McLaren Nurses Demanding Protections

Nurses working for McLaren Hospitals are demanding protection they claim McLaren isn’t providing.

Nurses represented by the Michigan Nurses Association say three locations, McLaren Central Michigan Hospital in Mount Pleasant, McLaren Lapeer Regional Hospital and McLaren Home Care Greater Lansing have ignored proposals submitted by nurses on how to adequately prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The demands include protection for vulnerable nurses, such as those who are pregnant, breastfeeding, immunocompromised or 65 or older, from having to care for COVID-19 patients; full paid time off for nurses exposed to the coronavirus at work, who become ill or must be quarantined, so they don’t have to lose income; an emergency bank of 80 hours of PTO for any reason related to COVID-19; and efforts to find alternative assignments for nurses laid off during this time.

The McLaren nurses point to public health departments in southeast Michigan with fewer resources than private hospitals providing those protections to their workers. They also want to ensure those protections extend to home health care workers.