AGH nurses emphasize need for safe staffing levels as union contract talks begin
Jeff Perry may find himself working in one of 10 units across Allegheny General Hospital on any given day, depending on where he is needed the most.
But no matter where he’s stationed, the nurse who has been at the North Side hospital for two years said he sees the same problems.
One day, he may be assigned to care for as many as six heart-attack and stroke patients, instead of the national standard of four. Another day, he could be in the step-down unit – one level below the intensive-care unit – helping to care for an overflow of patients from the ICU.
“When this happens, you just go into survival mode, running nonstop and prioritizing what you can and can’t get done,” Perry said. “You go home saying to yourself, ‘Well, at least I kept everyone alive.’ But you’re wracked with guilt about not being able to do everything you wanted. This is not fair to nurses, and this is not fair to our patients.”
Perry was among the dozens of union nurses and nurse practitioners attending a rally across the street from the hospital Monday in Allegheny Commons Park, a day before SEIU Pennsylvania kicks off contract negotiations with the multibillion-dollar health care network.
The union’s contract at AGH has included staffing standards for years and strengthened over time, nurses said at the rally. In their 2023 contract, nurses won a starting wage of $40 an hour, which has helped to recruit and retain more staff, they said.
But the number of patients and the care they need has continued to increase, and nurses said staffing levels have not kept up despite progress at the bargaining table. About 1,500 union nurses and nurse practitioners work at AGH.
According to Annale Yobbi, an AGH LifeFlight nurse and union chapter president, the hospital budgeted for 395 patients per day in 2024, 401 patients per day in 2025, and 417 patients per day this year. But the actual number is “significantly higher,” she said, without providing specifics.
In addition, Yobbi said, AGH has the highest level of patient acuity in Western Pennsylvania – meaning the hospital receives the most patients with critical needs.
“In order to get back into compliance with the staffing ratios outlined in the contract, AGH would need dozens more nurses each day,” Yobbi said.
Allegheny Health Network did not respond directly to the staffing issues brought forward by the nurses. However, it said in a written statement that it was intent on coming to a deal that will be beneficial to the nursing staff and ensure quality care at AGH.
“We take great pride at AHN in offering employees at every level – including both represented and nonrepresented members of the workforce – wages and benefits that are fair and competitive in the market, and a work-life experience that is fulfilling and conducive to the delivery of high-quality healthcare services,” AHN said. “We are committed to bargaining in good faith with our represented nurses at AGH to reach an agreement that lives up to those standards.”
Bobbi Jean Ozanick, a stroke telemetry nurse at AGH, said, despite the $40 hourly starting wage and required staffing standards, that more experienced nurses are leaving because they want a better work-life balance and have concerns about workplace safety or other issues. Meanwhile, newer nurses leave to advance their careers or because of burnout.
Ozanick said the hospital must invest in “seniority loyalty retention.”
“We want people to want to make a career out of AGH, but we have to invest in that,” she said.
It’s important to keep more experienced nurses around, Ozanick said, both for the quality of care they provide as well as their ability to mentor new nurses.
“While there’s amazing [benefits from] new nurses teaching new nurses, there has to be a duality,” she said. “Because nurses who have been there, seen that and done that, have to be there to teach the new nurses to be the best.”
