Nurses at Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo say they’re unsure whether their jobs will carry over once Beacon Health System takes over four hospitals in southwest Michigan this summer.
“We're asking for a guarantee that the nurses that we have now will remain at Borgess after the transition,” said Lori Batzloff, a registered nurse in the neuro Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and president of the local union chapter. “Unfortunately, the information we have so far is unclear, incomplete, and sometimes contradictory.”
Ascension, one of the nation’s largest health systems, has been selling off its Michigan hospitals over the past year, including entering into a “joint venture” with Henry Ford Health in the fall. Beacon Health System is headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, and will be expanding further into southwest Michigan with the purchase of four of Ascension’s hospitals, including Ascension Borgess Hospital, Ascension Borgess Allegan Hospital, Ascension Borgess-Lee Hospital and Ascension Borgess-Pipp Hospital.
Ascension Borgess in Kalamazoo is the largest, with 422 beds and “more than 2,700 associates, including 261 providers,” according to a Beacon Health System press release announcing the purchase in April. The deal also includes 35 outpatient clinics and an ambulatory surgery center. “The teams at Beacon Health System and Ascension are committed to working together to ensure a smooth transition for team members, physicians and consumers,” according to the statement.
Ascension Southwest Michigan told medical staff that they don’t need to reapply for their jobs, as the “employment of all associates and clinicians and associates of related medical practices will directly transition to Beacon Health System as long as you meet the Beacon Health System requirements,” according to internal documents provided to the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA), which represents nurses at the Kalamazoo and Allegan hospitals.
“You may be asked to complete new onboarding steps or other tasks, such as badge updates. The Beacon Health System team will share more details about what to expect during your transition in the weeks ahead. Please watch your Ascension email for important transition related information and be sure to complete all steps as soon as possible to ensure a smooth transition,” the instructions said.
“We don’t know what that means, to be in good standing,” Batzloff said. “They say as long as you meet Beacon’s employment requirements, you will be able to stay on. But we do not know what those employment requirements are.”
Ascension did not respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson for Beacon Health System sent the following statement:
“Since the April 3 announcement of our signing a definitive agreement to acquire Ascension Southwest Michigan, we have reassured both clinicians and associates that we are committed to their continued employment with Beacon Health System. In early May, we also communicated to associates covered under a Collective Bargaining Agreement that we are committed to honoring these agreements,” the statement said.
“We know there will be additional questions. Beacon and Ascension are dedicated to transparency and sharing information as it’s finalized and becomes available during this ongoing process. We are focused on a smooth transition for associates, physicians and patients as our organizations share a commitment to improving health in the communities we serve.”
Requests to meet, see sales agreement
But so far, Beacon Health System has not responded to requests to meet with the union, according to a spokesperson for the MNA. And Ascension “has refused to share the sales agreement covering Beacon’s purchase of the hospitals, which contains important information about how the transition will affect the nurses,” according to an MNA press release issued Wednesday.
“The issue is that they will only release the sales agreement to us (MNA/the nurses) if we sign a document that we accept that the sales agreement may be inaccurate or incomplete,” an MNA spokesperson said via email. “So, obviously, that is not helpful.”
The Kalamazoo nurses were also told by Ascension that the retirement health care accounts of employees who had not yet “vested,” or reached a certain age or terminated employment with Ascension, would no longer exist after the sale, Batzloff said. “This is about $5,000 for several folks at our facility, and they were counting on having those funds when they retire to sue for health care expenses,” she said. “So we see that as Ascension taking money away from the nurses that they received as part of their benefit package. We have filed a grievance on that, and we hope to come to an equitable solution.”
Meanwhile, the uncertainty is prompting some nurses to “update their resumes and look elsewhere for employment that is less uncertain,” she said.
But she’s hopeful that Beacon’s ownership could bring improvements, from better facilities to recruiting and retaining more staff.
“However, the uncertainty does leave us skeptical, so we would like to meet with them as soon as possible, so we can get some clear answers about how this transition is going to work for the nursing staff.”
