Beaumont says Wayne site is not closing, workers say they have been left in dark

WAYNE, Mich. (FOX 2) - Emotional words from a Beaumont Wayne hospital employee on Tuesday.

"I don't know if I'm going to be working tomorrow, or working tonight," said Jason Bradford.

Beaumont Wayne said in a late statement today that it will be a reserve COVID-19 hospital as COVID-19 patient numbers drop.

But people who work there have not gotten any definitive word on whether the hospital is closing.

"In the past week and a half the numbers have dropped. I believe yesterday it was 20 patients, today we have been informed there are seven currently. For the last three months there have been about 107 to a 120 patients on a daily census basis," said Andrea Acevado, SEIU Healthcare Michigan.

None of those remaining seven patients are COVID-19 positive. Meanwhile the emergency room is closed and the people who work there say they have been left in the dark.

"As of now there has been no communication between Beaumont and any of the employees," said Bradford.

"Workers don't know if they're going to get a paycheck don't know if they'll have a job tomorrow," said Acevado.

Beaumont said in a late statement Monday that a decline in COVID-19 patients has been felt. Its statement said in part:

"We are not closing any of our acute care campuses, including Beaumont, Wayne. While the number of COVID-19 patients has decreased recently, we don’t know what the future holds in this pandemic and there could still be a surge of COVID-19 patients. Beaumont, Wayne will serve as a reserve COVID-19 hospital in anticipation of those potential needs as a part of the Beaumont surge plan."

"As we continue to navigate changes in our patient population/ census, we will balance the needs of our high-acuity COVID-19 patients across the Beaumont system, while at the same time address the decreased census of our non-COVID-19 patient population. We will continue to redeploy staff as needed to address the fluctuating needs at all sites."