Letter to the editor: UPMC doesn't seem like a charity

I was excited to see Mayor Ed Gainey’s announcement that the city will be conducting a review of its tax-exempt properties (“Gainey orders review of Pittsburgh’s ‘purely public charities’ to see if they meet tax-exempt requirements” (Jan. 24, TribLIVE). As an employee of our region’s largest nonprofit, I hope the first of those reviewed is UPMC.

To be a charity, a hospital has to relieve the government of some of its burden. But UPMC is adding to the burden by creating a need for charity in its own workforce.

Some of my co-workers rely on federal assistance to cover the cost of medical care they receive as UPMC employees, at UPMC facilities, with UPMC insurance. Others find themselves on monthly payment plans that force them to choose between groceries or paying down their debt to their own employer. When bill collectors are hounding your own employees, that tells you you’re not a charity.

Would a “purely public charity” pay top executives millions and purchase more and more land while so many of their employees are struggling to stay afloat? How is that giving back to the community?

We should expect more from our major nonprofits that benefit from public funding and tax exemptions, like UPMC — especially when the health of our community is on the line.

Kya Humphries

South Side

The writer is a UPMC patient care technician.