KALAMAZOO, MI -- Nurses with the Ascension health care system in Southwest Michigan are afraid their jobs may be at risk.

Four Ascension hospitals in Michigan, two in Kalamazoo County and two in Allegan County, are being acquired by Beacon Health System, an Indiana-based nonprofit . Ownership is expected to change over this summer.

Beacon Health System said in a statement it’s “committed” to continuing the employment of Ascension employees. But nurses say continued employment is dependent on whether they meet Beacon’s employment requirements — and nurses haven’t been informed what those are.

“We’re looking for some guarantees,” said Lori Batzloff, a nurse at Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo and president of the local Michigan Nurses Association chapter.

Employees received a tr

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