Nurses at Upstate Medical are getting pay raises

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) at Upstate Medical University are receiving pay raises.

In all, Upstate Medical will offer 1,481 RNs and 125 LPNs with the geographical area pay differential (GEO). GEO raises will allow it to be “more competitive” with nursing salaries, the health system says. 

The move represents “the first time” that the medical school is providing pay raises for LPNs, it said in an April 27 announcement. 

Upstate Medical will pay the raises to eligible nursing staff in addition to their base pay. The raises are calculated based on years of service, experience, and education, the health-care organization said.

The move represents Upstate’s third RN GEO adjustment in the last four years. Previously, RNs received a GEO raise in 2019 and 2021.

“Upstate nurses are at the core of care we provide our patients,” Dr. Mantosh Dewan, president of Upstate Medical University, said. “Not only do Upstate nurses deliver medical care, they also lift up families during difficult hospitalizations and provide leadership throughout this top-tier academic medical institution — one that has proven itself to be essential to our Central New York community.”

The GEO raise will provide a pay boost between $9,000 and $14,187 annually for PEF-represented RNs and $7,000 annually for CSEA-represented LPNs. This 2022 GEO raise is in addition to GEOs received previously. The increase will allow Upstate Medical to “recruit and retain” nurses for patient care at its two hospitals.

PEF is short for New York State Public Employees Federation and CSEA is short for Civil Service Employees Association. 

“As I’ve said for years, PEF’s goal is to increase the compensation and benefits package of state nurses to retain and attract skilled professionals to public service,” Wayne Spence president of PEF, said in a statement. “This is one more step that the president of SUNY Upstate Medical University is taking to move in that direction.”