ALBANY — Nurses at Albany Medical Center Hospital took to the streets today to protest what they say is a lack of sanitary Personal Protection Equipment, low wages and inadequate staffing.
PPE and the failure of the hospital to protect nurses and patients from COVID-19 is the latest grievance in a longstanding, two-year-plus labor dispute between nurses and the administration.
Inside, the hospital President and CEO Dennis McKenna, called the accusations unfounded. In the days and weeks leading up to the 24-hour strike, he and his staff have said the sanitization of PPE is done in accordance with the federal Center for Disease Control guidelines and is the same procedure followed by 90 percent of the hospitals across the country.
At a press conference, he said the majority of nurses working at Albany Med showed up to work while the strike was going on outside, the remaining roughly 25 percent of the shifts were filled by temporary nurses.
About 300 nurses and supporters — many clad in red ponchos, hats and gloves sporting a New York Nurses Association logo — were standing along New Scotland Avenue outside the hospital waving to motorists while a band played across the street.
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