ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Union of Nurses & Allied Professionals (RUNAP) filed a dispute against Rochester Regional Health, seeking a $100,000 fine for failing to meet staffing requirements at Rochester General Hospital.
RUNAP claimed the hospital did not meet the minimum staffing numbers on all 12-hour shifts during the first quarter of the year.
RUNAP, formed in 2022, agreed to a contract with Rochester General Hospital in 2023 that enforced staffing guidelines. They alleged the hospital did not comply with state-required staffing minimums from January through March.
“A lot of the outcomes for patients are explicitly nurse driven,” said Claire Gardner, a neonatal ICU nurse. “And those things like pressure ulcers and falls, and things of that nature, those metrics are vastly improved when you have appropriate, safe staffing.”
Natalie Honsinger, a nurse at Rochester General Hospital, said if she is assigned six patients, she will just be running around all day.
“Everyone’s frustrated – I’m frustrated,” said Honsinger. “I wanna do a great job by your mom, by your dad, by all those people you know, that we have here – they’re people. And we have to have the staff to do that.”
RUNAP is pursuing the fine to be paid directly to nurses, emphasizing it is not solely about the payout.
“I’m worried that the hospital is just going to see this as like another ploy, that hey, we’re just looking for money,” said Emilly Pike, a cardiothoracic ICU nurse. “We’re not.”
Instead, Pike says she wants the hospital to listen to their needs for adequate staffing.
“We really just need adequate care to make sure nothing gets missed,” said Pike.
A spokesperson for Rochester Regional Health disagreed with the union’s claims, stating the hospital added nurses and reduced turnover.
Here is the full statement from Rochester Regional:
“At Rochester General Hospital (RGH), we are proud of the progress our nurses and clinical teams have made, and the extraordinary work they do every day to heal, comfort and care for our community. We just celebrated that incredible work during Nurses Week, and continue to highlight them during our ongoing Magnet site visit.
Our top priority is ensuring every patient receives safe, high-quality care. We recognize that staffing is a critical component of that mission. We disagree with the union’s recent claims regarding understaffing numbers. We have not been able to validate their calculations. Based upon our calculations, we believe that we have met the previously agreed-upon staffing levels. In fact, earlier this year in a widely-reported move, we temporarily reduced our bed count to preserve safe nurse to patient ratios.
RGH remains committed to working in good faith with the Rochester Union of Nurses and Allied Professionals (RUNAP) to resolve any concerns about staffing through the formal resolution process.
RGH continues to take meaningful and ongoing steps to strengthen our workforce. Since last spring, we’ve added 50 full-time registered nurses to our team, reduced voluntary RN turnover to under 4%, and increased nurse recruitment by 17% year over year. In addition, the average hourly rate of an RGH nurse exceeds the NYS Adjusted Average Nurse hourly wage, reported by Becker’s Hospital Review. We continue to lean in and improve the nursing work environment at Rochester General Hospital. These improvements reflect both the dedication of our teams and our continued investments in building a strong, stable nursing workforce.
While we’re encouraged by the progress we’ve made, we recognize there’s more work to do. Our commitment to excellence remains unwavering and we continue caring for our patients like family.”
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