Giving jobs to others would be an insult to them, injustice to patients, MNA says

Registered nurses who worked at Cheboygan Memorial Hospital before it closed should be the ones hired to take care of patients at the re-opened hospital, the Michigan Nurses Association said today.

“It’s alarming that McLaren won’t commit to bringing back the skilled, dedicated nurses who have worked at CMH for years, many of them for decades,” said John Karebian, Michigan Nurses Association executive director. “Bringing in nurses from other sites would be an insult to the CMH nurses and an injustice to CMH patients. The nurses deserve their jobs back and patients deserve the highest-quality care, which comes from experienced nurses who know their hospital and know their community.”

The Michigan Nurses Association has worked closely with CMH officials over the months to try to preserve health care for the community. However, McLaren’s continuing lack of disclosure and failure to communicate is making that difficult, said Shela Khan Monroe, MNA labor representative.

The Michigan Nurses Association has continually offered McLaren assistance to make sure qualified former CMH nurses are on staff for the hospital’s re-opening and beyond.  But McLaren has refused to tell MNA how and whether nurses should apply for their former jobs or new jobs. McLaren officials also will not disclose to MNA how they are making decisions about staffing.

The 39 nurses at CMH, the only hospital in Cheboygan County, lost their jobs when the hospital closed on April 3 after a deal with McLaren Health Care fell through. About 400 employees in total lost their jobs, sending a devastating economic ripple effect through the region.

McLaren ultimately reached a deal with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, allowing for the planned reopening of the emergency department on Monday and ambulatory services on May 29.

###