NYSNA Nurses at The Brooklyn Hospital Center Bring Their Message to Restore and Secure Health Benefits to the CEO

On Tuesday, NYSNA nurses at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, who have been without health insurance for more than 45 days, took their demands to reinstate coverage to CEO Gary Terrinoni’s luxury condo. Nurses have been working without health insurance for more than 45 days, after hospital executives failed to pay into their benefit fund. The Brooklyn Hospital Center has cited financial constraints and requested emergency funds from New York State. The hospital received millions in funding — more than enough to pay for nurses’ health coverage but only made a partial payment that was not enough to restore benefits. On Monday, after increasing pressure from NYSNA nurses and state and elected officials, hospital executives finally made another necessary partial payment that should finally reinstate nurses’ health benefits in the near term.  

Now NYSNA nurses are demanding hospital administrators follow through on their commitment to restore health coverage, cover nurses’ medical expenses, and continue making  future payments to the benefit fund to keep nurses healthy and able to care for Brooklyn into the future.

“It’s been more than 45 days without coverage! My colleagues and I go to work in fear of the worst-case scenario, that we will get sick, injured, hurt, or our families will, and we won’t be able to afford out of pocket expenses," said The Brooklyn Hospital Center nurse leader Debra Ambrose, RN. I am relieved that the hospital finally made the needed down payment to restore our health benefits, but we need to continue holding administration accountable, so this does not happen again. CEO Terrinoni is playing dangerous games with the hospital’s finances, and nurses refuse to be pawns!” Read more from THE CITY here and from NYSNA here.