Detroit Medical Center's Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Charter Township, Mich., confirmed a judge granted its motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by nurses against the hospital.
Here are six things to know.
1. Judge Martha Anderson in Oakland County Circuit Court dismissed the lawsuit Feb. 28.
2. The lawsuit centered on Assignment Despite Objection paper-form based complaints filled out by nurses. The forms were part of a report submitted to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs alleging various patient safety violations at the hospital.
3. The nurses claim hospital officials refused to accept and respond to the forms. Hospital officials said the lawsuit calls on Huron Valley to recognize and implement this paper-form based complaint process. But they said doing so "would not only be inefficient and impractical, but is also an action pre-empted by federal labor law."
4. The hospital, which is in contract negotiations with nurses, ultimately filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming state courts cannot lawfully get involved on either side during bargaining.
5. Hospital spokesperson John Truscott said in an emailed statement to Becker's: "We respect the decision of the Oakland County Circuit Court to grant our motion to dismiss what was a baseless lawsuit. At Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital we continue to work collaboratively to negotiate in good faith with the union representing our nurses to arrive at a mutually acceptable contract."
He also noted the hospital's quality achievements, including recognition as a Top Hospital for Safety and Quality by Leapfrog Group and earning Magnet Recognition by American Nurses Credentialing Center.
6. Nurses represented by Michigan Nurses Association-affiliated Professional Nurses Association of Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital disagreed with the judge's decision and plan to appeal.
"We believe there is strong evidence that Huron Valley executives violated Michigan's public health code by refusing to accept and respond to reports by nurses of unsafe conditions in the hospital," the union told Becker's via email. "Michigan law requires that a hospital respond to such reports within 60 days — but Huron Valley never responded at all, because they never accepted the reports in the first place.
"And of course, our members at Huron Valley remain extremely concerned about the consequences of short staffing …We are continuing to try to resolve these concerns at the bargaining table with Huron Valley — and statewide through legislation that would cover all Michigan nurses and hospitals."
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