UPMC raises pay for nearly 23,000 nurses

Pittsburgh-based UPMC is increasing starting compensation for new registered nurses, according to a chart the health system shared Beckers.

New registered nurses with a BSN degree at UPMC’s Pittsburgh hospitals will receive a base hourly rate of $41.75, a sign-on bonus of up to $15,000 (depending on location) and a monthly loan repayment benefit totaling up to $20,000 over three years. Together this amounts to an effective $52.17 per hour in 2027, which represents an increase of 20%.

New registered nurses without a bachelor’s degree can earn up to $50.42 per hour by 2027.

These pay adjustments apply only to bedside nurses working in Pittsburgh hospitals. However, all of the nearly 23,000 registered nurses not represented by union bargaining units at UPMC will receive similar percentage increases, UPMC Chief Nurse Executive Maribeth McLaughlin, BSN, RN, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“We look at the market every year to ensure our nurses have the best economic package and working environment,” Ms McLaughlin said. “Everyone will see wage adjustments.”

UPMC operates more than 40 hospitals and 800 outpatient locations in Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland. Union nurses at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital in Pittsburgh approved a new employment contract with increases earlier in October.