BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Earlier this week the Medical Center Director and Chief of Staff at the Buffalo VA Medical Center were removed by the Department of Veteran's Affairs pending an investigation.
In a statement, VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said the removal of the Medical Center Director and Chief of Staff was in response to concerns raised by clinicians about local leadership and instances of delayed care.
"Providing Veterans with the world-class care they deserve when and where they need it is our top priority," Hayes said. You can watch our previous report below.
On Friday, dozens of nurses lined the street outside of the medical center holding signs and chanting. They said they want more staff and equal pay.
"My name is Edie Nesbitt. I have been a registered nurse at the Buffalo VA for 21 years. We are fed up. We want fair pay. We want them to fix the pay disparity. We want more staff."
'My name is Michelle Collello. I'm a wound care RN here at the VA. I've been here 16 years. I'm here to support our nurses."
"My name is Mary Burau. I'm a charge nurse on 5 Delta in the Surgical Clinics. I've been here for 13 years and it takes nurses to take care of our vets."
"My name's Katie Donovan. I'm the Communication chair for NNU. We're here protesting recent issues that we've had with our care with our Veterans."
Nurses said there aren't enough health care providers on hand to take care of patients.
"If you are tasked to take care of five patients and that's your max...what happens when you have eight patients?" said Nesbitt.
Nurses are also asking for equal pay.
"Take care of the nurses so we can take care of our vets," Collelo. said.
"We just need extra pay so we can do all that. We love our Vets," Burau added.
The nurses said the staffing issue is really evident in the ICU.
"On any given day in the ICU it's a disaster waiting to happen," Nesbitt said.
"When you have less nurses and more patients...it's a simple equation, there's going to be negative consequences," Donovan said. "We're doing the best we can for our veterans. We love our veterans and we're fighting hard. That's why we're out here right now to stand up for them and be the voice for them and advocate for them."
VA Press Secretary Hayes issued a statement to 7 News in response to the picket which said in part:
"VA Western New York Healthcare System (VAWNYHS) fully supports our union partners as they are critical team members in the delivery of care to the Veterans we serve throughout Western New York. VAWNYHS is grateful of the collaborative working relationship we have with our union partners. A partnership built on trust and a mutual goal of providing world class, patient centric care for Veterans and their beneficiaries, and active-duty members.
As a part of our commitment to supporting our union partners, we have worked through and collaborated regarding nursing hiring, overall vacancy rates, and reductions in RNs leaving employment at VAWNYHS.
These efforts have been extremely successfully with VAWNYHS having a total RN vacancy rate of 4.3% which is well lower than the vacancy rate nationwide. VAWNYHS currently employees 517 RNs which is an all-time high for the organization and a 10% increase since 2000.
VAWNYHS has used all the new authorities recently implemented by Congress to enable total compensation package which includes benefits not offered by any other regional healthcare providers related to educational loan forgiveness, and ongoing training and professional development opportunities. The total compensation package of salary and benefits for a RN in VAWNYHS has exceeded $100,000 since 2000 and has increased each year.
As a Federal Agency, the process for setting hourly compensation for nursing staff follows a prescriptive process that which involves multiple level of reviews. These processes have been used to increase appropriately increase nursing compensation to be consistent with the regional market. Multiple reviews have found that nursing salary levels for outpatient nurses who work in clinics and other areas are presently appropriate and there is no shortage of nurses working in outpatient clinics with the organization not needing to recruit for these positions external of the agency."
