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Posted on Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 7:30 a.m.

Termination causes daily uncertainty of future

By Letters to the Editor

I am writing this letter because I feel compelled to say what is in my heart and on my mind in hopes that the last six months of sleepless nights will end and not continue.

I have been a nurse at St. Joe's Mercy Health System for the last 36-plus years. The last 25 years were spent as a nurse who worked at the breast center, located in the Women’s Health Center.

annarborcomflickr_st_joes_hospital_room.jpg

After being terminated from a job, mixed feelings are bound to come up.

AnnArbor.com photo

Unfortunately, I have been terminated due to an extended medical leave of absence. As of March 20, I am no longer employed there. My life is now filled with fear, anxiety and uncertainty daily because I am too young to retire. I had planned to work another seven to eight years at the breast center before I retired.

My husband lost his job as a painter (with no benefits) and now we may lose everything we have worked for our entire lives. We will have no benefits or income as of March 30. I know this is not uncommon nowadays, and my heart goes out to everyone out there who is faced with the same things my husband and I are. The thought of losing everything we have, especially our house, scares me to death.

I have terrible feelings about St. Joe's now, while in the past I was so proud to say I worked there.

On a positive note, there’s a few things I need to say. First of all a big, heartfelt thank you to all the staff at the Michigan Orthopedic Surgery Center at St. Joe's who showed me such love and care in March when I had surgery for a torn rotator cuff.

From the minute I arrived, I met wonderful staff members, from the front desk till when I was wheeled out after surgery. I could not have been treated any better. They all truly cared about me and what I was going through in my life right now.

I don’t remember all your names, but you know who you are and should be proud of the work you do. Again, I thank you with all my heart. Secondly, I need to mention all my co-workers, past and present, from the breast center — my other family. I miss you guys so much. The excellent care I saw you all give each and every day definitely will pave all your ways to heaven.

Dealing with breast cancer everyday just tears your heart out, and I know that because of you, our patients never felt they were alone in dealing with the horrible diagnosis of breast cancer. The many hugs I saw given out every day were for the most part the first steps taken in fighting and hopefully beating the cancer that affects young and old alike. Thanks to each and every one of you who will always mean the world to me.

Lastly, I want to thank all the patients — my girls — who I have met during the last 25 years. You have all taught me so much about life and also about myself. I love you all very much and will never forget any of you. Char O’Bara

South Lyon

Comments

David Wanner

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 2:53 p.m.

Sounds very similiar to my situation. I worked for 20 years putting in almost 100 hours per week to do an outstanding job for Ascension Health. When it came time for them to feed my defined benefit pension for the last five years they let me go instead. Now with my age it is difficult to get a job much less one that paid me well like the last one. After never even having to look for a job for the last 30 years I am lost.

Ann

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 1:36 p.m.

Unfortunately we will be reading more of these stories in the absence of tenure for pubic educators. Well educated, seasoned, and dedicated staff will be shown the door for a variety of reasons. Society has little use for over 55 year olds. Worse yet is the funding for the elderly. But that dicussion would take a complete edition of annarbor.com! An over 50 doesn't bounce back as quickly as a 30 something after that type of surgery. I hope she has a legitimate argument against her employer firing her. Nursing is a difficult and exhausting job. Hang in there.

walker101

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 12:15 p.m.

Don't worry, Obama said he will have created millions of jobs, just keep waiting.

A2comments

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 10:42 a.m.

This letter should never have been published in a newspaper. But this is a blog, and they want to get comments and responses and links and clicks on ads...

mtlaurel

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 9:36 a.m.

sorry this happened to you,Char, esp with your intention to work for "another 7-8 yrs" and being too young to retire,as you state.You must have medical documentation of your condition/the surgery just tookplace last month....have you reviewed this occurrence with your Physician and any legal person?.....does not sound legitimate on the part of your employer.

wereintroubl

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 6:56 a.m.

Sorry to see the lack of compassion on the part of some toward Mrs. O'Bara but it does not suprise me. Face it, while there are age discrimination jobs on the books, if you are 55-65, most employers look at you as: 1) used up, 2) overqualified and will not be happy working at half to one-third wages. It is real ignorant to tell someone to "get a job" when there is none available for many of these people, but I guess it is like the old adage "when your neighbor is out of a job, it is a recession, when you are out of a job it is a depression." There are more and more people in this age bracket that are taking part-time jobs once designed for teenagers and college students- hardly a way to make a living. Even with these jobs, hours are often limited to 20, and any type of benefits? Good lucek. In the name of survival and the way things are these days, my advice to Mrs. O'Bara is to contact a good employment lawyer.

JRW

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 1:04 a.m.

I have had no interaction with St Joe's other than a friend who back in the 1990's was offered a middle management job there and had to undergo a physical and drug screen, which was fine. However, during the physical exam, he was asked extensively about any prior claims for worker's comp, etc, that went far beyond a standard physical exam. He had no prior worker's comp claims. He ended up not taking the job and didn't end up working there.

JRW

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 1:01 a.m.

You can extend your health insurance for 18 months under the federal COBRA law. That should help a little. Michigan BCBS does offer individual policies with high deductibles to everyone regardless of pre-existing conditions. I thought it was illegal for employers to terminate employees who take a medical leave.

JRW

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 6:51 p.m.

Yes, COBRA can be very high, but some of guarantee issue BCBS MI policies are "affordable" if you are willing to take the high deductibles. It's a trade-off depending on how much care you need and your health status. There is likely more to this story than we are being told in the article.

a2citizen

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 5:29 a.m.

J, From personal experience...COBRA was going to cost me $1,000 per month. I still have the letter. I almost fell out of my chair. True, you can't be terminated when on medical leave. But medical leave has it's legal limits. What the author is not saying is she came to the end of those limits. She can go back to work or go on permanent disability. The reality is she had a choice. And she chose not to go back to work.

Woman in Ypsilanti

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 11:08 p.m.

There are a lot of details missing of course. One thing to consider about disabilities is that one must consider the job. Nursing, as far as I can tell, is a pretty physical job and an injury that wouldn't keep your average desk jockey from going to work can prevent a nurse (or firefighter, or police officer, etc) from being able to fulfill their job duties. Yes, people can purchase disability insurance but most people don't. We really need a better system for dealing with things when injuries occur. We especially need a better system than calling injured people 'lazy' so that we can pretend that this can't happen to us and that they deserve their fate. Can't we take a more compassionate and useful approach? Maybe one that gets people working and paying taxes again?

OHHIO

Wed, May 1, 2013 : 2:41 a.m.

Nursing on the floor can be physical...good thing she works in a field where lite-duty jobs are easy to find. I'm sure she could do some chart auditing. Thanks to the affordable care act, there is a growing need for auditing for quality measures. There are even jobs where there is a HUGE need for nurses to help with even more chart auditing for how physicians and nurses are documenting in the electronic chart. Imagine that, getting paid nurse money to just audit charts. Easy work if you can get it. We were not told the whole story here. Nurses have a lot of options that are not physical...that pay a lot of money too. I wonder if she asked her supervisor and the HR department what her options were. This story doesn't sound right to me.

leezee

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 5:10 p.m.

What is the criteria for an op-ed piece on annatbor.com? If the upshot was about how medical leaves should be extended or some such thing, I could see publishing this, but the only point I see here is someone wanting to vent about losing their job. Strange that she would even write the letter to annatbor.com....even stranger that they published it. That being said, I hope she is on the mend and able to find another job.

Tru2Blu76

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 4:13 p.m.

We must all work to live - period. Given that, I can't say our "employment system" is rational, reasonable or just. It pretends to be though. Mrs. O'Bara's experience is not uncommon. That kind of thing is swept under the rug and the fate of those who find themselves looking to continue their chosen line of work is, frankly, ugly. The Baby Boomer Conundrum has also come home to roost: aging causes damage and increased vulnerability to injury. Now we have millions of "retirement age" workers who, it's been shown, can't afford to retire. We also have an unknown number of people like Mrs. O'Bara: they're able to work, young enough to work, want to work, but due to "other employer requirements" have been shunted into joblessness. Something is DRASTICALLY WRONG with our system. Without swerving far left or right: we must all work toward a nation of "universal employment.." (Not "universal background checks.") We are in a system which sorts "undesirables" in favor of "desirables." That system is flawed in concept as well as in implementation. Mrs. O' Bara: I hope you'll adjust to see that you are in transition, not in "termination." That was the key for me (I wasn't "terminated" I was "promoted" out of a job). Good luck and don't ever, ever let yourself become discouraged.

Woman in Ypsilanti

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 11:01 p.m.

It is in all of our best interests to have a system that promotes full employment even for the simple reason that those who are employed pay more taxes generally than those who are not.

shepard145

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 8:12 p.m.

Yea, what ever you need to believe. LOL

Greg

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 3:19 p.m.

Unions did come about for real reasons, but they went so far overboard protecting the incompetent, drunk, those who did not work, etc that they lost much of their credibility. Also they spent so much they controlled one party and if you were a member and wanted your money to go elsewhere, you were just left in the cold. Unions have good and bad points and are not a heaven sent organization as some like to tout.

Sylvanman

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 3:19 p.m.

Kudos to most of the posters here for pointing out this questionable story. What is the intended message of this letter? Why would A2 publish such a letter that clearly lacks details relevant to undersand the underlying theme of medical disability and termination. To make St. Joe look bad? To feed the liberal narrative of evil corporations/employers crushing the employee w/o cause? Pump the virtues of "unions" to protect a job no matter what (facts be damned). Hummm. Ms. O'Bara said she already had 6 months of sleepless nights yet she was just terminated. Safe to say she was off work far more than 6 months. If this were an unjust termination in the eyes of Ms. O'Bara, she would have said so but did not. The fact that a union slappy would jump in and immediately assume that a union would have prevented this termination (without knowing anything but likely 6+ month medical leave says all you need to know about how unions operate to burden employers beyond reason (we ultimately pay the cost of those burdens - think legacy costs added to GM cars that led to GM's bankruptcy. And if the medical issue, rotator cuff, is work related, then worker's comp kicks in.

a2citizen

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 4:42 p.m.

You can only collect workers comp for approx six months. After that you have to go on disability.

zip the cat

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 3 p.m.

Employers now days could care less about being a hard working loyal long term employee. Once you reach that magical age where your costing them big bucks in wages and bennys they will do or say just about anything to get you off there books. I worked for a local company for 11 yrs,never missed a day,never called in sick,was never late,worked all the hours they asked and had excellent yearly reviews. Two days before Christmas they fired me for some b/s reason. Did I sit home and mope,hell no I sucked it up and started my own company and now I make 4 times what I made before and work MY hours. Sorry for your loss but the sad thing is that it happens every day and if you sit home and let it eat at your mind it will kill you. Suck it up and move on. If you worked for 36 yrs you can draw unemployment for quite a spell.its not a lot but it helps.

Rod Johnson

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 6:41 p.m.

And Burger King was out a darned reliable employee.

YpsiGirl4Ever

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 6:33 p.m.

Sylvanman, The writer of this piece was a SKILLED Cancer Nurse by her on admission. So your point is? Oh, you have no point. Next....

Sylvanman

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 3:35 p.m.

You were fired for some B/S reason? I've heard that far too many times. It's amazing what an employee thinks is B/S reason. Like they work for a delivery service and drive company trucks all day and have their 3rd truck accident or they were busted for drinking or smoking pot at lunch and then driving high .... exposing the employer to potential massive liablity if they hit someone. Just your typical B/S reasons..... Thanks to unions, people can think such things are not cause for termination. If you work in an unskilled job, you are replaceable. Your choice not to become highly skilled, not your employer's. Regardless, make yourself indespensible and you will not get fired for B/S reasons. Indespensible means far far more than showing up on time for 11 years .... which you seem to think makes you untouchable and entitled to part ownership ....

bill s

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 2:32 p.m.

Why is this the lead story on AA.com? This is nothing more than hearsay. We (the reader) have no way of knowing if this "letter to the editor" contains all the facts, or ANY facts. AA.com needs to explain what is the point of leading with this story full of questions, and believe me, there is a point being made by putting this letter front and center. Every day this "newspaper" falls more and more into the role of a mouthpiece of the leftist agenda. MY comment will be deleted immediately, simply because I don't fit the narrative you're pushing. Anyone who writes in with a thought that steps on the toes of AA.com's mission of forming the news to fit with their ideology, is shut down quickly.

Usual Suspect

Tue, Apr 30, 2013 : 5:16 p.m.

"I'd also just like to reemphasize the point that we have no ideological mission / agenda" "Unauthorized immigrants."

Kyle Mattson

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 2:14 p.m.

Ah, my fingers are no stranger to making typos and the all too frequent auto-correct mistake M-W, it happens and we understand when readers do the same. It is a problem that plagues us all on the inter-webs. An edit feature is something we have considered in the past and will continue to make note of when working on future updates to commenting functionality. Thanks.

M-Wolverine

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 2 p.m.

"This is a letter to the edition"...? Auto-correct is a cruel mistress. These posts really need an edit function. Or an editor.

bill s

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 11:29 p.m.

Jeez Kyle. You got almost as many down votes as I did. :)

Kyle Mattson

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 6:51 p.m.

Hi Rod- Just saw your comment after I posted my previous one, thanks for weighing in. I'd also just like to reemphasize the point that we have no ideological mission / agenda we're trying to accomplish through publication of certain stories or opinion content, but rather simply reporting the news and sharing the content that readers have submitted. If there ever is a topic any readers are particularly informed and passionate about, particularly any that we've recently reported on please share your extended thoughts with us by shooting us an email. Thanks!

Kyle Mattson

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 6:47 p.m.

This is a letter to the edition, and filed under opinion bill, not a news story. All readers are welcome to submit a letter for consideration of publication on the site/in print. Just email letters@annarbor.com. Also, we have no agenda, and welcome reader input from all perspectives in the comments.

Rod Johnson

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 6:39 p.m.

It's not "the lead story," it's a letter to the editor that just happened to be at the top of the page when you looked at it. No ideology or agenda had to come in to play to make that happen. annarbor.com is a blog, that's how they work. (Oh, and guess what? Your comment wasn't deleted. Check your assumptions.)

Comment

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 2:21 p.m.

It is a cruel world and you fight your biggest battles alone.

shepard145

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 2:07 p.m.

The letter seems to carefully avoid details that could lead readers to any useful conclusions. Perhaps this is an opportunity for everyone to re-evaluate what they think "medical leave" means in the dead obama economy. We all know people who brutally game that system, disappearing from work for first months, then years for reasons that are questionable at best. The insurance industry faces this every day – people who may even suffer a "real" injury or illness and than think "medical leave" is not about recovery, but a permanent vacation paid by the rest of us! They than seek to become part of the massive economic burden on the rest of us after discovering that staying home and getting paid is AWSOME! Getting terminated for such an event is normally not easy in a large organization like a hospital – think about that. I would be very surprised if the writer rolled out of bed one afternoon, strolled out to the mailbox and discovered she was fired. The writer suggesting she was missing the protection of a UNION, artfully demonstrates much that is wrong with unions. Once they protector of worker safety and dignity, they now work hard to become champions of the least competent or employable - something that will lead to their doom sooner rather then later.

shepard145

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 8:10 p.m.

As a blind obama supporter, the mention of the obvious dead obama economy mandates you to tap out such nonsense. By all means continue to follow your dear leader's deconstruction of America into euro socialism! LOL Clearly whoever "educated" you omitted mention of those who orchestrated the economic failure – democrats Barney Frank and Chris Dodd more recently and as far back as Jimmy Carter. Late at night, you should wonder why you are have been kept ignorant of those who wrote the laws, pushed the policies, made the treats that lead to the mortgage collapse. Then wonder why it feels right to assign blame to one president, but not another? LOL ...the same obama failures over and over but expecting a different result! LOL One of the nation's few winners is Jimmy Carter, who's legacy of failure will receive a comparative boost.

snapshot

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 5:11 p.m.

Shep, I agree but Obama is NOT in control of the economic disaster that resulted from greed and lax regulatory enviroment put forth and encouraged by Republican incompetents. Quit banging the "blame Obama Drum" and educate yourself instead of regurgitating what you've "been told".

a2citizen

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 2:04 p.m.

I know the feeling. I didn't miss a day in 22 years and lost my job.

Reason

Tue, Apr 30, 2013 : 10:14 a.m.

Ouch. Sorry you had to experience that!

a2citizen

Tue, Apr 30, 2013 : 4:55 a.m.

Company went from 95k employees to bankruptcy.

Doug

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 2:44 p.m.

Why?

GoNavy

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 1:37 p.m.

Perhaps in publishing this piece, AA.com owes its readers a more exploratory piece on Ms. O'Bara. It is impossible to fully understand this story without hearing more from both sides. Unfortunately, neither Ms. O'Bara nor St. Joe's have any incentive to elaborate further on any of the details in this case. With that in mind, I am left questioning Ms. O'Bara's motivations here. Is this a plea for help? Is it a cautionary tale? Is it veiled criticism? What are the deeper lessons the reader should take from this Op-ed?

Angry Moderate

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 10:09 p.m.

She can write whatever she wants, but it's hardly fair to publish an attack on St. Joe's when they have no opportunity to respond.

Resident A2

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 3:34 p.m.

The writer is entitled to her opinion, hence the title of the newspaper column: OPINION. It is not a front page story and is totally appropriate for her to write this.

Angry Moderate

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 3:05 p.m.

Of course, only one side will be given because St. Joe's can't talk about personnel matters, especially relating to someone's disability. This letter is hardly appropriate for a newspaper.

Linda Peck

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 1:32 p.m.

My heart goes out to you. These are times where your story is not uncommon, unfortunately. I pray that you and your husband will be able to shift gears very quickly and find a new lifestyle, jobs, and creativity that will actually improve your lives. Sometimes people want to hang on to what they have and they hang on for too long to a life they cannot afford, and that can make a bad situation even worse. My advice is to shift quickly into the most economical lifestyle you can find, and look for a way to earn money in any way you can. Brutal? Maybe. Possible? Yes.

OHHIO

Wed, May 1, 2013 : 2:32 a.m.

Stuart...what?

Stuart Brown

Tue, Apr 30, 2013 : 6:43 a.m.

OHHIO, Why is it ok for employers to do what self interest dictates but not for employees? The massive sense of undeserved entitlement is revealed here.

OHHIO

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 12:14 p.m.

Stuart...really? That's your advice? You must have one crappy union job.

OHHIO

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 12:09 p.m.

Prayers won't solve anything. Getting off your butt to look for another job is the only answer. You have a skill that many employers need. Take advantage and find an even better job!

Stuart Brown

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 9:14 p.m.

Thanks Linda for more blame the victim drivel. My take-away from this situation is that it simply does not pay for workers to do more than the absolute minimum on behalf of their employers. When you're young, don't work too hard! Here is the deal with an employer: work really hard (make them lots of cash) you get a thank-you and a measly cost of living adjustment. Work an average amount, you don't get a thank-you and a you still get your measly cost of living adjustment.

shepard145

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 2:20 p.m.

Very good. Too often people get stuck in victim or pity mode when what they really need is to get on their feet, get out there and GET A JOB.

chapmaja

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 1:10 p.m.

There are several questions that I have regarding this case. First, how long was the medical leave that Mrs. O'bara took? Under the FMLA she is legally entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid job protected leave over a 12 month period for leave resulting from a medical condition that prevents her from completing the essential aspects of her job. Was her leave more than 12 weeks in length? If this period of leave was longer than 12 weeks there really is no recourse as the employer was well within their legal bounds to terminate her, but was it ethical? There is a lot of information not being shown. One other possible issue is what caused the injury that lead to her termination? Was she injured on the job which required surgery and the extended leave, or was it a non-work injury. A work injury should never lead to termination, but a non-work injury could cause an extended leave and termination. Hopefully she is able to find another job, but at here age (which I would say is roughly late 50's based on here 36 years at the health system), she is fighting an up hill battle. Age discrimination is illegal but try to prove it in the hiring process. My mother has applied for hundreds of jobs and the only thing she has been able to get is work through Manpower. Good Luck to her and her husband finding work, but it is going to be a long fight.

OHHIO

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 12:07 p.m.

Applying for a Manpower job is different than applying for a nursing job. Experience is coveted in healthcare. I've worked in healthcare management for over ten years...good nurses with experience are in demand at a lot of facilities! It really sucks that she is in this situation after being at St. Joes for so long, but it doesn't have to be so fatalistic...my goodness. Nurses are in demand. She should know this. She probably will even make more money if she just looks and is willing to work somewhere else.

shepard145

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 2:18 p.m.

Perhaps this experience can help them both learn more about what those who pay them expect in terms of dedication. There is nothing wrong with recovering from an injury or illness, but there are very specific expectations associated with recovery and if those are not met, people are fired. I am disgusted by all those I have come across, even friends, who shamelessly seek out the holey grail of slackers - "permanent disability" status - a life long vacation paid by those of us working. Meanwhile we see many unable to walk, missing limbs or with other significant disabilities going to work every day!

Nicholas Urfe

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 1:19 p.m.

Your questions are entirely valid. I feel bad for this woman's situation, because many of us will be in that very same situation. The current widespread practice of tying health care to your job is just absurd, because people loose their jobs for all sorts of reasons. I even support her going public about the situation. However, in doing so there should be some detail about the medical leave - the duration, the work restrictions, etc. I am certainly no apologist for hospital administrations, but it is a fact that they will not be able to reply with their side of the story here. So we are left with one side only, and that side has chosen to not give us the slightest bit of detail, just "terminated due to an extended medical leave of absence." Best of luck to Mrs. O'Bara and her husband.

Gorc

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 12:59 p.m.

I am sorry that Mrs. O'Bara and her family are experiencing this hardship. But her letter may be describing only a part of the situation. Under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) she is entitled twelve weeks off to recover. And her position would be protected during those 84 days. Does it take more than twelve weeks to recover from rotator cuff surgery? And I am assuming her extended medical leave was due to her rotator cuff. If it wasn't the rotator cuff, then what? If she is truly disabled, she might be eligible to collect benefits from the system she has paid into for the last 36 plus years. And everyone has the option to purchase private disability insurance for situations like this.

Matt Cooper

Tue, Apr 30, 2013 : 2:08 a.m.

Depending on the severity of the injury, yes, rotator cuff injuries can take well over a year to fully recover, and even when they are 'fully' recovered, the pain resulting from some rotator cuff injuries can last a life time.

Gorc

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 1:05 p.m.

Let me clarify- the private disability insurance would have had to been purchased prior to her injury.

Jack Gladney

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 12:17 p.m.

Thank you for sharing your story. It sounds like a strong case can be made for the nurses at St. Joe's to join a union to prevent a travesty like this from happening to other nurses. If you had a union in place to fight for your rights as a worker this situation would have been resolved far differently. Some may argue and bicker about paying union dues, but this story shows exactly why unions are needed in the workplace still to this day.

OHHIO

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 11:59 a.m.

A business...yes a hospital is a business, can hold a job for so long before it impacts the quality of service it can provide its customers. Union or no union, St. Joes must staff accordingly to provide its other customers with quality service. If the injury were work related,then St. Joes should keep a spot open for this nurse. If it were not work related, St. Joes should "try" to keep a spot open for this nurse. It may not be in the same position she was in, but they should try to have a job for her when she were ready to come back. With being said, she needs to work closely with the HR department to make sure that SHE IS DOING WHAT SHE NEEDS TO DO TO KEEP HER JOB. She is responsible for communicating with her supervisor and with HR. SHE is responsible for that. Lastly, I too am in healthcare. As a nurse with experience, she should have NO TROUBLE finding a job today. NO TROUBLE. Nursing is one of those caress where experience is a good thing. It is free from age, race and gender discrimination. No union needed here. SHE has to make the effort to find a new job if that is what it takes instead of wasting her time writing to the editor...

Boo Radley

Mon, Apr 29, 2013 : 1:21 a.m.

Jack, I am glad you posted that. I know myself why unions exist and are still needed in the workplace, despite all of the anti-union haters that are common to this site.

Jack Gladney

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 5:55 p.m.

Shepard, do you think maybe there just might be a little information being withheld in this story/letter? Subtlety is lost on the masses. Ain't nobody got time for that.

shepard145

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 2:09 p.m.

Oh yes, champions of the lease employable, least productive and least competent. Good luck with that business model Jack!! LOL Just close the doors to your local union now and save everyone a lot of bs and wasted time.

KateT

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 12:10 p.m.

You've lost your job that you had for 36 years due to a medical condition, and your husband lost his, and you may lose your house. I am so sorry to hear this. Noting who your employer is/was, I would wonder if you have legal insurance. You mention that you were going to be terminated on March 20 with no benefits after March 30, so this may all be out the window, but I would advise checking your pay stubs and looking into it. Ethical considerations may bar me from saying more about that at this time. Check. And don't worry about "growing" anything. Some people know not what they do.

WalkingJoe

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 11:58 a.m.

So, is annarbor.com going to publish letters to the editor of everyone who loses their job? I feel bad for the writer but people lose their jobs all the time, fairly or unfairly. There are way worse events that people suffer through and most of them don't write a letter to the editor to get sympathy.

Concerned Neighbor

Sun, Apr 28, 2013 : 4:23 p.m.

Some people just need to tell their story. It may help them in some way. It does stink when one loses what they thought was the perfect plan. Retire in 7-8 years. If someone reding this can learn, or take something away from this it may be well worth it....walking joe, do you have a plan?