Some Michigan nurses say area hospitals haven’t communicated about what protections will be available to workers during the Covid-19 outbreak. The Michigan Nurses Association says it hasn’t heard back from McLaren hospitals in Lapeer, Mount Pleasant, or Lansing on requests for information about response plans during the outbreak. The Association says it would like to see guarantees that vulnerable nurses won’t be forced to work with Covid-19 patients, and they want paid time off for nurses exposed to the virus while at work.
Shannon Sharrar is a nurse at McLaren Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant. She says the hospital also hasn’t communicated about how much PPE is available to nurses.
“It’s kind of the fear of the unknown, will we make it days, weeks, months," Sharrar said. "There’s a lot to this that is unknown.”
Sharrar says she understands the importance of rationing PPE - but it would ease nurses’ fears if it was clear how much was available to them.
A spokesperson for McLaren Central Michigan did not respond to our request for comment.
