,&quot; it said. About 10 percent of nurses in the United States are Filipinos, Vivas said.

Filipino nurses in New York City have joined more than 7,000 of their colleagues on a strike amid severe understaffing that forces them to overwork.