No doubt you have heard about the shooting outside the hospital early Sunday. It’s a miracle no one was hit by the bullet that went through the lobby window.
Administration’s response to this violence was – once again – entirely inadequate. They did not lock down any part of the hospital, did not inform the ED, and only sent a “low-level” text alert nearly an hour-and-a-half after the shooting.
We have demanded more information but as of this writing, U of M Health-Sparrow has not given us anything or sent any communication to staff.
We are aware that some managers may have been instructed to say it was a rock, not a bullet, that went through the window – despite police publicly saying it was gunfire.
We know our security personnel do the best they can with limited budgets and resources.
We cannot and will not stand for the employer’s pattern of poor security policies. We have experienced the 2021 firefight with police in which the suspect entered St. Lawrence, the April 2023 bomb threat, the 2023 MSU mass shooting, and the May 2024 fatal shooting of a 14-year-old next to St. Lawrence – all in addition to the violence that nurses and healthcare professionals face on a continuous basis.
At the bargaining table, the employer has rejected our proposals around safety.
They insist on NO CHANGES to current contract language. They say they can’t lock down certain units. They won’t give us active shooter training until 2026. And they have refused to put security at SECO (Sparrow Emergency Center Okemos).
Security remains a top issue for us, on behalf of not just members but also patients and visitors.
We deserve more than a logo change – we deserve to be safe at work at all times.
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