Detroit, MI: After the latest rounds of negotiations with St. John Emergency Services and TeamHealth, Members of the Greater Detroit Association of Emergency Physicians are considering a strike vote if no further progress is made in their six month long negotiations. They have also launched a website
and social media accounts to keep the public updated on this serious situation at www.SaveOurEmergencyRoom.com
“This has built up over the past several years,” Emergency Physician Michelle Wiener said. “while we are trying to stay optimistic that an agreement can be reached, negotiations have failed so far to address any substantial issues regarding patient care and physician safety. We are negotiating in good faith, and we are very disappointed that this is not being reciprocated by the other side. It is getting hard to envision a scenario that doesn’t involve a strike without our employer making drastic changes to their negotiating tactics.”
Dr. Wiener continued, “Our goal has been clear since Day 1, we will no longer accept 10-15 hour wait times and 50 people sitting in the Emergency Room waiting area looking for medical care. It’s really sad that it has come to this. But we are left no recourse to get the resources we need in order to reduce wait times, increase patient safety and achieve better working conditions.”
TeamHealth, owned by the Private Equity firm Blackstone Group became involved in the management and staffing of the Emergency Room at Ascension St. John in 2015. Since TeamHealth and St. John Emergency Services took over management, wages and benefits fell, staffing levels across all positions in the ED have declined and investments in medical equipment and upgrades also stalled. Patient wait times to see providers have now ballooned to 10-15 hours at times in the waiting rooms and there are routinely dozens of patients waiting for medical care in the waiting room.
PA’s and Nurse Practitioners are also highly impacted by this ongoing dispute. Licensed PA, Casey Kolp said, “We are used to filling care gaps and try to patch an already broken system without consideration to our own well being. We are moved to multiple different zones during a single shift and the current staffing model negatively affects the interaction between PA’s, Nurse Practitioners and physicians – as there is no time for clinical discussion or teaching, ultimately resulting in worse patient care. We can not hire experienced providers as the APP pay is significantly below the state and national averages for emergency medicine. Something needs to change”
The Greater Detroit Association of Emergency Physicians will continue to work in good faith with TeamHealth and St. John Emergency Services representatives to rectify these problems but time is running out. Physicians, PA’s and Nurse Practitioners should not be the only ones to make a commitment to lowering wait times, increasing patient safety standards and providing a better work environment for staff – they need a partner in TeamHealth or will have no choice but to strike.
The Greater Detroit Association of Emergency Physicians has established a website and social media accounts to keep the public updated on what is happening with this situation. Please visit www.SaveOurEmergencyRoom.com for more information or check on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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