IRON RIVER, MI— Nurses at Aspirus Iron River have filed a grievance after the hospital instituted sudden staffing changes.
Aspirus administration said last week it will eliminate nearly all certified nurse aide positions and give those duties to the charge nurse on the emergency and medical-surgical units. A charge nurse provides backup to other nurses as needed throughout the shift and is not assigned a patient load.
CNA duties include taking vital signs, testing blood sugar levels, removing IVs and catheters, and performing EKGs.
The nurses, who make up a local unit of the Michigan Nurses Association, say the staffing cuts will take a toll on patients when nurses have to take on the extra duties. They say Aspirus sprung the changes on them without including them in the staffing plan or showing them how it would work.
“We have gone unheard for months asking for additional staff for the safety of our patients only be told now that we will have to do more with even less. We are all really worried about how our patients will receive proper care and be kept safe with these staffing cuts,” said Nicole Fedie-Zaupa, an Aspirus Iron River nurse who is co-president of the local MNA union.
Bargaining is set to start soon between Aspirus and Iron River nurses. Their contract expires December 31.
