Harrisburg – July 21, 2021 – At the request of Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D- Allegheny), Sen. Wayne Fontana (D- Allegheny), Sen. Jim Brewster (D- Allegheny/Westmoreland), Sen. Lindsey Williams (D- Allegheny), & House Representative Austin Davis (D- Allegheny), the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a hybrid in person and virtual public hearing to discuss the healthcare workforce crisis in Pennsylvania. The pandemic exposed the many problems with staffing in our healthcare systems that must be addressed.
“I am extremely grateful that the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, in partnership with the incredible health care workers of SEIU, are continuing the conversation about the immediate need to address the staffing crisis in Pennsylvania healthcare settings,” Sen. Costa said. “My family was incredibly thankful for the care that my mother received when she was in a nursing home setting, and that standard of care should be afforded to every Pennsylvanian. Safe staffing levels, union protections, and livable wages are essential to addressing this workforce crisis.”
Sen. Fontana continued, “The pandemic put the gaping holes in our current healthcare system on full display. The staff in our hospital systems, our nursing homes, and our home care aides worked tirelessly before this pandemic – and were lifelines during the pandemic. We must address the pay inequities that healthcare workers face and assure that these essential workers have the workplace protections that they deserve.”
As the pandemic put a strain on health care systems across the country, staff became increasingly scarce as quarantines and infection rates rose at an alarming pace. In November 2020, approximately nine months into the pandemic, staffing shortages existed in hospitals within at least 25 states. Many employees had to choose between working and caring for their children during pandemic-induced school closures. Additionally, the fear of contracting COVID-19 or passing it to family members, the surging influx of patients and the extended work hours plagued healthcare staff across-the-board. A survey conducted by Mental Health America from June to September demonstrated 93% of healthcare workers were stressed, 85% were experiencing anxiety, 77% were frustrated, 76% were burned out and 75% felt overwhelmed.
During the hearing, nurses and health care workers discussed historic challenges they faced during the pandemic and ongoing challenges that have existed in their profession long before COVID-19 became a public health crisis. Panelists and legislatures also pointed out the correlation between improved patient outcomes and good working conditions and pay. They highlighted the need for more data to prove the benefits of good working conditions that unions like SEIU fight for.
“There is no excuse for allowing healthcare professionals – who are giving lifesaving care – to work in substandard conditions where they are not making a living wage. Good jobs create strong communities, and these workers deserve the union security, workplace protections, and comparable wages for the professionals that they are and the work that they do,” Sen. Brewster said.
“Good union jobs are shown time and again to improve the lives of individuals and improve the communities where union families live. Fighting for union security, safe staffing levels, and livable wages that our healthcare workers deserve will not only create better outcomes for patients where these workers serve – it creates stronger and more prosperous communities as a whole,” Sen. Lindsey Williams said.
“Across the country, health disparities between white and Black people have been narrowing — but the opposite is true in Allegheny County. We know why: the over-concentration of the Black community in local service occupations and in particular, healthcare. Like the manufacturing industries that preceded it, healthcare relies on understaffing and cost-cutting at the frontlines to support high executive pay, expansion and profits. This model intensifies disparities and creates worker *and* community burnout and instability. These problems cannot be solved using current managerial strategies. Healthcare systems are the perfect example of why healthcare workers need a voice on the job. Our charitable healthcare dollars are funding an unsustainable business model, and it’s time for a change,” said Silas Russell, Vice President at SEIU Healthcare PA.
“I am incredibly grateful to hold this hearing today and to continue the conversation about the need for workplace protections and union security for our healthcare professionals. They truly were essential the past year and several months as we fought through the pandemic, but their work has been and will continue to be the keystone to ensuring high-quality patient care. The pay, benefits, protections, and respect through safe staffing levels or our healthcare workers should absolutely reflect the lifesaving work that they do,” Sen. Katie Muth (D- Berks/Chester/Montgomery), chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, said.
Below are all who participated in today’s hearing:
- Erin Williams, Respiratory Therapist, Allegheny General Hospital
- Christoria Hughes, Dietary, UPMC Presbyterian
- Kim Hitrik, Registered Nurse, West Penn Hospital
- Katrina Rechtenwald, Registered Nurse, Allegheny General Hospital
- Silas Russell, Vice President and Political Director, SEIU Healthcare PA
- Theresa Brown, PhD, RN, Nurse and author of the New York TimesBestseller The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients’ Lives
- Gabriel Winant, Author, The Next Shift: the Fall of Industry and the Rise of Healthcare in the Rust Belt
- Jeff Shook, Assistant Professor of Social Work and Law at University of Pittsburgh
Senators who attended this hearing in person and virtually included Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D- Allegheny), Sen. Katie Muth (D- Berks/Chester/Montgomery), Sen. Wayne Fontana (D- Allegheny), Sen. Jim Brewster (D- Allegheny/Westmoreland), Sen. Lindsey Williams (D- Allegheny), Sen. John Kane (D- Chester/Delaware), Sen. Tim Kearney (D- Chester/Delaware), Sen. Shariff Street (D- Philadelphia), and Sen. Maria Collett (D- Bucks/Montgomery). House Members in attendance included Rep. Austin Davis (D- Allegheny), Rep. Dan Miller (D- Allegheny), and Rep. Emily Kinkead (D- Allegheny).
The full recording of this roundtable, as well as the written testimony from participants, can be found at senatormuth.com/policy. A full recording of this hearing can also be found on the PA Senate Democratic Facebook page.
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Harrisburg, PA − May 22, 2020 − Senators Jay Costa, Vince Hughes, John Blake, Jim Brewster and Pam Iovino today called for $550 million of funds allocated to Pennsylvania through the federal CARES act to be used for a program they are calling the Main Street Business Revitalization Initiative, which will issue grants.
“This pandemic has exposed the fragile ecosystem and slim margins that small businesses and their workers function within every single day,” Costa said. “As Pennsylvania begins to recover both economically and physically from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must make sure that our business owners have the resources they need. We must seek a just recovery from this pandemic.”
The Senators are calling for $425 million to go to traditional main street businesses, and a separate $125 million to be allocated to historically disadvantaged businesses.
Pennsylvania has received $4 billion from the federal government that must be spent or allocated by December 31, 2020. The Senate Democrats have proposed a robust plan for those funds called PA CARES (more info at pasenate.com/pacares)
“These main street businesses did not cause this pandemic, but they are feeling its worst financial effects,” Sen. Hughes said. “Our plan gets these small businesses the financial assistance they deserve. Money has been sitting in Pennsylvania’s account for six weeks, which is money intended, by the direction of the federal government, to assist small businesses, and that money needs to go out immediately. The question is: Why are we waiting? The answer is: We can wait no longer. Small mom-and-pop, main street, and neighborhood businesses — especially those businesses in historically disadvantaged communities who have born the financial brunt of this pandemic — need this help. Our plan gets it to them immediately. All grants and no loans. They need this cash now and our plan gets it to them now. From the barbershop in North Philadelphia and to the nail salon in Pittsburgh, and from the pizza shop in Scranton and to the auto body shop in Erie; our plan sees their pain, especially those in historically disadvantaged communities, and responds to it. Real money in real time.”
This initiative will be run by Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) who are committed to providing flexible loans, debt relief and business technical assistance to support the recovery and sustainability of Pennsylvania businesses. CDFIs are known to be “first responders” during periods of economic turmoil because of their keen knowledge of and connection to the communities they serve. More importantly, they have a demonstrated capacity to focus on the critical needs of small businesses.
The Main Street Business Revitalization Initiative is a retroactive way to address the serious challenges of the main street small business community caused by the COVID-19 and the devastating but necessary closures ordered in Pennsylvania to protect public health.
“Our small businesses – restaurants, barbershops, cafes, bakeries, boutiques – are the heartbeat of our communities and the backbone of our economy,” said Senator John Blake. “Throughout the pandemic, their bills have continued to mount despite limited or no sales at all, insufficient income and, to-date, inadequate support and funding from the federal stimulus package. Our proposal will provide $550 million in grants to Main Street small business owners throughout the state using Pennsylvania’s share of the federal CARES Act COVID-19 relief package. It will allow small business owners to pay health care premiums, insurance policy premiums, rent, loan payments, real estate tax payments, as well as covering some of the costs that must be incurred to ensure the safety of workers and customers as businesses reopen.”
Eligible businesses will include barbers, salons, restaurants, bars, and taverns, retailers, coffee shops, neighborhood hardware stores, garden shops, realtors, childcare facilities and the numerous other small businesses who have suffered economically during this challenging time.
Previous business assistance programs have inadvertently disadvantaged many main street businesses who were unprepared to tap into the network of assistance. Through the assistance of CDFIs, main street businesses will have access to job protection and initiatives through financial institutions they are comfortable with.
“To spur a vigorous economic rebound, state and federal resources must be deployed effectively including using federal CARES dollars to help small businesses that have been severely impacted by the pandemic,” Brewster said. “Driving funds out now to help businesses get their operations underway, cover costs, and navigate the regulatory environment in the immediate aftermath of a government-mandated closure is an excellent approach.
“The stimulus plan that I offered earlier this year to re-ignite business activity and speed the economic recovery once the pandemic’s health risk was addressed included elements to aid small business. Pushing financial assistance while promoting safety and security for workers and consumers is the way to reengage our economy in a meaningful way.”
“Small businesses represent nearly half of the private sector workforce in Pennsylvania – 2.5 million jobs. They are the job creators in our communities, yet they were glaringly overlooked by federal business relief programs,” said Senator Iovino. “While small business owners are making difficult decisions about how long they can hang on, they need to know that a lifeline will be available to them. We do not want to see any of these businesses fail, and the $550 million Main Street Business Revitalization Initiative is exactly the kind of lifeline that these economic drivers need.”
As many Pennsylvania counties are now in the Yellow phase of reopening and on their way to Green phase, businesses cannot be expected to open their doors and have all the issues of these past months disappear.
Local businesses, and the workers that they employee, need the legislature to act and disperse funds that will aid in the lost revenue and assist in building back up the business back bones of our community.
The Pennsylvania Senate Democrats have released their PA CARES plan with initiatives that include assistance for the business community, housing assistance programs, student debt relief, veterans’ assistance, utility assistance, and food bank support. Read all proposals at pasenate.com/pacares.
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Brewster, Costa, Kortz, Davis receive update during morning conference call
McKeesport – January 25, 2019 – State Sens. Jim Brewster (D-Allegheny/Westmoreland), Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) and state Reps. Bill Kortz (D-Allegheny) and Austin Davis (D-Allegheny) received an update from officials from the Allegheny County Health Department concerning the Dec. 24 fire at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works.
The update was provided during a morning conference call.
“We had a discussion with Dr. Karen Hacker and her team at the health department about the fire and its aftermath,” Brewster said. “Conversations will continue at a public meeting on February 7 at the Clairton Municipal Building.”
Brewster said the discussion focused on proper community notification procedures, air quality monitoring, improving communications and emergency response. He said the county officials pledged that these issues would be covered at the February public meeting.
The fire damaged the coke work’s gas processing system. The fire and response were the focus of a public meeting held in Clairton earlier this week.
Brewster said that additional information would be available at a public meeting, which is a joint Senate-House Democratic Policy Committee hearing, scheduled for Feb. 7 beginning at 12 noon at the municipal building, 551 Ravensburg Boulevard, Clairton.
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