GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Questions are emerging about whether Henry Ford Health’s Genesys Hospital had enough staff to handle the church attack Sunday in Grand Blanc Township.
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Nearly 750 registered nurses at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital have been on strike for weeks. When the shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints occurred just a few miles away, some striking nurses rushed to the hospital, ready to help.
They said they were turned away.
“We’ve got the news and it sounded like a lot of the day shifters that are usually out here during the day they ran to the ER and started tripping down. We’re here ready to help and some hospital turned them away and said we don’t need you,” said nurse Miranda Strobl.
Lisa Gajda, another nurse, expressed concerns about the nonunion nurses working during the strike.
“The nonunion nurses that are in there today’s probably the first day on the contract. They do contract every two weeks so they don’t know where the supplies are they don’t know that when you work with the doctor, you know how to anticipate… even though the hospital may say that they were fully staffed and the people there were capable now they weren’t because they don’t know where the things are in the hospital to do an adequate job.”
Hospital leaders responded to the concerns. Dr. Michael Danic, chief of staff at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital, said, “We’re very happy that they were. The instinct was to help, and we have a great, loving community, and the instinct was there, but I cannot comment on the work stoppage.”
Henry Ford Health confirmed it treated 10 patients from the church tragedy — five for gunshot wounds and five for smoke inhalation. The hospital issued a statement insisting staffing was not an issue, noting:
For security and patient privacy purposes, striking team members do not have access to our systems, including electronic medical records, nor are they able to access medications. That would make it impossible to provide patient care.
Because of the indefinite strike, we’d already made alternative staffing arrangements. Henry Ford Genesys Hospital was appropriately staffed Sunday and team members were able to care for the patients from the church tragedy without additional help.
Bringing too many team members into a fluid, multi-casualty emergency situation has the potential to endanger or compromise the ongoing care.
Contract talks between Henry Ford Health and the Teamsters nurses remain stalled. Hospital officials said they look forward to continuing negotiations but asked that the tragic day not be used as a bargaining tool.