On today’s episode of The Confluence:
Statewide hospital officials cite nursing shortage as top priority
(0:00 - 6:15)
An estimated 27% of the state’s nursing jobs sat vacant last winter. The Hospital Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, which represents most health systems in the state, cited this as one of their top concerns at a recent conference.
Brett Sholtis, WITF’s health reporter, says hospitals have been relying on nurse staffing agencies to bring on more personnel.
“[Staffing agencies are] usually able to lower it by five to ten percent, at some cost, because it’s costly to hire nurses from outside staffing agencies,” says Sholtis. “They don’t necessarily play all the same functions as charge nurses and nurses that work for the health system.”
Although the pandemic exacerbated these shortages, Sholtis explains that nurse unions has said staffing was a problem before then pandemic. Hospitals are looking at retaining the workforce with increasing pay and benefits.
The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh’s new president and CEO says the effects of COVID and staffing are two big priorities
(6:16 - 13:50)
The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh named Amy Kienle its first female president and CEO in the organization’s 168-year history. Kienle is currently the president and CEO of Georgia Mountains YMCA.
“I think that the YMCA [of Greater Pittsburgh] is at a great point now to be in a growth mode instead of in a contracting mode,” says Kienle. The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh filed for bankruptcy in 2018, but subsequently reorganized and considered closing facilities.
“Unfortunately, that [contracting] was something that had to be done to reorganize the organization. It was the right decision,” says Kienle.
On the horizon now, says Kienle, is assessing how the YMCA can serve members and address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kienle will assume her position with the YMCA of greater Pittsburgh in late June.
The Frick Pittsburgh’s SLAY exhibit invites visitors to compare depictions of a Biblical scene created 400 years apart
(13:56 - 22:30)
The Frick Pittsburgh is inviting visitors to consider how an iconic work of art portraying a Biblical scene can be interpreted 400 years later.
SLAY: Artemisia Gentileschi and Kehinde Wiley opened last month and will run through July 10th. Each painting is a different take on the scene of Judith slaying Holofernes, which is a story in the deuterocanonical Book of Judith.
“I do think that both paintings are exploring a lot of themes that are very much relevant today, unfortunately, as far as classism goes, the gulfs of wage disparities in the world. Also gender, exploring sexism and also sexual violence and how the patriarchy is very much centered in society, not only in the United States, but across the world,” says Kilolo Luckett, an art historian and Pittsburgh-based consulting curator who worked on this exhibit.
Dawn Brean, chief curator and director of collections at the Frick Pittsburgh, says the name of the exhibit, “slay,” involves a word whose meaning has changed over time.
“I think in Wiley's work, he's really using the story of Judith as a device to point out how dangerous and how we are all impacted by white supremacy. So, being able to examine and ask ourselves what it really means to feel oppressed. Who does it hurt? And I think we could argue it hurts everyone,” says Brean.
The exhibit is free and open to the public through July 10.
The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in Monday to Thursday at 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more episodes of The Confluence here or wherever you get your podcasts.
