the ongoing feud between 1,700 striking nurses and management at RWJ University Hospital intensified today with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders jumping in the fry holding a field hearing of his Senate health education labor and pensions committee calling out the hospital for the strike now 12 weeks in counting and for what nurses say are unsafe Staffing levels a spokesperson for RWJ called it quote unconscionable saying Sanders was overtly inserting himself into labor negotiations senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan was there the event played more like a union pep rally than a senate committee hearing Senator Bernie Sanders electrified hundreds of nurses jammed into a record's Music Theater in New Brunswick near Ground Zero of their 85 day old strike against RWJ University Hospital right away Sanders made clear whose side he's on it is way past time for Hospital Executives to treat you with the respect and dignity you need Sanders was the only Senator at his Committee hearing Hospital Executives no showed sending written testimony instead stating they quote cannot risk anything taken out of context concerned it could impact negotiations their chairs stayed empty while a panel of nurses spent 90 deeply emotional minutes talking about why they feel so abused by the system too few nurses struggling to care for too many patients the anguish you feel the the dread the the anxiety that this causes every single day you you can't turn left without having something you need to do can't turn right without it and there's no one to help we are no longer willing to be compliant to a broken system where management puts profits over patients these so-called nonprofit hospitals have more than enough money to invest in their Workforce to ensure that we have safe Staffing Sanders asked how the hospital could spend more than 100 million on traveling nurses to stay open during the strike and 17 million on its CEO's annual salary but won't boost staff to Patient ratios nurses have told me that they are simply unable to provide the quality care they want to provide and the care their patients deserve and the reason for that is the totally inadequate nurse patient ratios that they are forced to deal with in a statement RWJ Barnabas Health CEO Mark Madigan called Sanders assertions inaccurate and misleading adding our WJ has safe Staffing guidelines in place that are derived from National evidence-based practice by peer academic medical centers our WJ Barnabas Health underwrites NJ Spotlight news Hospital negotiators claim that they've made generous salary offers and agreed to give nurses an extra 20 bucks an hour if Staffing ratios fall below a set standard the union members voted to continue the strike this is a test case in New Jersey and I think every hospital system is backing Barnabas in their actions right now because they are terrified they know nurses aren't going to take this anymore the senator wrapped up his hearing congressman Frank palone who sat in solidarity with striking nurses said it shows the US needs Federal minimal Staffing requirements but also the hospital needs to be pushed to you know come to an agreement they need to be face Toof face negotiations between the administration the hospital Administration and the union and I think that would make a difference Hospital Executives say they think a contract is attainable quote in the near future but no new talks are scheduled in New Brunswick I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight News NJ Spotlight News