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Michigan Nurses Association calls for additional protections for frontline health workers

Hanabishi

The Michigan Nurses Association said it has not heard back from McLaren hospitals in Lapeer, Mount Pleasant, or Lansing on requests for information about response plans during the outbreak.

The Association said it would like to see  guarantees that vulnerable nurses won’t be forced to work with Covid-19 patients, and they want paid time off for nurses exposed to the virus while at work.

Shannon Sharrar is a nurse at McLaren Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant. She said the hospital also hasn’t communicated about how much PPE is available to nurses.

“It’s kind of the fear of the unknown, will we make it days, weeks, months? There’s a lot to this that is unknown.”

Sharrar said she understands the importance of rationing PPE - but it would ease nurses’ fears if it was clear how much was available to them.

She said she has worked at the hospital for 14 years and cares about the facility - but she said protections need to be in place for nurses.

“We’ve always been told the culture of safety concepts. Right now we’re really asking this starts with the frontline workers who are putting their health and the health of their immediate loved ones at risk.”

A spokesperson for McLaren Central Michigan did not respond to our request for comment.

UPDATE: McLaren Central Michigan has since reached out to us with the following comment: 

"McLaren Central has been working directly with MNA, as well as our other unions, during the COVID-19 national and state emergency.   The union has requested to bargain certain issues as it relates to the crisis.  We have met with MNA on multiple occasions over the last three weeks to address those issues and share McLaren’s COVID-19 response plan.  This is an evolving crisis that requires us to be flexible and responsive to many daily changes.  With the rising number of cases in Michigan, we continue to leverage the size and strength of McLaren as a system to procure additional personal protective equipment, as well as utilize the emergency management resources of our system.  We will continue to work proactively with our staff and union partners to ensure that our staff are safe, continue to have the resources to care for patients and are informed about our response plan throughout this crisis."