Nurses at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital call for staffing standards
UPMC Magee-Womens nurses are calling for staffing standards at the hospital in the city's Oakland neighborhood.
They took their proposal to UPMC leadership on Tuesday in a contract negotiation meeting. According to the nurses, this would provide better care, and the standards they are looking for are the same as those they say are done at other hospitals in Pittsburgh.
Nurses from departments across the hospital testified about what they are seeing and the need for a better nurse-to-patient ratio. Some of that includes following the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses standards.
"We can really get the time that we need, and that's scientifically proven to really give our patients the care that they deserve," labor and delivery nurse Mariah Park said.
Nurses said they are working to treat every patient's needs, but they know they are not providing the care to the level they would like to see. Some in the emergency department said they are only getting busier and hope to see investments made to help nurses.
"We can see wait times of multiple hours where they used to be minutes. We see more nurse burnout, more turnover," emergency department nurse Alix Levy said.
The union says West Penn and Allegheny General hospitals have had staffing ratios in their contracts for years, but no UPMC hospital in the area has them.
"That's just what we are looking to do as well. They are able to provide that care for the community, and we also want to be able to provide that care for the rest of the community," Park said.
UPMC said in a statement that staffing decisions are designed to keep patients safe by matching real-time needs, not a fixed ratio. The statement added that a ratio doesn't fix the underlying nurse shortage and can lead to unintended consequences.
"We want to get to know you. We want to sit at the bedside and give you the care that you need," Levy said.
This proposal would cover 900 registered nurses and advanced practitioners at Magee.
