Nurses picket outside McLaren Hospital for better working conditions

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - An informational picket outside of Lansing’s McLaren Hospital gave nurses a chance to take their frustrations and complaints about working conditions public Monday. They are hoping to get the hospital’s attention.

Nurses at McLaren are demanding the hospital addresses staffing issues that provides a better work-life balance – among other things.

“We have unrealistic caseloads. We have not been able to retain nurses because they’re having to work 45 to 60 hours every week, and still not being able to see all their patients,” said Michelle Munson-McCory, Registered Nurse at McLaren Home Care.

Frustrated with the way they are being treated by their employer, nurses at McLaren Greater Lansing and McLaren Home Care and Hospice said enough is enough.

“We know that safe staffing has great outcomes, good patient outcomes so we’re fighting for better staffing. As well as putting an end to the abuse of mandatory overtime – the nurses are tired,” said Krystal Mannor, Registered Nurse at McLaren Greater Lansing.

To them, safe staffing practices means delivering the highest quality of care to every patient.

“We need to have ratios that make us be able to adequately care for the patients and we need to recruit new nurses so that we can have some relief and fair, competitive wages,” said Candy Higbee, Registered Nurse at McLaren Greater Lansing.

Nurses told News 10 they are exhausted and they want a better work-home life balance.

“Weekends included, but we have to work mandatory overtime. That can look like an additional four hours after your shift or it can also look like a whole extra shift on one of your days off,” said Higbee.

McLaren’s President and CEO Kirk Ray said “it is unfortunate they have chosen this unoriginal and commonplace tactic routinely deployed by unions throughout the nation, considering today’s enormously challenging health care environment.”

The hospital and nurses are still negotiating contracts.

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