Nurses Urge VA to Address Staffing Crisis for Veteran Patient Safety

Nurse Shortages at VA Spark Concerns Over Patient Safety

Nurses from the James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the Bronx are set to travel to Tarrytown, N.Y., on Thursday, Nov. 7. Their aim is to urge the VA to remove obstacles that hinder the recruitment of registered nurses (RNs), a move they believe is essential for maintaining patient safety. This initiative, organized by the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), will see a caravan of nurses heading to the VA regional office and the headquarters of Vertical Integrated Service Network (VISN) 2, which supervises facilities within the New York/New Jersey VA Health Network, including the Bronx VA.

The VA's national hiring constraints, introduced in January, have contributed to over 66,000 job vacancies across its health system, including 13,000 RN positions. Nurses argue that these hiring barriers jeopardize patient safety and compromise the VA’s dedication to delivering high-quality, veteran-specific care that only experienced VA nurses can provide.

"We know we at the VA are best qualified to care for our nation's veterans," stated Yesenia Novaton, RN, VA NNU Director at the Bronx VA. "That’s why we need to invest in our VA and the VA system. With the proper resources, we can provide care that honors our Veterans’ service and their sacrifices. When we don’t have enough staff, we are effectively cutting services to veterans. That is why we are calling on the VA to lift all barriers currently in place to hiring sufficient nurses, so we can get back to providing holistic, specialized, veteran-centric care to our nation's heroes."

Event Details:

Who: Nurses from James J. Peters VA Medical Center (Bronx VA)

What: Speakout and Care-A-Van

When: Thursday, Nov. 7, 5:15 p.m. - 5:45 ET (depending on traffic)

Where: VISN 2 office, 20 White Plains Rd., Suite 5000, Tarrytown, N.Y., entrance of facility on sidewalk

According to the VA inspector general, 82 percent of VA facilities are facing critical nurse shortages. The staffing crisis in the VISN 2 region has led to unsafe patient care assignments, with nurses being compelled to work beyond their shifts or take on additional shifts. The shortage of RNs affects the ability to respond to patient emergencies and manage routine needs effectively.

"We have nurses who are getting eight veteran patients in their assignments when they should have no more than four," said Wanda Maria, RN, from the medical-surgical unit at the Bronx VA. "Our ability to safely care for veterans should be paramount to our regional leadership. Due to the hiring restrictions, there are not enough nurses to sit with patients who need one-on-one care, and nurses are being transferred to work areas for which they are untrained."

An analysis by NNU using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing indicates that there isn't a shortage of nurses but a significant hospital staffing issue. In New York alone, over 260,000 RNs hold active licenses yet are not employed in bedside care. For further details, please read here.

"We treat veterans who are suffering because of service-connected health problems," said Heather Espinal, RN, in the intensive care unit. "These veterans deserve the best care – the care they earned and were promised."

NNOC/NNU represents over 15,000 registered nurses across 23 VHA facilities nationwide, many of whom are veterans themselves.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.