Inadequate staffing and dwindling funds at four Health and Hospitals Corp. nursing homes have pushed patient care to the brink of patient neglect.

In testimony before state lawmakers Dec. 12, DC 37 Public Policy Director Deborah Bell charged that these and other conditions have placed HHC long-term care facilities on the critical list.

“This is a crisis waiting to happen,” warned Ms. Bell, who spoke before the State Assembly Committees on Health and Aging at a hearing on the quality of care in the homes. With her were Local 420 chapter chairs who represent more than 2,000 members at the Coler/Goldwater, Gouverneur, Sea View and McKinney rehabilitation centers.

The union said quality patient care in public nursing homes requires funding to pay for full staffing, ongoing training and sufficient supplies and equipment. But HHC has been unable to recover payment for services provided to the increasing number of uninsured patients who need rehabilitative and long-term care. While city-run nursing homes operate at near capacity, staff levels remain at an all-time low — threatening patient care.

“There simply are not enough RNs, LPNs, Nurses Aides, Rehab Therapists and Patient Care Techs,” Ms. Bell told the committee. At one facility, only two Nurses Aides are on duty to work with 20 or more Alzheimer’s patients.

Staffs are stretched so thin that meals arrive late and cold, clean linens are not always available and dressings go unchanged. These conditions push HHC facilities dangerously close to violating state health codes.

The situation also presents a serious dilemma for Local 420 hospital workers.
“The staff shortages force our members to work mandatory overtime,” Local 420 President James Butler later said. “Too many workers are trapped in a relentless cycle of overwork, burnout and illness.”

The union pushed for increased funding for hiring staff, minimum staffing standards and stricter infection control and hazardous waste procedures.

“There’s no way around it,” said Mr. Butler. “High quality patient care and a good working environment go hand in hand.”