Resident physicians reach tentative pact, averting strike

About 300 residents employed by the MediSys Health Network at Jamaica and Flushing Hospitals reached a tentative contract deal at midnight Monday, just hours before they were set to go on strike.

If ratified, the agreement will provide resident physicians represented by SEIU’s Committee of Interns and Residents with 18 percent raises over three years. The deal follows the wage pattern set by nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association, who went on strike for a fair contract with Mount Sinai Hospital and Montefiore Medical Center.

The tentative pact also includes language and enforcement surrounding patient caps and out-of-title work. Dr. Uchenna Chinakwe, a first-year internal medicine resident at Jamaica Hospital, told The Chief last week that residents must often perform work such as drawing blood that should be performed by ancillary staff.

“Residency training hasn’t changed very much in the last 100 years. Unfortunately, out-of-title work has been a reality that most residents expect in our hierarchical academic medicine environments, but it’s time for a new normal in health care. One where hospitals prioritize patients by prioritizing its workers,” Chinakwe said.

Besides providing raises, the contract also includes up to six weeks of paid family leave or medical leave, hazard pay and extra shift pay, according to the union.

“This agreement is one that will ensure that our class and future generations of resident doctors at MediSys are protected in the event of a public health emergency, while prioritizing both the community’s health care needs and our training,” said Dr. Neha Ravi, a first-year resident at Jamaica Hospital.

Elmhurst doctors could walk out

The residents were set to hold a five-day strike starting Monday, which would have been the first doctors’ strike in the city since the nine-day strike held at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in 1990. The vast majority of the physicians — 93 percent — who participated in last month’s strike vote approved the walkout. The workers began bargaining with MediSys last October.

Several elected officials praised the deal, including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and City Council Member Lynn Schulman, who chairs the Council’s health committee.

“I’m happy to hear that physicians at Flushing and Jamaica Hospitals have reached a tentative contract agreement to prevent what would have been a devastating strike, both for our healthcare professionals and the health of our community,” said Council Member Sandra Ung.

However, about 170 physicians working at Elmhurst Hospital employed by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are still set to strike. The residents have set a May 22 strike date, news outlet QNS reported. The workers plan to hold a five-day walkout if a deal is not reached.

The physicians, who earn $7,000 less than their non-unionized counterparts at Mount Sinai, are seeking to close the wage gap.