When two nurses at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital posted on social media recently that they’re being run ragged and patient care is being strained by the Pittsburgh health system giant’s staffing practices, it highlighted a long-running national debate over the right patient-to-nurse ratios. UPMC officials dispute allegations that their policies are a problem. 'Scheduling the right number of nurses to staff our units is a top priority for UPMC Magee and we continue to invest in building the pipeline for new nurses as well as focused recruitment and retention efforts,' spokesman Paul Wood said in a statement Monday. 'Our approach to staffing is flexible and evidence-based in evaluating shift to shift circumstances.' Appropriate staffing has emerged as a wedge in SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania's longstanding efforts to organize Magee-Womens' nurses after the union's failure in 2023 to have hospital staffing minimums baked into state legislation, which Gov. Josh Shapiro supported. Only California and Oregon have such mandates.
A nurse staffing shortage could cause Butler County to shut down its WIC program, which currently has more than 660 cases.
That’s why Butler County commissioners approved a $10,000 signing bonus for full-time nurses at the health department. The health department currently has two open positions and has been dealing with its nursing shortage since January.
Registered Nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Southwest Baltimore are on strike, nurses say management have refused to address issues they believe are impacting patient care.
The 24-hour walkout, organized by National Nurses United (NNU), comes after more than 18 months of stalled contract negotiations. More than 600 nurses represented by the union say they’re fed up with what they call unsafe staffing levels, high turnover, and the frequent “floating” of nurses to different units — all of which they argue compromise patient care.
State grants are being used to help retain nurses across Iowa hospitals.
UnityPoint Health St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids is one of the hospitals receiving these grants. About 120 nurses have retired from the hospital over the last five years.
Saint Luke’s was granted just over $200,000 to help 11 nurses get their RN certification. Those employees will be given a scholarship and the time to commit to getting their education.
Hundreds of registered nurses and service group employees are on the third day of a three-day unfair labor practice strike at McLaren Macomb Hospital in Mount Clemens, with registered nurses not expected to return to work until the weekend.
The service group includes employees who draw blood, register patients and sit with patients who cannot be by themselves, as well as endoscopy technologists and critical care technicians, said Dina Carlisle, president of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 40, whose more than 660 union members work at the hospital and are on strike.
The July 7-9 strike aims to address what the union indicated are numerous unfair labor practices by the hospital, hindering its ability to reach fair contracts.
Unionized nurses at Essentia Health hospitals in Duluth and Superior reached a contract agreement Friday, averting a strike that was set to begin this week, though other groups of Essentia employees may still move forward with strikes in the coming days.
The contract must still be ratified by union members. It includes a 9.75% raise over the three years of the contract, plus a one-year freeze on reductions to staffing ratios, the nurses union announced in a press release. The contract covers around 1,500 nurses at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center, Essentia Health-Duluth and Essentia Health St. Mary’s Hospital-Superior. The previous contract expired June 30.