Sparrow nurses win new contract setting highest standards of care

Submitted by ADonahue on
Line of Sparrow nurses outside holding signs for patient safety

By Amelia Dornbush

National Nurse Magazine - October | November | December 2021 Issue

Nurses and health care professionals at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Mich., overwhelmingly voted to ratify their new three-year contract on Dec. 10. The new contract contains contractually guaranteed access to proper personal protective equipment (PPE), guaranteed minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, and significant wage increases.

“We are so proud of what we have accomplished for our patients and our community,” said Karen Hunsaker, RN, and a member of the elected bargaining team. “We believe that this contract will help us provide the highest quality of care.”

Prior to reaching an agreement, caregivers held an informational picket attended by over 1,000 nurses, health care professionals, and community members. The agreement came shortly after caregivers overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike.

The contract will set the bar for a new standard of care in the Greater Lansing area. Sparrow is now the only hospital in the region to contractually guarantee fixed nurse-to-patient ratios and to explicitly acknowledge a contractual responsibility to honor those ratios in a pandemic.

Additionally, the contract guarantees that caregivers who are treating a Covid-19 positive or Covid-19 suspected patient will be given an N95 respirator or equivalent.

“This contract makes both caregivers and patients safer,” said Tammy Parsons, RN, and treasurer of PECSH-MNA. “We are proud to lead on this issue and hope that this contract will help pave the way for other hospitals in the state to make similar commitments to caregivers and to the community. The pandemic has been here for almost two years now. Safe staffing and proper PPE need to be treated as an essential requirement, not an optional luxury.”

In addition to the contractual guarantees on staffing levels and PPE, nurses and healthcare professionals were able to win significant raises. For instance, the average bedside RN will see about a 20 percent raise over the next three years. Sparrow caregivers say that they believe this will help the hospital more effectively recruit and retain nurses and health care professionals.

“We believe that this is truly one of the best contracts in the state, if not the country,” said Kevin Glaza, a pharmacist at Sparrow Hospital and vice president of PECSH-MNA. “We want to thank our community for their support. Please know that we always advocate for you. We are committed to using our voices and our new contractual rights to continue working to keep our patients and our community safe.”