Letters: Patients remain top priority at Mount Nittany; support for hospital workers

Patients remain top priority at Mount Nittany

The Medical Executive Committee is saddened to hear that SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania has reportedly voted to issue a strike notice in response to Mount Nittany Medical Center’s latest proposal.

As the dedicated clinicians responsible for patient care at our hospital, our top priority remains the health, safety and well-being of our patients and the community we serve.

It is discouraging to read and hear some of the negative comments circulating about the quality of care we provide. We stand behind the exceptional care delivered by our clinical teams and trust that our community recognizes these remarks do not reflect the high standards we uphold every day.

We also believe it is important to address criticism regarding the investments our organization has made. These investments are focused on strengthening our work environment, expanding access to care and ensuring patients can continue receiving high-quality care close to home. We appreciate the commitment to improving the resources available to both our caregivers and our community.

The Medical Executive Committee has full confidence in the contingency plans developed to ensure the continued delivery of safe, high-quality care during a potential strike. We remain committed to supporting our patients, our colleagues and our community throughout this process.

We encourage all members of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania to stay informed, ask questions and carefully consider the proposals before them. We remain hopeful that, through constructive dialogue and a shared commitment to excellent patient care, an agreement can be reached that serves the best interests of everyone involved.

Thomas Covaleski, MD, Chief of Staff, and the Mount Nittany Medical Center Medical staff leadership

Support for hospital workers

I feel the need to write in support of the workers at Mount Nittany Medical Center who are being forced to strike.

This past June, I was taken to the ER and had to stay for over two weeks with a very serious condition. My lungs were filled with blood. I underwent surgery and had to be intubated. My heart stopped.

Doctors were calling orders, but it was a CNA who jumped in to give me CPR and bring me back to life. She saved me.

Yes, there are angels among us. She is one.

I have been to this hospital so much these past years. As a Desert Storm veteran, the way the staff treat me makes all the difference in the world. The cleaning staff, nurses, CNAs, and kitchen staff all take time to check on me.

They are the hospital. The compassionate staff are the reason why we all choose Mount Nittany.

Altoona is just as close to me. My daughter works in a different hospital. But those hospitals don’t have the wonderful nurses and staff you find at Mount Nittany. I won’t go anywhere else.

Mount Nittany: Step up and take care of your people the way your people take care of patients like me. Without them, the hospital wouldn’t have business. The hospital would not have been able to build this new big wing.

Donald Cartwright, Houtzdale

Grateful for all involved in 60th Arts Fest

I write to commend all those involved in presenting another wonderful Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, the 60th one! Summer in State College would not be the same without the Arts Festival. And we were delighted this year to have the People’s Choice Festival back in Boalsburg. Thanks to our wonderful staff: Pam Snyder Etters, the executive director; Carol Baney, the director of operations; and Jennifer Shuey, the director of development. They work hard all year to make the festival happen. Thanks to our hundreds of volunteers who do everything from introducing bands to collecting the garbage. Thanks to all the artists and performers who are the real draw. And of course, thanks to all our sponsors and donors who make it all possible. I also want to say thank you to those who had the vision and passion to create this festival back in 1967. What started out humbly has grown to something they likely could not imagine back then. Finally, allow me to thank my fellow board members for all their support.

The Rev. Jeffrey A. Packard, State College. The author is the president of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts board of directors.