‘We are not robots’: Philly nurses at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children call for more resources, support at work

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Registered nurses formed a picket line Monday outside St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in North Philadelphia as they called on hospital owners for higher wages and benefits, safe staffing limits, retention strategies and more resources.

“Here at St. Chris’, we are the resource,” said Uhura “Free” Russ, a registered nurse in the emergency department. “We are giving good care, but we could give better care if the hospital supported us.”

Leaders of St. Christopher’s Nurses United, a member of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, are currently negotiating a new contract with the hospital and its owner, Tower Health, on behalf of about 485 registered nurses.

The hospital provides pediatric acute care and is operated in partnership with Drexel University. About 82% of families and patients there have Medicaid, a public insurance program for people with low incomes.

The workers’ previous contract expired earlier this year on January 31.

Monday’s showing outside the hospital was an informational picket — union leaders said they are close to reaching a new contract with management but accused Tower Health of being unwilling to compromise.

In a statement, officials with Tower Health said, “We continue to negotiate with PASNAP leaders in good faith,” and that the organization’s primary commitment is “the well-being and care of our patients and staff.”

Becky Murphy, emergency department registered nurse and vice president of the union chapter, said more investments and resources must be dedicated to staff at this particular hospital, seeing that it serves vulnerable populations in one of the most economically distressed areas of the city.

“We are essentially a community hospital that the community needs and a community loves,” Murphy said. “We need the resources and we need to be listened to because we are the experts at the bedside, we know what we’re talking about.”

Nurses said they want to see wages that are competitive with other hospitals in the area to attract more workers and keep staff-to-patient ratios small. Critical care registered nurse Amanda Gilson said that’s not only for the safety of patients but also to ensure that staff do not burn out.

“We are not robots. Working in a pediatric hospital is not for the faint of heart,” Gilson said. “It’s a place where emotions run high, where we confront both the joys and the sorrows of childhood in their rawest forms. Every day brings new challenges and triumphs and it takes a strong heart to navigate the highs and the lows alongside our young patients and their families.”

Union members also want to see a comprehensive strategy to retain workers, which they say should include educational opportunities, safety protections and benefits that encourage people to stay.

“When a nurse with experience walks out the door, you’ll never replace them. You cannot replace expertise and experience. It is a learned thing,” Murphy said. “We have a large number of newer nurses — we are mentoring them, we are training them… and we want to keep them here.”

Tower Health and Drexel University acquired the hospital out of bankruptcy in 2019. Under the new owners, the facility continues to face financial issues.