UPMC Altoona employees call for action from employer, legislature on healthcare worker safety following vicious attack on ER Tech
Employees of UPMC Altoona are horrified and outraged by the heinous violent attack perpetrated on a Patient Care Technician (PCT) inside the facility’s emergency room on Saturday, November 1.
AFSCME Local 691 represents more than 500 healthcare professionals and support staff at UPMC Altoona, including the employee who was attacked and remains hospitalized.
Local Union President Fred Shaffer is joining his fellow UPMC Altoona employees to demand higher safety standards and stronger employee and patient protections from their employer – the healthcare giant UPMC.
“When something like this happens to one of our coworkers, it sends shockwaves through every department,” Shaffer said.
“We just hope those shockwaves are felt by those at the top of the company and they are moved to finally do something to address the safety concerns and understaffing issues that we have all seen brewing for years.”
UPMC Altoona employees represented by both AFSCME and SEIU are circulating a petition formalizing their immediate demands, which include:
- A full and transparent investigation into the incident.
- Enhanced security presence and faster response times.
- Mandatory healthcare de-escalation and workplace safety training for all staff.
- A clear, enforced zero-tolerance policy for violence or threats against healthcare workers.
- Comprehensive support for affected employees.
- Direct involvement of frontline employees and union representatives in developing and implementing safety improvements.
Union members are also demanding action from the Pennsylvania state legislature. AFSCME Council 13 continues to advocate for the passage and enactment of House Bill 926, the Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act, which passed 124-79 with bipartisan support earlier this year, but remains stalled in the State Senate along with many other important bills, including the state budget. HB 926 would require hospitals to create a violence prevention committee with non-management front-line workers. It would also mandate proactive plans to stop violence, protect staff from retaliation for speaking up, and give the state power to hold hospitals accountable if they do not follow safety plans.
Healthcare workers and their unions have been calling on UPMC to implement higher safety standards and more adequate staffing levels in order to avoid these types of incidents for many years but have too often been met with resistance. The combination of understaffing, inadequate safety standards and training, and the external pressures of mental health and substance abuse crises, have created a dangerous situation for all healthcare workers and patients alike. It is past time to act.