Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Labor
January 26, 2023 09:37 AM

MyMichigan nurses vote to strike, joining other healthcare workers across the state

Crain's Detroit Business
Dustin Walsh
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    alma medical center-main_i.png
    Google Maps
    Nurses at MyMichigan Medical Center are looking for a competitive contract in hopes of drawing more nurses to the Alma hospital to alleviate labor shortages and improve conditions.

    Nurses at MyMichigan Medical Center in Alma are preparing to strike.

    Of the approximately 150 nurses represented by the Michigan Nurses Association at the mid-Michigan hospital, 97 percent voted in favor of striking, the nurses said in a news release.

    "Nurses have sent a clear signal to MyMichigan executives," Shenan Shinabarger, a nurse at MyMichigan Medical Center and the president of union local, said in the release. "We are united and prepared to do what it takes to make sure that MyMichigan bargains in good faith and puts patients first."

    Not a Modern Healthcare subscriber? Sign up today.

    The nurses are looking for a competitive contract in hopes of drawing more nurses to the Alma hospital to alleviate labor shortages and improve conditions.

    A 10-day notice will be issued to the hospital prior to a strike.

    Nurses at McLaren Central Hospital in Mount Pleasant are voting Thursday to authorize a strike.

    The MyMichigan nurses join more than 1,000 nursing home workers represented by the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Michigan who are in the middle of voting.

    Those nurses work at 13 nursing homes across Michigan owned by Ciena Healthcare, The Orchards Michigan, Optalis Healthcare, Pioneer Health Care Management and Amee Patel, Kevin Lignell, communications coordinator for SEIU Healthcare Michigan, told Crain's in an email earlier this week.

    Lignell wrote that the workers are demanding "living wages, affordable health care and safe staffing in their nursing homes."

    Download Modern Healthcare’s app to stay informed when industry news breaks.

    Melissa Samuel, president and CEO of the Health Care Association of Michigan, said the sudden loss of 1,000 nurses could spin the entire healthcare sector into chaos. Nursing homes would likely have to reduce patient capacity and rely on expensive agency staff to maintain regulated patient-to-provider ratios.

    HACAM is the trade association representing Michigan's long-term care providers.

    Nursing homes were hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic — first in spread of the coronavirus and subsequently in losing workers. The industry lost roughly 210,000 workers nationally and about 10,000 in Michigan.

    "We have the appropriate staff to cover the buildings, but the ability to take in more patients and alleviate the bottleneck in the hospital system just isn't there," Samuel said. "We're going to have to work together and identify initiatives to pull people back into the industry. There's not a single nursing home that's not trying to hire right now. It's a health care crisis."

    HCAM is calling for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to distribute the $67 million for long-term care retention, recruitment and training in last year's supplemental spending bill signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in February last year.

    The funding, designed to be awarded through grants, has yet to be distributed, Samuel said. The grant applications were due in August last year.

    The nursing home association is also asking the state for the extra $2.35 per hour wage supplement provided to direct-care workers during the pandemic, and continues today, to be extended to all workers in Michigan's nursing homes.

    HCAM is also calling for the state to boost Medicaid reimbursement rates, which have risen 5 percent since 2019, but don't align with costs that have risen more than 15 percent from inflation and increased wages, Samuel said.

    This story first appeared in Crain's Detroit Business.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    1115p32_NYPresbyterian Medical Center_Buck Ennis_i.jpg
    New York-Presbyterian layoffs affect 2% of employees
    mh-20250506-the-joint-commission-layoffs
    The Joint Commission cuts 55 administrative employees
    Most Popular
    1
    'Legendary' Hemsley takes over at UnitedHealth amid rough seas
    2
    Big retail tried to disrupt healthcare—who is making a dent?
    3
    These are the regulations the AHA wants RFK Jr. to scrap
    4
    Downside risk, upside payment highlight new CMS innovation agenda
    5
    Medicaid cuts bill clears key House committee
    Sponsored Content
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content