Nurses are pictured holding signs during an informational picket and rally outside of Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital in Fort Washington. (Rachel Ravina – MediaNews Group).
Cars and trucks honked for nurses conducting a rally and informational picketing session last week outside the Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital.
Roughly 81 nurses at the Fort Washington-based mental health facility have been working under an expired contract for more than seven months as union representatives have continued negotiations with the hospital owner Universal Health Services Inc. for the past nine months, according to a statement from the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals.
“We have to remove private equity from health care. That is part of the problem here. It is all about extracting as much money and taking away from patient care,” said Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals President Maureen May.
The company headquartered in King of Prussia operates more than 400 facilities in North America, Europe and Africa. The 146-bed facility in Montgomery County treats patients with several conditions, including anxiety, mood disorders, psychosis, “situational crises,” as well as other issues related to impulse control and trauma, according to the hospital’s website.
Protections to protect nurses and prevent workplace violence, nurse recruitment and retention and “safe staffing” protocols were top priorities for nurses as negotiations continue. The behavioral hospital has seen an 80 percent turnover rate and an uptick in nurses being assaulted by patients, according to a union spokesperson, adding that the hospital’s third quarter report noted “patient aggression rate” has more than doubled.
“It’s shameful that this company does not want to prioritize safe patient care,” said Angela Cleghorn, a nurse and co-president of Jeanes Nurses United, adding “you want to keep the people that work here in this building, [so] do the right thing.”
Nearly 40 nurses, union leaders and elected officials were in attendance Thursday morning holding signs that stated “mental health matters,” “safe staffing saves lives” and “now is the time for a fair contract.” People could be heard chanting “shame on you” in the direction of the behavioral hospital.
“Nurses deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. They deserve to be able to walk into their workplace knowing that they are valued because we value them in our communities,” said state Sen. Maria Collett, D-12th Dist., who is also a registered nurse.
While the Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital nurses were unable to publicly voice their concerns due to a gag order clause in their contracts, a union spokesperson said, others came out to speak on their behalf. Nurse Bob Bozak, of the St. Mary United Nurses Union, called the restriction “cowardly” and implored the medical professionals to stand united.
“If they come at you to intimidate [you], that’s just a tactic. Stand strong. Someone falls down, you pick them up, you stand next to them. That’s what being part of a union is about,” he said.
Anna Carlin, of the Nurses Association of Lower Bucks Hospital, agreed.
“I just want you to know we are here to be the voice of the nurses at Brooke Glen who cannot be the voice of the patients inside. Shame on Brooke Glen,” she said.
A Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital employee declined to comment when asked about the events going on nearby. But union leaders called for unity.
“We will support you every step of the way. That’s what we do. We fight, we take risk[s], and when we fight, we win,” May said.
Win for Suburban Hospital Nurse
The informational picketing session comes days after one of nurse groups affiliated with the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals secured a big win in East Norriton Township. Suburban Community Hospital ratified a new three-year contract for its nurses after 18 months of negotiations and a strike.
“Through unwavering dedication, perseverance, and the unbreakable solidarity of our members, we remained strong in our fight for better staffing to ensure patient safety, fair and competitive wages, and decent healthcare benefits,” Suburban General Nurses Association Co-President Terena Stinson said in a statement.
Contracts expired for members of the Suburban General Nurses Association, affiliates of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, in fall 2023. Staffing, wages and health care were top priorities for union leadership as they went to the bargaining table with Prime Healthcare, of Ontario, Calif., which acquired the medical facility back in 2016.
The longtime emergency department nurse had been at the forefront of several informational pickets and press conferences. The medical institution had also been previously downgraded to a micro-hospital.
“Our new contract is a testament to the power of collective bargaining and to our nurses’ unshakeable commitment to securing a better future for ourselves and for the patients we serve,” Stinson said in a statement.
