Hospital contingency plan remains unclear if 1,000 Northwell nurses strike
More than 1,000 nurses at Huntington, Syosset and Plainview hospitals say they will go on strike starting Jan. 12 if they cannot reach a contract deal.
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With one week to go until a potential strike, the New York State Nurses Association and Northwell Health continue to negotiate for a new contract.
Denis Green said his is 82-year-old mother is undergoing surgery Monday at Huntington Hospital.
He's concerned about her recovery and the possible nurse strike.
"Once she went to the hospital, that was the first thing that came to my mind, you know outside of her condition, the nurses going on strike was a concern," he said.
"Northwell, they're proving that they don't care about patients' safety the way nurses do," said Grace Silva, an emergency room nurse at Huntington Hospital.
More than 1,000 nurses at Huntington, Syosset and Plainview hospitals say they will go on strike starting Jan. 12 if they cannot reach a contract deal.
"After a whole year pleading with them it's just it's going nowhere," said Silva.
Silva says currently each ER nurse can be assigned up to 12 patients, which the union says is unsafe.
If they do walk off the job, Silva says Northwell will have to bring in outside nurses to keep the emergency rooms open.
"I saw some job ads and they're willing to pay them up to eight grand a week, but yet they're not willing to invest in their own nurses," she said.
News 12 asked Northwell Health multiple times about a contingency plan if the nurses do go on strike, and asked if travel nurses will be brought in, and Northwell declined to respond to those questions.
The nurses say going on strike is a last resort.
"If we don't walk out, then things are going to continue the same," said Lilliana Perez, a nurse at Huntington Hospital.
A Northwell spokesperson previously said the hospitals will remain fully operational with uninterrupted service for patients.
