Providence Swedish laid off more than 100 nursing assistants in Everett as part of a significant restructuring of the company.
Providence Swedish cited rising costs, insurance delays, inflation in the medical and pharmaceutical world, and looming federal government funding cuts to Medicaid and Medicare as reasons for the decision. In total, 600 full-time jobs are being eliminated across seven states Providence Swedish operates in. The layoffs will go into effect July 11.
Registered nurses at University Medical Center in New Orleans are preparing to go back on strike Monday, accusing hospital management of retaliation and union-busting tactics.
Nola Nurses United, the union representing the nurses, claims LCMC Health fired one of its prominent leaders, registered nurse Mike Robertshaw, following a strike held in May. The move to terminate Robertshaw comes just weeks after LCMC Health agreed to a Tentative Agreement during the collective bargaining agreement for a progressive discipline policy. The union called Robertshaw’s termination an act of retaliation.
Bay Mills Community College will now be offering courses in licensed practical nursing to address local medical professional shortages.
On June 5, the college received approval from the Michigan Board of Nursing to launch the Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) certificate program. LPN certificates were offered at the college years ago but the program was removed in 1999.
The certificate will qualify people to work as a nurse with a foundation of the standards of the practice. It will also include teachings tied to traditional Native American practices to promote a better understanding of unique cultural, racial and social differences among patients in the area.
While a range of clinicians can conduct forensic exams, specialized nurses called sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) receive rigorous training to provide trauma-informed care throughout the evidence collection and examination process.
SANEs also connect survivors with resources and advocates. SANEs and the advocates they connect survivors with are vital for trauma-informed patient care and for bringing perpetrators of sexual assault to justice. But there is a critical shortage of SANEs across the Gulf South. According to the International Association of Forensic Nurses, a trade group that certifies SANEs, Alabama has 44 certified SANEs for the entire state. Louisiana has 42. Mississippi only has 6 — for a population of almost three million.
Where and how sexual assault patients access this resource varies greatly across the region. Although Louisiana state law requires patients have access to forensic exams in every parish, in practice not every hospital is set up to provide them.
A Penn Township woman is facing charges after police and hospital staff allege that she caused a fire inside UPMC Hanover in April, according to court documents. Michele Warren, 56, of Penn Township, was charged with a felony count of risking a catastrophe, along with misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person and reckless or negligent damage of property, according to charges filed by Hanover police this week.
Nurses at Southern Ocean Medical Center agreed to a contract on Sunday, averting a strike less than 24 hours before the scheduled walkout.
The nurses, who are part of the Health Professionals & Allied Employees (HPAE) Local 5138, were negotiating with the hospital over nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, wages and other benefits. After a day of talks Saturday that continued into early Sunday morning, the union said it reached a tentative deal on a three-year contract.