[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 10 (Thursday, January 12, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NYSNA STRIKE
(Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ asked and was given permission to address the
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Madam Speaker, I wish to congratulate the nurses
of Mount Sinai and Monetfiore Medical Center who, after 3 days on
strike, reached a tentative agreement for safe staffing ratios this
morning. Our hospitals are facing extreme nursing shortages, and it is
affecting patient care.
Montefiore Medical Center, which is in my district, has had 760
vacancies. But thanks to the tentative agreement and the courage and
efforts of our nurses on the picket line, hospital management is now
committing to an aggressive hiring plan and to immediately implement
staffing ratios, including an increase of over 170 nursing positions
and a 19.1 percent wage increase and additional benefits to help with
retention.
I thank so much the New York State Nurses Association, NYSNA, for
their work. It is our privilege to stand in solidarity with them.
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