Patients at Cheboygan facility benefit from MNA-represented RNs

CHEBOYGAN – The registered nurses of McLaren Northern Michigan Cheboygan Campus recently ratified a contract that provides economic security and guarantees them a voice in the care they provide.

“The Cheboygan nurses now have the power and protection they need to advocate for themselves and their patients,” said John Karebian, executive director of the Michigan Nurses Association, which represents the nurses. “The community is better served when nurses have a strong contract like this, and that is even more true in an area like Cheboygan that has been through turmoil in terms of reliable access to health care. The Michigan Nurses Association is proud to continue its long record of partnering with the community to put patients’ needs first.”

Because staffing levels are a key factor in patient care and safety, the nurses sought and won new contract language to secure staffing guidelines based on nurse-patient ratios and the seriousness of a patient’s condition. The agreement with McLaren also includes annual wage increases and preserves the nurses’ health care benefits.

The contract, which runs through April 29, 2014, is the nurses’ first since McLaren Health Care assumed ownership of the former Cheboygan Memorial Hospital.

The Michigan Nurses Association represented the nurses at Cheboygan Memorial Hospital before the hospital’s bankruptcy and was actively involved in working to preserve access to health care for the Cheboygan community throughout the turmoil of the past 14 months.

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The Michigan Nurses Association is the state’s largest and most effective union and professional association for registered nurses, representing nearly 11,000 RNs statewide and advocating for them and their patients.