Putnam Hospital Nurses Seek Safe Staffing & Fair Contract

Dozens of nurses, along with local elected officials and other advocates, gathered outside Putnam Hospital in Carmel last week to demand a fair contract.

Approximately 200 nurses at Northwell/ Putnam Hospital are fighting for a fair contract that delivers safe staffing for quality patient care, which is a priority for nurses – many of whom often work short-staffed.

In December 2025, nurses in Putnam Hospital’s two medical surgical units started their shift understaffed nearly half the time, according to the New York State Nurses Association.

In a staffing committee meeting June 11, executives allegedly proposed a one-nurse-to-eight-patients “safe staffing standard” in medical/surgical units. The widely recognized safe staffing standard in medcial/surgical units is 1:5. Putnam’s current standard ratio is 1:6. 

Most hospitals in New York State set their standards at 1:5 or 1:6.

“I live in this community, and my parents and I have been patients at Putnam,” said Nicole Cadella, president of the NYSNA local bargaining unit at Northwell/Putnam Hospital. “I want this hospital to be the best it can be, but it can’t be the best if it is understaffed. On our main hospital floors – the medical/surgical units – nurses sometimes have eight patients each, when the safe standard is five or six. I just imagine my father in that hospital bed.”

Melissa Hendrickson works in the medical/surgical units and said she has seen understaffing firsthand. 

“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. “If one or two nurses call out, it becomes a crisis. Staffing on day shift is even worse. Sometimes they are staying two hours late just to catch up on their work.”

Nurses say Northwell Health, the largest private employer in the state and one of the wealthiest healthcare systems, can afford to safely staff Putnam Hospital – and put it in writing. 

“Northwell should be ashamed that after acquiring a small community hospital – and the only hospital in Putnam County – they are now trying to lower safety standards for nurses and patients,” said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans. “We know they have the resources to staff safely and deliver the quality care this community deserves.”

The nurses’ contract expired  Dec. 31, 2025.

The New York State Nurses Association represents approximately 45,000 members and is New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. It is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the country’s largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.