There was a peaceful protest outside of Western State Hospital in Christian County Wednesday as staff there push for more fair and equal pay.
Christina Goosey is a Licensed Practical Nurse at Western State and she was joined by several employees and supporters as they held signs to push for fair pay—she says that many new hires are being offered significantly higher pay than those who have stayed there all throughout COVID.
She calls it not fair to those who have stayed loyal throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, because they love their jobs and the people they care for.
What they want to see are pay raises at all staff levels, from nurses to housekeeping, and Goosey says they feel they deserve to be paid fairly for the work they do.
Protestors held signs, waved at people driving by, and spoke with those interested about their stance on the situation. WHOP News reached out to officials with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services—which oversees operations at Western State—and Office of Public Affairs Executive Director Susan Dunlap says, “The Cabinet for Health and Family Services thanks the hard-working employees of Western State Hospital. Seventeen months into the global COVID-19 pandemic, Western State’s employees – like many employees elsewhere in our commonwealth, nationwide, and globally – are fatigued by the rapid increase of coronavirus cases, yet have remained committed to caring for patients and providing patient-side care. We are aware of concerns initially raised by contract staff and will listen to all employees’ concerns. To finally defeat COVID-19 and give our health care workers relief we urge everyone to mask up indoors and get a COVID-19 vaccine.”
