Magee-Womens Hospital nurses are set to meet with UPMC leaders Tuesday to propose the state’s largest non-government employer adopt “evidence-based national staffing standards” at the Oakland health care facility.
Mariah Park, a registered nurse in the labor and delivery department at Magee for almost four years, said nurses need to be able to spend more time with patients.
“In Labor and Delivery, we’re helping patients through one of the most monumental moments they ever experience, bringing new life into the world,” Park said in a news release. “Even for uncomplicated births, that experience can be scary, and mothers come to us craving personal, one-to-one attention that makes them feel seen, heard, communicated with and fully informed.”
Park said Magee does not follow national staffing standards in her department and pointed to $643 million UPMC reported in 2025 profits — calling on the $30-billion health care system to adopt staffing ratios identified by national professional organizations like the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.
Nurses also plan to propose staffing standards for the hospital’s emergency department, the adult intensive care unit, medical-surgical unit, oncology unit, lactation consultants, and outpatient clinics. Park pointed to Allegheny Health Network’s West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield, where she said nurse contracts outline national standards similar to those they’d like to be adopted at Magee.
UPMC meanwhile is resisting what they call one-size-fits-all staffing ratios, saying clinically driven, team‑based staffing allows nurses and leaders to optimize patient care.
“At UPMC Magee, we share our nurses’ goal of providing safe staffing and excellent patient care in every unit and every shift,” Paul Wood, UPMC vice president and chief communications officer told WESA. “Research shows staffing is complex, and fixed ratios don’t address the underlying nursing shortage or the real drivers of workload, such as patient acuity, team structure, and real‑time conditions. In practice, rigid ratios can create unintended consequences, including reduced flexibility, closed beds, and limits on patients’ access to care.”
Negotiations come in the wake of Magee-Womens Hospital nurses voting to unionize with SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania last August, joining a national trend of medical professionals organizing across the country, often citing burnout, working conditions and a desire for more input over patient care. Nurses have been negotiating their first contract for several months now.
“ If we can elevate staffing standards, it’s only going to help to continue to elevate the care that McGee already provides,” Park said. “We just want to help make it better, not just for us, but also for all the community members that we are honored to serve every day.”