In the shadow of the brick monolith of West Penn Hospital, about 200 people -- some still wearing their hospital uniforms -- gathered in the cramped basement of Immaculate Conception School in Bloomfield to voice their anger to over the West Penn Allegheny Health System's recent announcement that it would downsize the hospital, closing the emergency room and laying off up to several hundred staff. And a lengthy explanation from West Penn officials over the reasons behind the hospital's closure -- the declining patient census, the loss of revenue -- did little to assuage their grief over the downsize, which some saw as a harbinger for the closure of the facility. "I don't understand percentages and pie charts, but I know right from wrong and common sense, and this is wrong," said Barb Lindsey, who works in the hospital's housekeeping department.
In a social media landscape shaped by hashtags, algorithms, and viral posts, nurse leaders must decide: Will they let the narrative spiral, or can they adapt and join the conversation?
...
