This is a followup to Catherine Buboltz’s letter on April 26 about Mayo posting “100 open positions” in its nursing department. I’m hearing from nurses that many of the job postings were not comparable to current positions. For example, the posted nursing positions were .6 or .75 FTE (full time equivalent), and they were all rotating shifts (days/nights) or nights only. In addition, Austin nurses were given first pick over Albert Lea nurses.

Some senior nurses have worked day positions for 20-plus years, and some nurses can’t make rotating shifts and reduced hours work for their families. Nurses who attended my children’s births and took care of my newborns and me in the hospital afterward are being treated in ways that I certainly don’t find worth “celebrating.”

Dr. Noseworthy may say that “no one has lost their job,” but numerous nurses are, for all practical purposes, being forced out by the consolidation. I would appreciate the Albert Lea Tribune looking into this story further.

Jennifer Vogt-Erickson

Albert Lea