As nurses walk picket lines across Manhattan and the Bronx, representatives of the three hospital systems affected by the job action say they remain open to serve the public. But the nearly 15,000 striking caregivers will be conspicuous by their absence.

A spokesperson for Mount Sinai said the hospital system would deploy 1,400 temporary nurses to replace the striking nurses. That’s far below the 6,400 nurses who walked off the job at the hospital system’s three affected locations, according to the New York State Nurses Association, which represents striking nurses.

Ahead of the job action, Mount Sinai staff identified patients who could be safely discharged, rescheduled appointments and operations, and transferred patients to other Mount Sinai hospitals, according to a Sunday afternoon email from Mount Sinai CEO Brendan G. Carr to employees.

A spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian hospital system said that all hospitals and emergency departments remain open, and patients with upcoming appointments will be contacted directly if there are any changes.

The Montefiore hospital system website posted an advisory stating, “Services provided by Montefiore Medical Center will not be impacted by the nurses’ strike. All patient appointments remain scheduled unless you hear directly from your provider.”

Paul Miano, chief of EMS operations at the New York Fire Department, said in an email to staff that he expected “the overall impact to EMS to be minimal” but added that there may be “congestion” at some of the affected emergency departments and surrounding hospitals, which Miano said the agency has begun preparing for.

Some ambulances may need to be diverted to other locations, and surrounding hospitals have already begun “staffing up” to help take on new patients during the strike, Miano added. Special in-hospital units aimed at treating patients that need less serious attention will be extending their hours as well, he said.

Nurses began strikes at the following locations on Monday morning:

  • Mount Sinai Hospital, Morningside and West
  • NewYork-Presbyterian’s Allen Hospital, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • Montefiore Medical Center’s Jack D. Weiler Hospital, Henry and Lucy Moses campus, Hutchinson campus and the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore