Workers at The Meadows reject union bid, a blow to organizers who hoped to change culture

Workers at the largest inpatient psychiatric hospital in Centre County rejected a union bid by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, dealing a blow to organizers who described the effort as a last-ditch attempt to address long-standing issues at the troubled facility.

Employees of The Meadows Psychiatric Center voted 67-36 against joining Local 668 of the Service Employees International Union. About 80% of the 130 workers who were eligible voted.

The 10 ballots that were challenged were not counted because they would not have swayed the outcome. Each have until July 11 to file objections. The results will be certified if none are filed.

Tami Kraynak, a registered nurse supervisor who worked at the hospital in Potter Township for more than nine years and is the leading organizer of the unionization effort, wrote on Facebook that the vote was “not (what) I was hoping for.”

“We put our souls into this. Stay strong,” Kraynak wrote. “We aren’t going away.”

Union President Stephen Catanese largely declined comment in a text message to the Centre Daily Times, writing that he was “disappointed for the workers today.”

Universal Health Services, the health care company that operates the hospital, said they hope the union will respect the employees’ “clear and definitive decision.”

“The union has no legitimate basis to challenge the election. The Meadows has been truthful and has followed the law in our communications. The vote was clear, and it should be certified,” Group CEO Shauna Mogerman said in a written statement. “It would be unfortunate if the union were to ignore the clear, democratic decision of the majority of employees and attempt to prolong the process and the distraction the union has created in our Hospital.”

Culmination of monthslong effort

Ballots were counted Friday, nearly two months after workers voted. The ballots were impounded while the National Labor Relations Board investigated — and ultimately dismissed — The Meadows’ claim that the union and its organizers tainted the election.

Workers filed for a union in February. Kraynak and former registered nurse supervisor Dawn Taylor said employees’ long-standing concerns about workplace violence and staffing shortages were not adequately addressed.

Each were fired shortly after pitching the idea of unionizing to co-workers. Kraynak’s termination letter explicitly said she was fired for organizing. Several other union leaders were also fired in the weeks leading up to the vote, they said.

Taylor described a facility that offered few resources for patients, leaving some workers to occasionally buy clothing or hygiene products for patients out-of-pocket.

Former patients share concerns

Workers aren’t the only ones critical of their time at the 119-bed hospital that opened in 1984.

One former patient described her time there as “traumatizing.” Another referred to the facility as “The Clink” because it felt more like a prison than a hospital.

Courtney Smith, 28, has carried her experiences with her for more than a decade. She checked into the hospital for about two weeks in March 2012 and said she felt like she was “being punished for having mental health struggles.”

“I wasn’t told why exactly I was admitted. I was scared,” Smith wrote in a text message. “There was no counseling or therapists to tell me I was actually going through a very normal struggle, and I wasn’t told why I was taking the medication they gave me or what it even was.”

No one asked if she had trauma or symptoms. A psychiatrist, she said, told her it would be “extremely difficult for me to have any sort of relationship ever in my life.”

She remembered that for years.

“It really made me feel like counseling and therapists were the enemy for years after that experience,” Smith wrote. “... That first experience at The Meadows made it incredibly hard for me to obtain any sort of substantial help.”

Nicolette Hylan-King, 36, said she checked into the hospital for about a week in September 2019. She considered speaking with a psychiatrist first, but the wait is often weeks, not days. She didn’t have time to wait.

She opted for an inpatient stay at The Meadows. She recalled fights that broke out among patients and said sexual harassment of female patients was prevalent. Group therapy sessions were sporadic. Other patients paced the halls for hours because they had nothing else to do, she said.

“There were major shortfalls in the quality of care that I received myself and that I saw other patients receive that I just found troubling. It made me question how safe it was for patients in there,” Hylan-King said. “... The shortcomings of the center were just really shocking to me — that was the quality of care that people in our region in some cases had no choice but to turn to.”

There were exceptions, but Hylan-King described most of the staff as caring. They just seemed understaffed and did not have enough resources, she said.

“They wanted to do the best thing that they could for patients,” she said. “But they just weren’t given the resources or support that they needed to do that.”