(The Center Square) – The nurses caring for half of all babies born in Allegheny County each year want their employer, UPMC, to follow national guidelines for staff-to-patient ratios.
More than 900 nurses and advanced practitioners at Magee-Womens Hospital, located in Pittsburgh, would be affected if the state’s largest hospital network followed the recommendations requested by SEIU Healthcare PA union members.
Mariah Park, who works in Magee’s labor and delivery department, said patients and workers alike want more time together, especially given the “monumental” experience of giving birth.
“But more often than not, Magee does not follow national staffing standards,” she said. “There’s no burden heavier than feeling like, even though you tried your hardest, at the end of the day you couldn’t give your patients everything you wanted to because you were stretched too thin.”
Park and others represented by SEIU want UPMC to implement a proposed 1-to-1 nursing ratio for laboring women; up to two newborns per nurse in intensive care; and up to three mother-baby pairs in postpartum recovery. The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses helped develop the national standards, though not all hospitals have adopted them.
Other hospitals in southwestern Pennsylvania, including West Penn and Allegheny General, adhere to staffing ratios set by union contracts, though no statewide standard exists.
The organization also noted that Allegheny County reports higher rates of preterm births, low birth weights and gynecological cancer compared to the state average. Between 2016 and 2022, unexpected and serious complications for laboring mothers rose 55%.
A spokesperson for UPMC told The Center Square that it shares the union’s goal of protecting patients, but not its prescribed remedy.
“We know safe staffing is driven by clinical judgment and unit‑specific needs, not one‑size‑fits‑all ratios,” UPMC said in a statement. “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. Our focus is on clinically driven, team‑based staffing that allows our nurses and leaders to adjust in real time to optimize patient care.”
