Greedy hospitals are investing in outrageous paydays for executives and in untested artificial intelligence and other technologies, while putting quality patient care at risk. New York’s nurses are demanding that hospital execs put patients over profits.

At NewYork-Presbyterian, the city’s wealthiest hospital system, executive compensation has skyrocketed in the last five years, despite claims of an uncertain financial future. According to 990 tax filings, the average compensation for the top 5 highest paid executives at NYP grew from $5 million in 2020 to $8 million in 2024, a nearly 60% increase. Former CEO Steve Corwin alone made more than $26 million in total compensation in 2024, including salary, benefits, and perks. On average, these NYP executives—who do nothing to directly impact patient care—make nearly 68 times more than the registered nurses who are on the frontlines caring for New Yorkers every single day.

But when nurses demand safe staffing, no more staff or service cuts that harm patient care, stronger health and safety and workplace violence protections, guardrails on the use of artificial intelligence in patient care, and fair wages and benefits to recruit and retain enough nurses for quality care, hospital executives push back, citing an uncertain financial future.

Union contracts for approximately 20,000 New York City nurses at 12 hospitals expired on Dec. 31, 2025. Nurses at 8 safety-net hospitals reached tentative agreements in early January. After going on strike on Jan. 12, Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, and Montefiore nurses reached agreements on Feb. 11. More than 4,200 nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian are still on strike demanding that hospital management do more to guarantee safe staffing.