Physicians union at Ascension St. John on verge of strike: 'We need staffing'
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The physicians union at Ascension St. John has raised an alarm about critically low staffing levels, which they claim is adversely affecting the quality of patient care.
Now, Members of the Greater Detroit Association of Emergency Physicians say they are prepared to take their fight to the picket line if things do not get better soon.
"We hope it doesn’t come to that. No one wants to strike. None of us went into medicine thinking ‘I’m going to go on strike,'" said Casey Kolp, a physicians assistant at the Detroit hospital.
Private equity firms, such as Blackstone, are acquiring emergency room management services across the country through companies like TeamHealth, according to the union's website. Accusations have emerged from California and North Carolina of these firms reducing staff, cutting costs, and inflating rates to boost profits at the expense of the vulnerable.
Ascension St. John is now facing the same issues, as TeamHealth handles their staffing.
"We need staffing. We need increase in supplies. We need continued, strategic mission to grow as technology grows," said Dr. John Bahling, a pediatric emergency medicine physician.
Kolp and Bahling said they've been telling TeamHealth about their concerns for some time – negotiating the union's first contract for the last six months.
"We are noticing extraordinarily long wait times, decrease in staffing, and the decrease in necessary resources to run one of the preeminent trauma centers in the United States," Bahling said.
Patients sometimes have to wait 10 to 15 hours just to be seen, he added.
In regards to the wait times, TeamHealth stated: "Wait times in the St. John ED are actually declining from 2023 into the first months of 2024. In 2023, the median door to doctor wait time was 25 minutes and, in 2024, that has declined to 17 minutes."
Subsequently, providers end up caring for dozens of patients on a single shift, leading them to burnout.
"It’s frustrating from a providers' standpoint because no one wants their family cared by an exhausted provider, an exhausted physician, a nurse practitioner, a PA that’s burning the candle at both ends," Kolp said.
So, the union is pleading for help.
Adressing the claims, FOX 2 received the following statement from TeamHealth's VP of Integrated Marketing Communications Josh Hopson:
"For more than 40 years, TeamHealth has strived to provide clinicians with the support and resources they need to deliver the highest quality care to patients and the communities they serve. TeamHealth has negotiated in good faith with Greater Detroit Association of Emergency Physicians union. Any statements to the contrary are misleading. Physician staffing levels at the hospital have always ensured high-quality care and patient satisfaction, and the staffing levels are higher than published medians for comparable emergency rooms across the country. We are committed to keeping this dialogue open to ensure clinicians are valued, and patients at St. John Hospital receive the critical emergency care they require."
The union said they will continue to have talks with TeamHealth at the negotiating table. However, time is ticking.
"It’s not about us as providers," Kolp said. "It’s about the community. It’s about patient safety. It’s about giving back."
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