WRH nurses consider early retirement packages

http://www.am800cklw.com/News/Headlines/WRH-nurses-consider-early-retirement-packages

Local members of the Ontario Nurses Association have been meeting with ONA officials the past 2 days to address impending layoffs at Windsor Regional Hospital.
The hospital has announced about 160 full time equivalent Registered Nursing positions will be eliminated because of budget constraints in provincial funding.
By the end of next week early retirement packages should be out for those nurses who are eligible.
Susan Summerdyke is the local bargaining unit president of the 1500 nurses at the 2 campuses of WRH.
Summerdyke says the job losses are in a number of different areas of the hospital operations.
She says this is very difficult, particularly for those who are new to the profession:  "jobs are few and far between for nurses. We don't have a lot of places to go and I think this is a very sad time that a lot of our young nurses, who will be our future nurses, are probably going to cross the border or leave the city to find work"
Summerdyke adds the loss of the nursing experience in the system should be a concern because senior highly skilled nurse who take the package won't be there to mentor the new nurses.
Summerdyke says the formal notices will have to be issued by the hospital by February 15th.