United for safety at Wellfound

We are the behavioral health workers at Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital in Tacoma united in our union, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. We want to provide the best care possible to our patients and to our Pierce County community. 

We are calling on Wellfound to do the right thing by settling a contract that keeps us safe and respects our sacrifice as behavioral health workers.

STAND WITH US

We are on the front lines of mental healthcare.

We are the registered nurses, mental health technicians, mental health counselors, housekeepers, social workers, court Coordinators, and other hourly workers who care for some of the most vulnerable patients in Pierce County. After bargaining for over a year with no union contract to show for it, we are saying enough is enough.

Wellfound is failing the people of Pierce County and the taxpayers who supported the creation of this hospital.

Wellfound, a non-profit joint venture between MultiCare Health System and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, is an inpatient psychiatric hospital licensed for 120 patient beds serving Pierce County. We are operating at around 40% capacity and perpetually understaffed, leading to frequent and increasing workplace violence. Our community deserves a reliable place we can count on if we find ourselves, or a friend or family member, in crisis. That starts with fair wages, adequate staffing, and safety. It's time for Wellfound to fulfill its role as an urgently-needed provider of inpatient psychiatric care for our community by adequately staffing for safe care.

What we’re fighting for in our first contract.

We're fighting for a commitment from Wellfound management to prioritize safe staffing, worker and patient safety. Management has REFUSED to take meaningful steps to include workers’ voices in its staffing committee, a standard other unionized psychiatric hospitals and departments in the state share.

Wellfound workers need safety, staffing, and fair wages NOW!

Despite a shortage of qualified healthcare workers and a state-wide behavioral health crisis, Wellfound is proposing a 1% cost of living adjustment in October 2023 and 1% again in January 2024. We urge management to swiftly reach a contract settlement that includes our proposals for improved staffing and measures to advance recruitment and retention of staff.

Sign the community petition

Help us show Wellfound administration that our community stands with us! Hundreds of our neighbors and fellow union siblings have answered the call. Add your name today.

Share your patient story

As healthcare workers, we seek to identify and document the impact of staffing on patients by collecting stories of their experiences at Wellfound. Our goal is to work together with management to implement solutions that recruit and retain qualified staff, fulfill the need for behavioral health access in our community, and have a safer workplace.

Do you have a recent experience as a patient at Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital?  We want to hear from you! Please share with us your positive or negative experiences as a patient at Wellfound.

These patient stories are being collected for information purposes only, and this form does not serve as any kind of formal complaint process to seek redress for problems regarding patient care. We will not share your name, story or other information without first contacting you for your permission. 

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