Letter to the editor: UPMC staffers overwhelmed

To UPMC Senior Vice President Leslie Davis and other UPMC executives:

As a UPMC nurse, I am angry, disappointed, betrayed — yet not entirely surprised. UPMC leadership has been less visible this year and less in touch than ever with what occurs at the bedside.

“Davis said the system has effectively adapted to meet the increased need, even describing a ‘calm feeling’ across hospitals. ‘We’re busy but we are not overwhelmed in any way,’ said Davis.” (“UPMC expects to receive covid vaccine soon, distribute to health care workers after authorization,” Dec. 8, TribLIVE). Have you donned and doffed full PPE? Have you held the hand of someone struggling to breathe and begging for comfort? Have you sent multiple patients to the morgue in one day? Have you gone without eating or drinking for 12 hours or more, because there simply wasn’t anyone to relieve you?

We’ve never felt less heard. You won’t be honest with the public about the current state of your hospitals, so I am curious whether you even know.

I invite you to spend a shift in our makeshift covid ICU. Gown up, put on a mask, help with patient care. Speak to the patients who aren’t on a ventilator. Speak to their families. Speak to us, the nurses. We want you to know how we feel. It isn’t calm.

Jodi Faltin, BSN, RN, CCRN

Stanton Heights