Veteran Advocate
Nursing assistants at The Grand
Rapids Home for Veterans have been given their pink slips.
In Michigan, almost 150 nursing assistants working in a
state-run home for veterans have been told they are being laid off. The Grand
Rapids Home for Veterans, one of two state-run hospitals for veterans,
currently cares for more than 700 veteran residents.
Governor Rick Snyder has approved the privatization of the
nursing assistant jobs as a way to save an estimated $4 million each year for
the state of Michigan. Other services provided to the home such as laundry and
security are already outsourced to
private companies.
"Quality care for our elderly service members should always
be a priority over cost savings," commented veterans disability lawyer
James Fausone. "And the concern of some individuals is that cost-cutting measures
may mean that quality care is being sacrificed."
One of the vet residents filed a lawsuit regarding the
privatization, alleging that he and his fellow residents were facing
“significant injury… abuse and neglect at the hands of a private company.” A
judge ruled in favor of the vet and halted the plans, but the case was
dismissed last month and the privatization implementation plans are now moving
forward.
Michigan’s Department of
Military and Veterans Affairs has stated that it is providing proactive job
hunting help to the nursing assistants in the form of a rapid response
workforce development team. The nursing assistants have also been informed that
they can apply for their former jobs under the new management. In addition, a
three-judge panel stated that several allegations of contract works who
provided inadequate care did not mean every contracted worker would provide
substandard care, and that no veterans were required to live at The Grand Rapids
Home for Veterans and if any vets felt they were receiving substandard care,
they were free to leave. The Governor's
Deputy Press Secretary issues a statement that the privatization would allow
for "the best possible health care" while saving the U.S.
Sources
http://michiganradio.org/post/state-issues-pink-slips-144-nursing-assistants-home-veteranshttp://www.michiganradio.org/post/state-appealing-ruling-against-privatization-home-veterans
http://www.michiganradio.org/post/court-appeals-says-governor-can-privatize-nursing-assistants-home-veterans
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