Petition urges UPMC to boost security after attacks on medical staffers, including in York

Nurses and healthcare employees have launched a statewide petition seeking better staffing and security measures at UPMC and other healthcare facilities after attacks on workers, including a deadly shooting during a hostage siege at a York hospital, according to a news release.

The petition follows a Nov. 1 incident in which a patient severely beat Travis Dunn, a healthcare worker at the UPMC Altoona hospital, leaving him with a fractured skull, the release states.

Earlier this year, a gunman entered UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, took healthcare employees hostage and injured them. Police fatally shot the perpetrator, saving the staff, but West York Borough Police Officer Andrew Duarte was killed in the line of duty.

“Workplace violence is not ‘part of the job.’ It’s a crisis,” the petition states. “Every single health system in Pennsylvania must rise to the occasion and in particular we are calling on UPMC, as our largest health system with the most resources, to lead the way in setting standards.”

The petition, which is being distributed by union members of the SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, will be sent to executives of healthcare systems and elected officials, the release states.

The petition calls for UPMC to immediately invest in the following security measures at all of its hospitals:

• Installing metal detectors at all of its public entrances.
• Increasing trained security personnel.
• Placing panic alarms in patient care areas and units.
• Providing comprehensive support for staff affected by violent incidents in the workplace.

The petition seeks to have all healthcare systems within the state take action to help prevent violence in hospitals and facilities, the release states.

The recommendations include creating comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans, ensuring adequate staffing levels so workers are not left unsupported in dangerous situations, and requiring mandatory de-escalation and safety training.

UPMC provided the following statement:

“At UPMC, the safety of our team members, patients and visitors is a responsibility we take seriously. Guided by national security experts and ongoing feedback from our teams, we’ve made hundreds of safety upgrades this year including de-escalation and workplace violence prevention training, signage reinforcing our zero-tolerance policy, panic buttons, secure rooms, active drills, limited access points and additional entrance technologies such as metal detectors. We remain committed to listening, improving and protecting our people. Any claim suggesting otherwise ignores the significant progress we’ve made and continue to make alongside our team members.”

WellSpan beefed up security at all of its facilities after the deadly attack at UPMC Memorial Hospital. It included closing some entrances to limit access to York Hospital.

Several months later, WellSpan announced that it is creating its own private police force. The healthcare system had been reviewing its security for a couple of years before making the move. William White, vice president of public safety for WellSpan, said the UPMC shooting “hit home.”

The department is expected to be fully in place by the end of the 2026 fiscal year.