Union nurses and the University of Michigan said Saturday they have reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract after months of bargaining. Details of the agreement will be discussed to at upcoming membership meetings and nurses will have the final say through a ratification vote, said Katie Oppenheim, nurse and chairwoman of the Michigan Nurses Association.
Nurses are voicing their concerns about how a proposed merger between health-care giants Dignity Health and Colorado-based Catholic Health Initiatives will affect patient health and safety, health-care access and maintenance of charity care standards. Most recently, nurses spoke out at an impact hearing in Santa Maria, one of several being held across the state as the State Attorney General’s Office takes public comment on the proposed merger, which was announced last December.
Massachusetts voters are evenly split over a ballot question about mandatory staffing levels for nurses, according to a new WBUR poll. The poll out Tuesday shows big leads for the "yes" camps on two other ballot questions. Voters overwhelmingly support keeping legal protections for transgender men and women, such as the right to use public restrooms that match gender identities.
Nurses hired for hard-to-fill roles at Mercy Health could get up to $20,000 in student loans repaid. The program launched in August as unemployment drops and competition heats up for nurses among not just hospitals but other health care providers like nursing homes, home health agencies and physician practices.
Teachers in multiple states staged strikes and protests earlier this year. Steelworkers may well strike soon. And now nurses are getting in on the action. Earlier this month, 7,000 nurses across five states voted by an "overwhelming majority" to authorize a strike if ongoing contract negotiations don't deliver results.
There are more than 150,000 registered nurse and licensed practical nurse licensees in Massachusetts, but that number has increased by only 15 percent or so in the past 25 years, despite a growing population that’s also getting older. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the U.S. is projected to experience a shortage of registered nurses (RNs) that is expected to intensify as Baby Boomers age and the need for health care grows.