NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The New York State Nurses Association has hit the state Department of Health and two hospital systems with lawsuits claiming the three failed to take adequate measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 in hospitals, according to a report.
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The union on Monday filed three lawsuits against the New York State Department of Health, Montefiore Medical Center and Westchester Medical Center's parent company, Westchester County Health Care Corp., the Wall Street Journal reported. The association represents 42,000 health care workers.
The suit filed against the state Department of Health claims the department didn't make sure employees had enough personal protective equipment and didn't give sick nurses enough time to recover at home, according to the outlet.
The lawsuits filed against Montefiore Medical Center and Westchester County Health Care Corp., meanwhile, allege that "both rationed gear and failed to test the fit of workers' masks or to properly ventilate COVID-19 patients' areas," the outlet reported.
A spokesman for the state Department of Health on Monday said he couldn't comment on pending litigation, but said the state is taking "every step necessary to ensure that that health care workers, particularly those who are sampling and providing direct care, have the support and supplies needed to address this unprecedented public health emergency."
"NYSNA leadership has chosen to attack a system, and the commitment of thousands of their colleagues, who have followed [Gov. Andrew Cuomo's] emergency orders and are selflessly doing all they can to fight COVID-19 and safe lives," Montefiore Medical Center said in its own statement responding to the lawsuit.
In a separate statement, Westchester Medical Center Health Network said it couldn't comment on a pending lawsuit, but said that "we know, and our care providers know, that the allegations in NYSNA's lawsuit are wrong."
"Our focus is, and has always been, protecting our workforce, which has been aligned from the outset in treating the most severely ill patients battling COVID-19," the network's statement added. "NYSNA's lawsuit is irresponsible and a distraction from this work, and a disservice to all who are valiantly caring for these patients every day."
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