Unions Hit UVM Medical Center Over Patient Observation Policy

Two labor unions have escalated a fight with University of Vermont Medical Center over how the Burlington hospital assigns staff to watch patients at risk of harming themselves. The Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals and Support Staff United sent a cease-and-desist letter Aug. 20 to the network's labor relations director, VTDigger reported Aug. 31 and Becker's Hospital Review relayed.

At issue is patient observation, the practice of assigning staff to continuously monitor patients who may be suicidal or otherwise a danger to themselves. Unions argue these assignments are being handled in ways that strain workers and raise safety concerns, though the hospital's response and the specific contract provisions in dispute remain to be resolved.

The clash lands amid rising behavioral health volumes and persistent staffing shortages across US hospitals. As more patients in crisis present to emergency departments and inpatient units, one-to-one observation duties are becoming a flashpoint in labor negotiations nationwide, testing how systems balance patient safety with workforce limits.