“While my son Jordan was in the NICU, my husband would drop me off first thing in the morning and I would spend all day there til he picked me up at night. The nurses never made me feel like I was in the way. They let me bring in a speaker so I could play Jordan the songs we played for him while I was pregnant. That’s why the Magee nurses are near and dear to my heart. I know they are overworked and underpaid. UPMC’s lack of response is part of a larger societal tackle of money over people. It’s a shame. They take care of us in our most vulnerable moments, and it’s important they are taken care of now.” 

“AWHONN standards have been going around on social media – ‘ask if your hospital follows this.’ My labor was super smooth, but I know that’s not what everyone experiences. In the recovery room, one of the nurses with 3 or 4 kids said they only get 2 weeks of maternity leave – how horribly ironic that they work in healthcare and so deeply understand what it takes to give birth, and they don’t get time to recover. I got 4 months… how do they do it? I’m one of the many people behind the nurses -- I hope they are successful in their advocacy. It’s so much responsibility and so impressive.”

“I wish UPMC would focus on work practices that allow nurses to spend more time with patients and manage fewer patients simultaneously. I would have liked to have been able to spend more time with a lactation consultant – it was difficult to learn to breastfeed when the nurses seemed rushed and only had a few minutes to provide guidance, which also created a sense of stress and pressure. After going through the experience twice now, and everything I've learned about breastfeeding, I believe that each patient probably needs two to three 30-minute sessions with a lactation consultant, if they are a first time mother. Instead I had one short lactation consultation during my first post partum stay. The way things are done now can make patients feel that they are instantly failing at motherhood when they have just begun. It’s so important to support new mothers in developing this new skill.”

“As a cancer patient, I’ve fortunately never felt like my quality of care has gone down, but I worry about the nurses’ own safety and health. They’re working with cancer patients every day, people who are often having a very hard time in their lives. For them to have to provide this care in shorter and shorter amounts of time is really unfair. It speaks so much to the professionalism of the nurses that they are still providing people with amazing care through it all.”

“I was a first-time mom at Magee who went from an uneventful pregnancy to being rushed into triage. So many nurses extended themselves to keep me calm. They stayed with me, checked in on me, and answered every concern with care and compassion — all in spite of the pressure they were under. It’s clear our nurses are stretched too thin to provide the care every woman deserves when she is at her most vulnerable. Thank you for holding the line. Thank you for fighting for fair treatment, and for standing against a system that chases bigger profits at the cost of your wellbeing and our care. I am with you!”

“From my outpatient experience in reproductive endocrinology, overwhelmingly the nursing staff is incredibly caring – having time to be present with me was so important to me. Having appropriate staffing allows nurses to be able to do their jobs not just efficiently and well, but with care. Give them the time and space to do their job softly and with purpose instead of being rushed just so they can get to their meal and use the bathroom. In return you’ll not only get the goodwill of the community toward UPMC, but it’s a pipeline for future nurses – for people to say ‘That person had a huge impact on my life, could I be a nurse? Look at what’s possible.’ Your work is vital, not only at the bedside, but also in the collective.”

“If I had more time with my nurses, I would not be navigating survivorship and menopause with Google and ChatGPT.”

“This is our 4lb 8oz babe who was saved from a NICU admission and IV feeding line by a NICU triage nurse who got him to bottle feed when he had dangerously low blood sugar shortly after birth. She succeeded where everyone else had tried and failed, and it had a massive impact on our birth experience. I’m so glad her patient ratio wasn’t too high at that moment to take the time to do this! I absolutely understand how vital it is what the nurses are doing — it’s a basic case of safety. The nurses make all the difference between a lonely, scary patient experience and an informed one.”

“I had my first child at Magee. The nurses were clearly very caring, but they seemed rushed and busy. When a role requires such a high level of compassion, patience, and attention to detail, there can’t be compromises. Healthcare systems, especially ones like UPMC, need to do better when it comes to staffing and supporting their teams. Because patient well-being — and the well-being of the staff caring for them — should always come first.” 

“I delivered my son at Magee and I had a good experience, but I wish I had more time with my nurses to make the process go better and not feel so rushed. So, to the nurses: keep fighting and don't give up! You're fighting for a good cause and the patients need it.“

“UPMC must put their money where it belongs. They must put quality care as a top priority by putting money into staffing.”

“When my daughter was in the NICU, I definitely felt the stress my nurses were dealing with — constantly coming in and out checking on other babies and families. They have too much on their plates. My care team was amazing, and my birthing experience, while traumatic, was handled as best as it could given the circumstances. I’m happy to support the union as much as I can so that others have a less lonely experience. I am sure the nurses want that too.” 

“The availability and energy of nurses and midwives is the number one resource Magee should be looking to preserve and improve. Having competent people taking care of you means everything during a life-changing medical event.”

“I had the absolute best care team at the hospital, however, you could tell they were limited in the time spent with you. It really seemed as though the unit was understaffed, which as a patient is an unsettling feeling. These nurses are a wealth of knowledge and could positively affect the outcomes of both mom and baby by simply having the time to talk. My nurses tried their very best to make me feel seen and heard, but I know it wasn’t without sacrifice. It’s not for lack of trying, it’s lack of resources, time, and support.”

“Any interaction I’ve ever had with nurses at Magee has been amazing, but you can see the burnout. They need to be protected.”

“I would not be alive today without those nurses!”

“Women’s health is very important, and we’re all here to support you in fighting for that.”

“Nurse advocacy helps patients get better care!”

“After my gynecological surgery, my nurses listened to my concerns, tried to find solutions for me, and leapt into action when there was the possibility of a post-surgical complication. The only reason why I am still alive is because of their diligent, patient, and thoughtful care. But I could tell they were pulled thin – their ratios weren’t great – and they were trying their best to fill in the gaps. When you’re really sick and scared, they’re the ones who come in and take your hand and fix you in that moment. Nurses are the key healthcare resource in every hospital, and if the nurses are saying they need better staffing and benefits, UPMC needs to work with them.”

“I firmly believe my nurse and my anesthesiologist are the two people who helped keep my emergency c-section from being a damagingly traumatic experience. They gave me as much care as they could in the time they had available, but everything was so rushed. I feel like having more time to discuss what happened with them would have likely prevented or further mitigated the potentially risky symptoms I had to work through in the following weeks.”

“I admire you all for your courage and bravery in doing this. Hope is not lost because UPMC continues to conduct itself this way. Sometimes the hardest things to fight for are the things that we should fight for. You deserve what you’re fighting to win, you deserve to be recognized for the monumental contribution you’ve given to this area for years, you deserve to be seen, respected and cherished. We need you all desperately, and need you to hold on to hope and know you’re not alone — you are not the only group of people fighting for fair standards in Pittsburgh, we’re in this together.”

“I would say that UPMC Magee should create an environment where nurses can spend more time listening to patient needs and concerns. There were lots of really nice and knowledgeable nurses and I could tell that all of them genuinely cared, however they often seemed very rushed with not a lot of room or time to deviate from their checklist and really hear me. I could have really used the extra help with my newborn.”

“My wife and I had both of our children at Magee and while we had great experiences, I know a lot of families aren’t as lucky. I think it's important that we take the steps necessary to ensure that all families receive the consistently high quality and hands on care that we did. It's extremely challenging to make progress with any of the large corporate healthcare entities, especially after they've been able to take advantage of us for so long. While these systems hold a ton of power, it's the nurses that are providing the hands on, moment-to-moment care that impacts the community. We support the nurses and all they’re fighting for!”

“I was a cancer patient at Magee. I had a total hysterectomy and was just told I had ovarian cancer when I was admitted to the unit. I was 40 years old. My nurses didn’t have enough time for me, even though I knew they cared. They apologized, but I knew they probably hadn’t even eaten any lunch. I really needed someone to hear how scared I was with my new diagnosis, but they were too busy. It could be so different if they only had less patients. I had 6 or 7 different nurses in my short stay, and not a single one of them had enough time. I could tell that they wished so much that they could split themselves in 3. It could have changed everything for me mentally if they just had more time.”

“Their slogan ‘UPMC for life’ should really be ‘Nurses for life’ because that’s who will be taking care of you and saving lives. If they really want their patients to be healthier and more satisfied, staffing ratios are how we make that happen. People at the top need to see what’s happening on the floor so we can bring care and compassion back to healthcare — it can’t just be about numbers.”

“UPMC should hire more staff so that the nurse to patient ratio can be smaller and you can spend more time with each patient. It’s very hard for women and especially sexual assault survivors to be naked in front of strangers, even with a gown on. More time with patients means you could build rapport and reduce our stress and anxiety.”

“Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare and UPMC is far behind in their obligations to the community in terms of their revenues and what they give back as a nonprofit. The least they can do is take care of their staff.”

“I want more time for nurses and practitioners to spend with their patients during appointments and care. And more time for these healthcare workers to get proper breaks during their work shift. I feel these are overall problems with healthcare in Pittsburgh. Practitioners have to move on to the next patient to meet a quota. Issues aren't fully fleshed out and relationships can't be formed as well when nurses and practitioners are rushed. Hire more people to take care of the case load. This has many other implications too: quality of care issues; exhaustion and burnout which could lead to mistakes. These professionals do the best they can but they can only do so much during a shift. They don't get to take proper breaks or lunches or bathroom breaks even. How can they perform their best under these conditions? It's deplorable. All for the sake of treating more patients without an adequate amount of staff."

"I gave birth prematurely and my son was in the NICU for 30 days. More time with my nurses would have lowered my anxiety and helped my mental health. I had a very traumatic birth due to my son’s health conditions. I had a lot of questions and it would have helped to have someone to hear me."

“I birthed my second child at Magee. As a pregnant/birthing mom — you are in a vulnerable state. Those nurses are your lifeline to a very emotional transition. When I think about having more time with nurses, I can see how having someone sit with me to talk to me about what’s coming next (i.e., you’ll experience a pretty significant hormone drop and sadness and emotions is normal but if it goes on too long, then we need to know)… I didn’t get to have that conversation. I wish I would have. So yes, more time. Yes yes yes!”

“Keep fighting because what you're doing really matters. You guys are the last true warriors — there’s been people caring for others since the beginning of time and we all know that we need it. If you keep fighting, I'll be fighting with you.”

“Better staffing ratios would have made my birthing experience at Magee better by increasing bed availability, receiving closer care, and feeling like I'm not rushed to get through the process or to get out of the labor room and into another room. I support what you’re standing for to give patients more time with their nurses and better care!”

“Thanks for everything. I know you, nurses, will come out the other side of this in victory. Your community stands behind you.”