Contact:

Shar Anderson, RN, LHARNA
517/605-8771

OR

Lisa Harrison , MNA
(cell) 517/927-6344

OR

Carol Feuss, MNA
(cell) 517/230-4086

October 7, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Registered Nurses at Lenawee Health Alliance ratify new contract

Adrian , MI - After months of negotiations, Registered Nurses at Lenawee Health Alliance ratified a new three-year contract today. The contract covers nearly 200 RNs at Herrick Memorial Hospital in Tecumseh , MI and Bixby Medical Center in Adrian , MI .

Changes in health insurance and paid time off had been the key sticking points. The nurses will still have access to their existing health care plans, but premiums and coverage will change, depending on the plan an individual chooses. Nurses will continue to have a two-tier paid time off (PTO) system, based on their date of employment.

Nurses will see the pay increases of 3% per year, with additional lump sum payments to counter the increased cost of health care. Overall increases will range from 9½ -12% over the life of the contract. There were no reductions in the various "shift differentials" which give nurses additional pay for working weekends, holidays, etc. LHA continues to pay some of the highest shift differentials in the area.

The most significant change in the contract is the addition of new health and safety standards. A joint management/nurse task force will develop a "no single lift" plan. This ensures that nurses get the help they need to move a patient. Nursing is one of the top professions in which injuries occur. Nurses, whose average age is nearing 50, are increasingly required to move more patients, faster. This combined with the fact that Michigan ranks #2 in obesity in the country, makes lifting patients hazardous for both the nurse and the patient.

This makes Bixby and Herrick hospitals the 2 nd hospitals to implement a "no single life" policy in the state. Sparrow Health System, where the nurses are also represented by the Michigan Nurses Association, implemented a "no single lift" policy in their last contract.

"This is a good package - one that will help us retain and recruit nurses. The single lift policy is a huge step toward protecting us, and our patients, said Shar Anderson, RN Staff Council President of the Lenawee Health Alliance Registered Nurses Association. "We believe it will help us remain competitive in the market, as the supply of nurses diminishes."

"The nurses stood together, with much support from the community, to make the gains they did. After months of difficult negotiations, they were determined to keep pushing, until they were able to make a difference - for themselves and their patients, said Lisa Harrison , chief negotiator for the Union .

The RNs at both Bixby and Herrick hospitals had been working without a contract since June 30 and had authorized a strike in July. The nurses rejected a "final offer" from the employer several weeks ago.

The Michigan Nurses Association, nurses' voice for 100 years, is the largest nurses' union in the State of Michigan . The Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) promotes the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, fosters high standards of nursing practice, and lobbies the legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and recipients of nursing services. MNA is a constituent member of the American Nurses Association and the United American Nurses, as well as an affiliate of the AFL-CIO .