BROOKLYN, NY-National Nurses United, the union that represents nurses at hospitals throughout the United States—including several Veterans Affairs’ hospitals in New York—is holding localized rallies nationwide this week in an effort to alleviate staffing shortages at veterans’ hospitals. About 20 members of the New York region gathered at the entrance to the Brooklyn VA Medical Center at 7:30 am on Jan. 13, with signs and speeches in hand. The first member to speak was medical-surgical nurse Carissa Coccimiglio. She spoke of her time working at the location since 2015. “As the years went on, I have noticed significant changes here and not for the better. The facility is expecting nurses to take on more and more responsibility, to meet certain criteria so our hospital can receive an ′X′ number of stars,” she said in her prepared statement. Coccimiglio went on to say the number of nurses on staff has dwindled …