Sparrows Cuts Could Impact Patient Care Over the Holidays

Hospital Administration Is Reducing Staff in Highly Specialized Departments

(Lansing, MI) Registered nurses at Sparrow Hospital are expressing deep concern about the hospital administration’s recent decision to reduce the number of nurses in the IV Specialty Department and to eliminate the Critical Care Transport Team. These two departments are staffed by highly specialized RNs that perform vital work with vulnerable patients.

“I started working at Sparrow over 18 years ago because I wanted to help people and look after my community,” said Joe Medgyessy, an RN on the Critical Care Transport Team. “I know that IV and Critical Care Transport RNs provide expert, irreplaceable care. I worry about the impact these cuts will have on our working conditions and the quality of care we are able to provide to our patients. I want to know that if my loved one has to go to the hospital, they will be looked after by the most highly trained nurses.”

Unless the decision is reversed, the Critical Care Transport team will be eliminated on December 9, and the cuts to the IV Specialty Department will take effect on December 23 – two days before Christmas.

“When high-salaried hospital executives choose to reduce staffing, they are sending a clear message that they think the bottom line is more important than patient care,” said Jeff Breslin, RN and President of the Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital (PECSH/MNA). “We are hopeful that Sparrow’s incoming president will take a different approach and return to putting patients first.”

PECSH/MNA, which represents about 2,500 registered nurses and other health care professionals at Sparrow hospital, is affiliated with the Michigan Nurses Association, the largest labor and professional organization for nurses in the state.

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Contact: Amelia Dornbush; 517-896-7478

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