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Mercy Health employees speak out about surge of COVID cases

Courtesy mercyhealthphysicianpartners.com

Health care workers at Mercy Health in Muskegon say they’re overworked and stressed, dealing with a rapid surge of coronavirus patients. 

Four floors of a brand new hospital in Muskegon are filled with COVID patients. More sit in the emergency room, waiting for beds to open up.

Staff are working mandatory 16 hour shifts, struggling to keep up and to stay safe themselves. Their union – SEIU Healthcare Michigan, wants hospital leaders to do more.

Dr. Justin Grill is Chief Medical Officer for Mercy Health Muskegon.

“There’s no question that this is hard for everybody, people are having to work extra hours, oftentimes being put into new situations, caring for different types of patients than what they would normally care for,” said Grill.

The hospital does plan to bring in more workers. But as cases continue to rise, Grill says he hopes more people will follow guidelines to stop the spread of the virus.

Hospitals and health officials say anyone who is experiencing concerning or emergency symptoms should not hesitate to go to their local emergency room.