Only about 7 percent of practicing physicians across the U.S. belong to unions, but recent history indicates that proportion is bound to rise. Thousands of resident physicians, the term for recent medical school graduates working at a hospital under other doctors’ supervision, have joined the Committee of Interns and Residents in recent years. Labor leaders and experts cite the pandemic as spurring a rapid rise in unionization in health care and across other industries. In health care the pandemic also seems to have driven an increased willingness to go on strike, as seen last week with a historic work stoppage by resident physicians at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, who are employed by Mount Sinai’s medical school. Among the contract terms won by the 165 residents are cumulative wage increases of about 18 percent over three years, a $2,000 ratification bonus and an enforceable agreement on hazard pay for working in dangerous conditions. “Getting a multi-billion-dollar revenue employer like Mount Sinai to move this far really shows what our movement as residents can achieve,” first-year resident Sarah Hafuth said in a statement. Resident physicians, and doctors more broadly, rarely go on strike. But Rebecca Givan, an associate professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University, sees the Elmhurst strike — New York City’s first doctors’ strike in over three decades — as a possible predictor of more labor actions to come. “Employers have taken advantage of their workforce by thinking they’re here because they care about patients and surely they won’t strike,” she said in an interview. “The physicians are saying we will strike precisely because we care about our patients.” IN OTHER NEWS: — NYU Langone is looking to build a hospital on Nassau Community College’s campus at an estimated cost of $3 billion, Newsday reported. Ken Langone, co-founder of The Home Depot and chair of the health system’s board, told the news outlet it would meet the increasing demand for services at NYU Langone’s hospital in Mineola, where there is no room to expand. An NYU Langone spokesperson said in a statement it is in “exploratory discussions” to develop a quaternary care facility, which would include a teaching hospital and advanced specialized services. It would be built on “underutilized” land on the college’s campus, the spokesperson told Newsday. — Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn is receiving $3 million under the recently enacted federal government funding law for a renovation of its emergency department. The federal money was secured in partnership between House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, they announced Friday. Interfaith, which is part of the One Brooklyn Health system, initiated the project as part of the state’s $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn initiative. — The LISMA Foundation, a senior care company, has received a $500,000 grant to work with SK Telecom for a pilot program using artificial intelligence to tackle social isolation and depression in older adults, state Assemblymembers Ron Kim, Edward Braunstein and Jenifer Rajkumar announced Friday. “With new developments in AI technology we have yet another exciting new tool for us to explore how we think about long-term care,” Kim, chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Aging, said in a statement. “Older adults are facing alarming rates of depression and isolation and AI can be used as a constant companion to help drive those rates down.” ON THE AGENDA THIS WEEK: — Tuesday at 11 a.m. The state Senate’s Committee on Health and Committee on Finance consider the nomination of James V. McDonald as commissioner of the Department of Health. GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
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