Lansing— An Ingham County judge ordered a halt Friday to the state's plans to privatize nursing aide jobs at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, saying she feared the change would cause "irreparable harm" to the more than 600 vets who live there.
The privatization "all comes down to money, really," said Circuit Judge Paula Manderfield, noting state officials said they need to save $18,000 a day by turning 170 resident-care aide positions over to a contractor, who pays workers about half as much money.
"The home can make cuts in other areas, or perhaps they can get some more money from the state," the judge said.
Assistant Attorney General Joseph Froehlich, representing the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs that runs the home, said he will appeal. Manderfield denied his request for a stay of her order pending the appeal.
Lead plaintiff Tony Spallone, a Vietnam veteran and a resident of the home, bused to Lansing with other residents to testify in favor of the injunction. They said workers hired by the contractor, J2S Group of Grand Rapids, don't get enough training and don't stay on the job long because they make about $10 an hour.
The company already supplies some of the nursing aides, and the state wanted to give all the work to J2S effective Oct. 1.
Gov. Rick Snyder, who forecast $4.2 million in savings from the move, is disappointed and anticipates an emergency appeal, his spokeswoman, Sara Wurfel, said. "We continue to be focused on providing the highest quality of care and respect for our veterans," while implementing reforms to get the state "back on a sustainable, financially viable track," she said.
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