The union that represents registered nurses at UPMC Altoona is distributing an online petition calling on UPMC to take action to protect workers from attacks like one by a patient at the local hospital that recently sent an Emergency Department worker to UPMC Presbyterian in critical condition.

The main union demand in the aftermath of the attack that left Travis Dunn with a fractured skull and brain bleed is for more robust staffing, according to an SEIU Healthcare PA news release.

“Health care workers suffer more non-fatal injuries than any other profession, including law enforcement, and studies show that staffing is critical for safety,” the news release subhead states, followed by a link to a 2024 Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety study that includes the sentence: “The number of patients assigned to patient care staff was significantly greater during a shift when an aggressive event occurred, compared to when no event occurred.”

“When hospital workers are severely understaffed, they are less able to communicate with patients, de-escalate potentially violent situations or respond to them if they occur, and both patients and family members become more aggravated,” the news release states.

The release also refers to a shooting this year at UPMC Memorial in York in which a police officer died and seven others were injured.

The petition in the form of an open letter on the SEIU Healthcare PA website asks UPMC to “ensure safe staffing levels so no nurse or caregiver is left alone or unsupported in dangerous situations,” citing a Joint Commission finding that waiting for care helps drive aggression toward workers.

The union also calls on UPMC to adopt “unit-specific” violence prevention plans and mandatory de-escalation and safety training; provide assurance that all violent incidents are reported; enforce transparency with data on workplace violence; install metal detectors at all public entrances; and provide more trained security workers, panic alarms in every patient care area and support for workers affected by violence.

UPMC has already made “hundreds of safety upgrades this year,” with guidance from national security experts and worker suggestions, a UPMC spokeswoman stated in an email in response to a Mirror request.

Those upgrades include “de-escalation and workplace violence prevention training, signage reinforcing our zero-tolerance policy, panic buttons, secure rooms, active drills, expanded public safety and police officer presence, limited access points and additional entrance technologies such as metal detectors,” the news release states. “Any claim suggesting otherwise ignores the significant progress we’ve made and continue to make alongside our team members.”

UPMC takes safety of workers, patients and visitors seriously, according to the email.

“We remain committed to listening, improving and protecting our people,” UPMC stated.

The petition is intended for health care workers, not only nurses, and not only from UPMC, according to a union spokesman.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.