During this time of critical staffing shortages, nurses still spend almost an hour each shift searching for equipment. This adds costs and takes nurses away from patient care. An effective medical device management program presents an often-overlooked opportunity to improve clinical staff satisfaction, reduce expenses and support quality care.

Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association plan to hold an informational picket June 1 at 11 Twin Cities hospitals, the union said in a May 19 news release.  

Kaiser Permanente mental health professionals in Hawaii began a three-day strike May 18.

A nurses union is accusing Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay, Ore., of failing to bargain in good faith by unilaterally implementing wage increases for nurses amid bargaining and after union members had twice rejected contract proposals, according to The Lund Report.

Mental health workers from M Health Fairview and Allina Health, both based in Minneapolis, plan to strike May 24 unless they reach a deal on their first contracts, the Minnesota Reformer reported May 16.

Members of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West ended a five-day strike May 13 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles with no agreement.

Kaiser Permanente mental health professionals in Hawaii plan to strike beginning May 18. 

A judge ruled that an Iowa hospital worker who was fired after repeatedly violating COVID-19 mitigation policies is not entitled to unemployment benefits, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported May 11. 

Citing a desire for the best possible patient care and strong worker protections, physicians in California have been involved in several labor actions this year.

Resident and fellow physicians at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles have voted to unionize with the Committee of Interns and Residents.

Members of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West are set to begin a weeklong strike May 9 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

For years, healthcare systems have grappled with nurse shortages. The pandemic has motivated organizations to take a closer look at the causes of the problem and potential solutions.

After more than seven months of talks, the majority of 1,600 front-line nurses working at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Ore., have voted to authorize a strike, according to the union that represents them.

Resident and fellow physicians at Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Health Care have voted in favor of representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents, according to a May 3 news release.

Nurses at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children's hospitals in Palo Alto, Calif., have ratified three-year contracts and will go back to work May 3.

Stanford and Lucile Packard Children's hospitals in Palo Alto, Calif., and the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract for about 5,000 nurses represented by the union, according to hospital and union statements.

Hundreds of workers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles plan to strike May 9, according to the union that represents them.  

The following hospital-union events have been reported in the last two weeks:

The union representing nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass., is accusing the hospital of violating the agreement to end a monthslong strike by pursuing a plan to unilaterally impose 12-hour shifts on its members.

Front-line workers at Providence, R.I.-based Women & Infants Hospital protested April 26 over what they described as inaccessible vacation time, according to The Providence Journal.