DETROIT (WWJ) Emergency room doctors and physician assistants at Ascension St. John’s Hospital on Detroit’s east side are on the picket line Friday for a 24-hour strike.
The issues at the heart of the strike are higher budget for Emergency Room equipment and staffing; and better benefits and pay for nurses. According to the Detroit Free Press, about 20 beds in the ER had to be shut down because there were not enough doctors and nurses to staff them.
The union, Greater Detroit Association of Physicians, has been working without a contract since they organized last May. The group of over 40 doctors, physician’s assistants and nurses are employed by TeamHealth, a third party Tennessee-based company contracted to manage the emergency department at the Ascension Detroit.
“I think even before we started striking, just with the 10-day notice, things started happening. Our national organizations had to decide are they going to support corporate medicine or the physicians that make up these organizations,” ER doctor, and President of the Greater Detroit Association of Emergency Physicians, Michelle Wiener told WWJ’s Mike Campbell. “And so I think things are changing very rapidly, and a lot of people are paying attention.”
She added that 74% of physicians and nurses are now employed by corporate medicine.
“We love this hospital. We live in the neighborhood. These are our friends and family that come here. We’ve been taking care of the people in this neighborhood, most of us for 20 years,” said Dr. John Bahling, a pediatric Emergency room physician who has been participating in the strike. “And to come out here and shine light on a situation that has become dangerous and scary, it doesn’t always feel that great. We’re hoping it doesn’t happen again. We’re hoping we get some forward moving momentum.”
The strike happened from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon on Moross near Mack. TeamHealth has denied that care has decreased or wait times have gone up.