Aspirus’s closure of Ironwood OB unit could endanger community, nurses warn

Corporation’s move is just latest example of it gutting U.P. health care

IRONWOOD, MI - Aspirus announced today that it is closing its labor and delivery services at its Ironwood hospital, ramping up the crisis for U.P. families needing to safely have a baby and adding to Aspirus’s gutting of health care for communities across the U.P.

Wisconsin-based Aspirus only informed the OB nurses at the hospital this morning about the plan.

“Nurses are outraged that Aspirus is cutting even more health care for the U.P. and we are extremely worried about women who will now have to drive another 45 minutes to Ashland or another Wisconsin hospital to have their baby – or those who end up in an emergency,” said Ashley Thompson, an OB nurse at the hospital. “Our emergency department nurses are amazing but they do not have the specialized training to deal with a problematic childbirth, when both lives are at risk. It’s just body blow after body blow by Aspirus, with no regard to the fact that they’re leaving our community without the care they need.”

This is just the latest cut to U.P. health care services by Aspirus. The corporation has cut services and closed facilities in the U.P., including:

•    Closing the Ontonagon hospital after promising to expand it
•    Ending delivery services at Aspirus Keweenaw and cutting nurse staffing at the hospital
•    Eliminating almost all certified nurse aide positions at Aspirus Iron River and adding responsibilities to nurses there

“Aspirus should not be allowed to keep treating U.P. communities like our lives don’t matter,” Thompson said. “Nurses want the best for our patients and most of all, we want to keep them safe. This is our community, too, and we won’t be silent in the face of Aspirus’s heartless cuts.”

The Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) is the largest union and professional association for registered nurses and healthcare professionals in the state. MNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United and AFL-CIO.