Many of the 19 nurses working at Children’s Village are anxious after learning their jobs will change later this year.

On Feb. 28, county officials said six of the full-time nurses and 12 part-time nurses will move from the public services department to health and human services. The nursing positions will remain at Children’s Village.

The department change means all the nurses must re-apply for their jobs — and those without bachelor degrees in nursing will be required to earn one, because that is a health and human services department standard.

Nurses with associate degrees are concerned about the cost of college, the time needed for school and whether a bachelor degree can be obtained before the 18-month deadline.

Nurses with bachelor degrees are upset that they must reapply for their jobs, despite no performance issues.

They and their supporters attended recent county meetings to plead for their positions to remain unchanged.

Marvin Vaughn is a Michigan Association of Public Employees official and a youth specialist at Children’s Village for more than 22 years. A youth specialist must be certified in CPR, but is not a nurse.

He spoke to commissioners at the public health and safety committee meetings on March 11 and again last Tuesday, and stayed to address the full board of commissioners after the committee meeting.

Vaughn said the abrupt change is unfair to the nurses.

Nurse Tracie Chewning has a four-year degree.

“We’ve had no litigation or licensing violations involving the medical unit,” she said. The nurses are responsible for basic health appraisals and assisting during doctor calls. They manage medication and immunizations along with any chronic diseases the children may have.

But at least three times in the last decade, Chewning said, the nurses have saved lives when people on the non-nursing staff had heart attacks.

“I’m happy and proud we’ve had a 100% survival rate,” she said. “Are we simply trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist?”

Yvonne Miller, a nurse for 31 years with a two-year degree, has worked at Children’s Village since 2011.

“I love what I do … I just really want to take the time to say I hope you’ll reconsider and save the nurses. We all care for these children,” she said.

The nurses said they were upset by how the news was delivered. The county’s summary refers to the jobs as being deleted, which several said was hurtful. At least one nurse was notified by phone, on her day off, when she was in a grocery store. Many mentioned outstanding performance appraisals in recent months.

Children’s Village’s medical unit was led by a medical doctor and nurse practitioner provided by Honor Community Health in Pontiac, using a $300,000 state grant. But Honor ended the arrangement on March 1. Children’s Village needs the medical doctor and nurse practitioner because they can diagnose patients, said County Commission Chairman Dave Woodward.

Honor CEO Debbie Brinson said this year’s grant was declined because Honor’s focus is on prevention and wellness for children, but Children’s Village nurses are more-focused on caring for the children’s immediate medical needs.

Both types of medical care are legitimate, she said, adding there is no question about the quality of care the county’s nurses provide to the children at Children’s Village.

“We really, really enjoyed working at Children’s Village but there was a tension and conflict between the medical staff and our staff — not because anyone was doing anything wrong. There are just different philosophies in our care model (and jail care) and we wanted to stay true to our primary-care commitment,” she said.

Honor Health will continue to provide appointments when the children need to see a doctor, she said.

“But our focus is preventative care for at-risk children, who are among the most vulnerable,” she said.

Woodward said shifting Children’s Village nurses to the public health department achieves three goals:

• Improving clinical care and safety of Children’s Village residents who require both immediate and long-term services.

• Applying a public-health standard of care for some of the county’s most-vulnerable residents.

• Making a fiscally responsible decision. The change will save an estimated $300,000 for the cost of operations that the county would have had to pay to replace the doctor and nurse provided by Honor.

The county’s public health office has its own medical director and nurse practitioner, he said.

Currently Children’s Village has seven full-time nurses including a supervisor and 12 part-time nurses. It’s a structure that has evolved over time, Woodward said. Under the new plan, Children’s Village staff would include the county’s medical director and nurse practitioner, a nursing supervisor, and a part-time health clerk along with the 12 part-time and six full-time nurses.

“I’d like to think most people would agree that if we were starting over with Children’s Village, we’d set it up so the nurses would be part of the public health department,” he said.

Last year, the county spent close to $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act money for a needs assessment for Children’s Village to improve resources, Woodward said, and one of the report recommendations was to switch oversight of the nurses to the public health department.

The commission’s public health and safety committee approved the plan with a 6-2 vote. Committee chair Penny Luebs, a Clawson Democrat, and Commissioner Mike Spisz, an Oxford Republican, voted against the measure. She and Spisz said it was unfair to make the nurses reapply for their jobs. Commissioner Bob Hoffman, a Highland Township Republican who is not on the committee but attended the meeting, said during public comment the current staff should be retained with their degree status grandfathered in. The bachelor’s degree requirement should be used for new employees, he said.

Commissioners failed to approve the plan on Tuesday, hampered by a high number of absences.

“It will be resolved and will probably be taken up at our April 10 meeting,” Woodward said. “There is urgency around this because we need a medical director in that role.”

He said the current nurses will be first priority for filling the new roles. They won’t lose pay and their union membership will shift from MAPE to UAW.

Nurses who want to pursue a bachelor degree will be reimbursed up to $5,250 per year for classes, he said. The money can be used for tuition, books and equipment or to pay a student loan.

As for the 18-month deadline to complete the bachelor degree, he said, it’s likely that someone who is passing their classes while working could get an extension if needed.

Those who don’t want to pursue a four-year-degree can apply for a job as a youth specialist, he said.

“We’re working very hard to make sure everyone maintains their opportunities, pay and benefits they enjoy today and not lose sight of our most-important job: Making sure we get the absolute best care for some of our most-vulnerable residents,” he said.

Woodward is confident the county will fill all the new nursing positions as needed by July 11.