CARMEL – Chants of “safe staffing saves lives” punctuated the air outside Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel Tuesday as passing vehicles along heavily traveled Stoneleigh Avenue honked in support of some 200 nurses employed at Putnam’s only medical center who are fighting for a fair contract.
The New York State Nurses Association along with Westchester/Putnam Central Labor Body Vice President Marty Sommer, and Westchester/Putnam Central Labor Body Executive Director Jen Puja charged that safe staffing was a priority for Putnam nurses, and nurses often work short-staffed. In December 2025, they alleged nurses in the hospital’s two medical surgical units started their shift understaffed half the time.
State Senator Peter Harckham and Assemblyman Matt Slater who also represents the Putnam region were in attendance.
Harckham told Mid-Hudson News, “Safe staffing leads to better patient outcomes and helps keep nurses on the job by preventing burnout. It’s the law and must be followed.”
Slater received cheers when saying, “Nurses are the lifeblood of this hospital. You deserve a fair contract as well as safe staffing levels Superior care must be provided to the most important people—the patients at Putnam Hospital.”
Nicole Cadella, president of the local bargaining unit, charged that Putnam Hospital was fighting against having enforceable safe staffing standards in the contract by proposing to make standards even less safe in state law. In a staffing committee meeting on June 11, hospital executives proposed making the nurse staffing in their state staffing plan, enforceable by the New York State Department of Health, less safe.
She said the proposal would set staffing in medical-surgical units at one nurse for every eight patients, even though the widely recognized safe standard is one nurse for every five patients.
Cadella told the cheering gathering, “I love this hospital and want it to be the best it can be, but this cannot happen if it is understaffed.”
Also addressing the gathering was Melissa Hendrickson, a registered nurse who works in the medical/surgical units at PHC.
“In the last few months, our patient census has been high, and we haven’t had enough nurses to safely staff our patients,” she said adding: “If one or two nurses call out, it becomes a crisis. Staffing on day shift is even worse. Sometimes they are staying 2 hours late just to catch up on their work.”
Meanwhile, Bernadette Muller, an ICU nurse at the hospital called it “unacceptable to refuse safe staffing in our contract. This is a way for hospital management and Northwell to avoid accountability. We have staffing models posted on each unit, we would like these included in our contract.”
Putnam Hospital Center spokeswoman Marcela Rojas issued the following statement on behalf of the medical facility: “The number one priority of Putnam Hospital is delivering quality, patient-centered care. We are committed to supporting our entire staff and the excellent care our teams provide to patients every day. We are confident that we will reach positive, long-term solutions that address the needs of our nurses and meet the needs of the communities we serve.”
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