It’s crucial that state Attorney General Letitia James is taking a more active role in addressing the imminent shutdown of the Burdett Birth Center at Samaritan Hospital in Troy.
However, while the closure of Rensselaer County’s only maternity ward is undoubtedly a significant issue on its own, it is just one small part of a much broader crisis that has been unfolding in New York for years. This crisis demands comprehensive attention from Governor Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders.
The situation is nothing short of a crisis across the spectrum of health and human services. It is primarily a problem of staffing—finding enough nurses to keep hospitals running efficiently, hiring enough aides to ensure proper care in nursing homes, and maintaining a substantial workforce to care for the elderly, sick, and disabled in their own homes.
We witness the effects of this crisis everywhere we turn:
- The closure of the Burdett center by St. Peter’s Health Partners, run by Trinity Health based in Michigan, means that pregnant women in Rensselaer County and surrounding areas will have to travel longer distances to receive maternity services. This decision also impacts women in Columbia and Washington counties, as well as parts of western Vermont who rely on the Burdett Center.
- St. Peter’s Health Partners also closed its dental clinic, which served around 4,000 people, citing financial constraints. As a result, the demand on the already strained clinics in the Capital Region has increased. This closure is indicative of a statewide shortage of dentists available to treat Medicaid patients.
- Catholic Charities Disabilities Services has informed potential clients that they should seek services elsewhere due to a shortage of staff to properly care for individuals living in their various properties. They have already been forced to temporarily close two residential houses and are considering shutting down another.
- An analysis of federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data conducted by the Times Union reveals exceptionally long waits in emergency rooms throughout the state, some exceeding five hours. In the Capital Region, three hospitals—Albany Medical Center Hospital, St. Peter’s in Albany, and Ellis in Schenectady—had the longest wait times after St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Syracuse.
And these are just a few examples. The individual stories of the challenges faced in finding and affording home health care could fill countless volumes.
Every year during the legislative session, various groups across the state advocate for better pay for workers in this critical and expansive industry. These pleas have become increasingly urgent following the pandemic, which strained the healthcare system and prompted many workers to seek safer employment opportunities. Unemployment rates are low, and there is high demand for workers. Thanks to increases in the minimum wage, the pay for less stressful jobs may even be comparable or better.
Those most affected by these issues—patients, clients, and workers—often lack significant political influence. Consequently, the response from governors and legislatures has been fragmented at best. This must change.
The governor and legislature must approach this crisis holistically, addressing it as a health and human services crisis. This process should begin with a comprehensive examination of the factors driving staffing shortages and closures.
For instance, are state funding and reimbursement rates too low? Are employers unjustly hoarding profits or depriving frontline workers while providing executives with disproportionately high salaries and benefits? Or are they genuinely struggling?
Regarding temporary solutions, will the hospital staffing crisis alleviate with the recently approved higher federal Medicare Wage Index increases, which will provide about $200 million more to hospitals in the Capital Region alone? Just how much funding would be required to raise wages in all these areas to levels that are competitive and livable? Is additional funding necessary to train and educate the workforce for both the present and future needs?
Although these are nationwide problems, it is no excuse for the state not to address them as if they were unique to New York. The care crisis is arguably one of the state’s top two challenges, alongside the transition away from fossil fuels, and it demands the utmost attention from Governor Hochul and the legislature. Unlike the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which can be accomplished over the course of 20 or 30 years, this crisis demands immediate action due to the pressing human needs.
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