MIAMI \u2014 Martha Baker is a registered nurse and the president of SEIU 1991, the union who represents nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals within the Jackson Health System. <\/p>\n
\u201cJackson leadership team tells me there\u2019s about 50 Haitian employees who are subject to be terminated due to the TPS (Temporary Protected Status) being revoked by Washington, and it puts a wear and tear on the remaining staff,\u201d she said. \u201cMissed lunches, double shifts; it puts a financial burden on the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement provided to Local 10 News, a spokesperson for Jackson Health System said contingency staffing plans to prevent disruptions to patient care are in place, including overtime.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, to pay overtime alone is silly when you just had somebody yesterday who was well-trained,\u201d said Baker. \u201cAt Jackson, with our mission to take care of all residents regardless of your ability to pay, it\u2019s just a shame that we would put more stress on the system. Jackson struggles every day to break even.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hospital group added that 50 employees affected is a small fraction of their 15,000 employees.<\/p>\n
There was a similar sentiment from the spokesperson for Broward Health who told Local 10 news the 47 staff members impacted there represents less than 1% of their total workforce.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Memorial Healthcare System told Local 10 News they had 27 impacted employees out of 17,000. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile it may seem like a small number with only 50 being affected, 50 is a big number,\u201d said Baker. \u201cThat\u2019s a big number to hire.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is especially true for those with specialized nursing skills, like the two she says who worked in the transplant unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost similar to an ICU or a step down unit because these patients are so sick and it takes so long, not everybody can work that floor unless you\u2019ve been properly trained,\u201d said Baker. \u201cTwo of our Haitian nurses are being sent back.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that filling those vacancies can also take a financial toll. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey say for every nurse you lose, you lose $100,000, and that\u2019s the cost it takes to hire, to train, to process, to precept, and when they\u2019re what we call non-productive while they\u2019re training for eight to 12 weeks, we\u2019re paying them,\u201d said Baker. \u201cThose dollars add up, all the way back to advertising for a vacancy, and interviewing, adding all the time put together, it\u2019s a significant cost and loss to the system.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is happening at a time the Jackson Health System is experiencing patient growth and is actively hiring. <\/p>\n
Baker also responded to the the claim that TPS beneficiaries with work permits take jobs away from American citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a myth in healthcare because there\u2019s too many vacancies in healthcare,\u201d she said. \u201cThe problem is, can we survive the shortages were challenged with? So I can\u2019t believe anybody would be turned away from a job in healthcare because some immigrant got it over them, that\u2019s kind of, I think, more politics at its worst. A divisiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker made a plea to those in Congress who have the power to make a difference. <\/p>\n
\u201cDo your job,\u201d she said. \u201cWe love our Haitian members in our community and at Jackson. It\u2019s disgusting that our senators are allowing this to happen. We are sending our Haitian teammates back to what is probably one the most dangerous countries on Earth today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker also offered advice for the people being impacted by the loss of TPS. <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone asking, what should I do? Should I show up to work? The main thing I tell them is to speak with your employer,\u201d she said. \u201cYou are not allowed to work while unauthorized in the country, but there are different cases, some TPS recruitments who have filed for other forms of relief, so those individuals are a little safer, but it is up to your employer. The employer knows the law, that they cannot have someone working who is unauthorized to do so in the United States. So when I say don\u2019t panic, make sure that you have all your affairs in order, get all your immigration affairs in order, all your personal affairs in order.\u201d<\/p>\n
She went on to say that many still feel they are in \u201clegal limbo\u201d because lower courts still need to weigh in on an exact timeline for executing final administrative orders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not the time to be missing any immigration hearings, any appointments, any ICE check-ins, and I understand there\u2019s a well-founded fear of being arrested, and I can\u2019t guarantee, no attorney can guarantee that that\u2019s not going happen, but I would rather you proceed with the proper procedures than for you to sit here and then there\u2019s a final order of removal because now it just becomes more issues for you,\u201d said Baker. <\/p>\n
Full Statement From Jackson Health System:<\/p>\n
Jackson Health System recognizes that the expiration of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a difficult and uncertain time for affected employees and their families. Jackson has worked closely with these employees to submit any documentation that could establish continued work authorization. Federal law requires that employees whose work authorization expires and who cannot provide alternative eligibility documentation can no longer remain employed. Jackson has continued to employ affected team members for as long as federal TPS extensions remained in effect, and we would welcome them back should they regain work authorization.<\/p>\n
Approximately 50 employees are affected, a small fraction of our 15,000+ team members. We have contingency staffing plans, including per diem staff, agency personnel, and overtime, to ensure uninterrupted, high-quality patient care throughout this transition.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Krysten Brenlla, Media Relations & Branded Content Manager, Jackson Health System<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 Martha Baker is a registered nurse and the president of SEIU 1991, the union who represents…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":794723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-794722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/794723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}