Nurses who worked at hospitals owned or operated by Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth are accusing the health system of retaliating against them when they raised concerns about patient and worker safety, NBC News reported Feb. 6.

Registered nurses at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center and Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre have approved a three-year contract with Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Health.

Thousands of registered nurses at Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital have launched a campaign for new union contracts, as their current agreements are set to expire March 31, according to an independent union representing them. 

Nurses at Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.-based NewYork-Presbyterian-Hudson Valley Hospital voted overwhelmingly Feb. 1 to approve a first union contract at the hospital, according to the union that represents them.

To boost the nursing pipeline, Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Health is offering a certified nursing assistant training program that recently expanded to community members, Jennifer Thayer, the health system's manager of workforce planning and development, told Becker's.

After union pushback, St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, Calif., will allow greater quarantine flexibility for healthcare workers who test positive for COVID-19 while asymptomatic.

Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System said Jan. 19 that its strategy of recruiting nurses from the Philippines is making headway, with the first nursing cohort expected to arrive as early as this summer. 

Nurses at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital in Kittanning, Pa., voted Jan. 26 to authorize a strike, according to a union news release shared with Becker's. 

Kenmore (N.Y.) Mercy Hospital — part of Buffalo, N.Y.-based Catholic Health — and United Food & Commercial Workers Union District Local One have agreed to new contracts for service and plant operations associates at the hospital, according to a news release shared with Becker's.

California's Santa Cruz County and more than 1,600 front-line workers, including healthcare workers, reached a tentative agreement Jan. 24, averting a planned strike, according to a union news release. 

The potential for strikes at healthcare facilities is elevated as union contracts are set to expire in 2022 and employees prepare to enter a third year on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bloomberg Law.

Workers in California's Santa Cruz County, including healthcare workers, plan to strike Jan. 25.

Rhode Island held its first public access meeting Jan. 20 about the Lifespan and Care New England merger, where several union employees from the Providence-based health systems spoke out against the proposed deal, The Boston Globe reported Jan. 20.

More than 670 Minnesota Nurses Association members at six Mayo Clinic Health System facilities are demanding wage fairness and retention bonuses to address staffing issues and recognize workers, according to a union news release. 

Front-line workers at La Crosse, Wis.-based Gundersen Health System and community supporters held a rally and launched a mobile billboard Jan. 17, calling on executives to "respect and invest in healthcare heroes for quality care," according to the union that represents them. 

Below are six hospitals and health systems that posted job listings seeking chief human resources officers in the last month.

Registered nurse members of National Nurses United held actions across the U.S. Jan. 13 advocating for better staffing and protections for workers. 

Healthcare workers at Doctors Hospital of Riverside (Calif.) have canceled a 24-hour strike planned for Jan. 13 after the workers and hospital management reached a tentative agreement, according to hospital and union statements shared with Becker's.

A union representing 32,000 registered nurses and healthcare professionals is urging hospitals to reconsider allowing its asymptomatic members who test positive for COVID-19 to return to work immediately without isolation or testing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers have faced challenges such as workplace shortages and burnout. These challenges have not only affected front-line workers but have also stretched hospital human resources professionals, according to an article published on the Society for Human Resource Management website.