Three Rivers Health nurses ratify new contract

Jef Rietsma
·2 min read

Registered nurses at Three Rivers Health-Beacon Health System have ratified a new contract that union officials say will help recruit and retain nurses, and enable them to provide safe, quality care.

Nurses had been working under a contract that expired March 31. The nurses – members of the Michigan Nurses Association – voted Friday to approve the tentative agreement reached between them and the hospital.

The deal affects about 75 nurses. The situation was brought to light May 15, when more than 50 people, including nurses, their family members and community supporters, staged a 90-minute picket outside the West Broadway Street facility.

Brandy Shoup, an emergency department nurse and president of the local union said she and her professional peers are pleased to have achieved a strong contract that will make Three Rivers Health a better, safer place.

“It gives us support in providing the best care possible,” she said. “Through our solidarity and community support, we made it clear that Beacon Health must invest in Three Rivers. Now we can attract more nurses to work at the hospital and ensure more nurses continue working in our community.”

Highlights from the new, three-year contract include:

  • Wage increases of an average 12 percent the first year and three percent each of the next two years.

  • Higher shift differentials for afternoons and nights.

  • Phasing out the practice of calling in nurses from home to work mandatory overtime.

  • Improved “Paid Time Off” policies, especially for nurses with lengthy tenure at the hospital.

Shoup said nurses always put patients first, but nurses also need time to be able to care of their families, too.

“This contract invests in nurses and provides the resources and protections we need,” she noted.

The Journal was unsuccessful in reaching Hope Bailey, vice president of nursing at Three Rivers Health.

The partnership between Three Rivers Health and Beacon was completed Oct. 4. In a media release announcing the partnership, it was stated that Beacon Health System was committed to investing more than $20 million over the next five years at Three Rivers Health to improve its facilities and foster its growth.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: News