“Lifepoint executives have not offered meaningful solutions to our priority issues, including fixing the staffing crisis that we believe is putting patients at risk,” said Christina Hanson, RN, president of the RN Staff Council at the hospital. “The chronic understaffing at the hospital is not fair to nurses and techs and it’s definitely not fair to patients. With two U.P. hospitals planning to reduce their inpatient beds, even more people are likely to come to UPHS-Marquette for care – the hospital needs a real plan, but Lifepoint is not listening to the ideas we propose.”

About 600 workers are in bargaining over two separate contracts – one for the RN Staff Council and one for the Marquette Ancillary Staff and Technologists (MAST). The two unions are part of the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA), consisting of about 600 professionals combined. Lifepoint Health, which operates UPHS-Marquette, is under the umbrella of Apollo Global Management private equity firm.

The “practice strike” was not a work stoppage. RNs and techs participated on their own time.

UPHS-Marquette workers are advocating for solutions to the staffing crisis at the hospital, including contract protections against unreasonable workloads. They also want a boost in compensation. In addition, MAST members voiced concern about their health insurance, which is costlier and has less coverage than the nurses’ plan.

Registered nurses and technical staff at U.P. Health System-Marquette march near West Washington Street Monday, in a ‘practice strike.’ (Journal photo by Antonio Anderson)

“There is a big disconnect at the bargaining table because Lifepoint, as a private equity operation, is all about profits, whereas we, as healthcare professionals, are focused on patients,” said Josh Bowman, a medical laboratory scientist at the hospital, president of MAST and an MNA board member. “We believe that workers and patients are more important than a Tennessee corporation’s profits. We’re holding the practice strike to send Lifepoint executives a message: If they don’t start listening to us, we as workers have the power and unity to make a strike a reality.”

Marshfield Medical Center-Dickinson in Iron Mountain and MyMichigan Sault in Sault Ste. Marie both are pursuing plans to become critical access hospitals, which will limit their inpatient care to 25 beds and patient stays to about 96 hours; both currently have 49 beds. Although officials at those hospitals are downplaying the effects of this change, it seems inevitable that not all patients seeking care there will be able to receive it, pushing them to other U.P. hospitals. As the U.P.’s largest hospital, UPHS-Marquette seems poised to receive those additional patients.

Antonio Anderson can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. His email address is aanderson@miningjournal.net.

Registered nurses and technical staff at U.P. Health System-Marquette march near West Washington Street Monday, in a ‘practice strike.’ (Journal photo by Antonio Anderson)