‘More scrubs, less suits’: SEIU calls for funding, staffing and conditions changes at Western Psychiatric Hospital 

Politicians, nurses and community leaders joined together in a “Speak Out for Mental Health” rally that included speeches from multiple speakers on Monday afternoon. 

The event, outside of the Western Psychiatric Hospital, was held “to focus attention on the spiraling crisis of closed beds, severe understaffing and turnover at Western Psychiatric Hospital,” according to a press release from SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania.

Speakers addressed issues such as funding, staffing and working conditions at the Western Psychiatric Hospital. According to Dan Frankel, “this isn’t a new issue.”

“This is an issue about a large health care system that I think ignores its responsibility to provide basic safety net services to our community, behavioral health being one of those things,” Frankel, chair of the health committee in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, said.

Union Vice President and registered nurse at Western Psychiatric John Hobdy brought insight from the perspective of a nurse on the ground, calling out UPMC for lack of role fulfillment. 

“The main purpose is to raise awareness to the mental health crisis that’s going on and UPMC, bringing attention to the community of UPMC’s responsibility that they have to the community and how they’re not fulfilling their commitment,” Hobdy said. 

At the event, a union spokesperson expressed disdain for UPMC’s recent business decisions, which include laying off 1,000 workers and leasing a $50 million jet.

Union members held signs that read, “United for our patients,” and “Scrubs over suits.” After the final speaker left the podium, union members chanted, “More scrubs, less suits.”

“So often it’s executives, people in boardrooms that are trying to make decisions about what’s best for patients and patient care,” Hobdy said. “So we’re trying to say stop with the suits, bring the scrubs, the people are with these patients 24-7 so we could help make these decisions. We have an input. It’s to the betterment of the patients.”

Mollie Lorberbaum said she has been a nurse at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital for eight years. She, along with the others in attendance, said she wants to see change within the hospital and its care for staff and patients alike.

“It’s been an issue for a while,” Lorberbaum said. “We definitely can make more money elsewhere, but the people that stick around really stick around because they want to provide high quality and safe patient care … So that’s why we’re trying to not only attract good nurses, but we need to keep the good nurses that we have.”

Jeffrey Shook, Pitt social work professor, spoke on how working conditions at Western Psychiatric Hospital have negatively impacted its employees.

“We found that rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and trauma among healthcare workers were very high, alarmingly high,” Shook said. “It is very clear that increases in rates of mental health and behavioral health issues pose considerable challenges to our health and behavioral health systems. Addressing these challenges requires investments in the broader system and programs as well as in the workers themselves. These investments should include raising pay, enacting and enforcing staffing ratios, and providing health care workers with more voice in the decisions that affect them.”

Hobdy and the many others involved will present their needs on Tuesday in a discussion with UPMC higher-ups in hopes of a decision that addresses their concerns.

“I hope that negotiations, that UPMC takes our negotiations serious and come to the table willing to negotiate,” Hobdy said.