Rome (N.Y.) Health is no longer requiring that workers receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association held a press conference June 5 opposing Cambridge (Mass.) Health Alliance's plan to lay off five nurse educators at two hospitals, saying the move will mean less support for new nurses and negatively affect retention. 

Rochester-based Mayo Clinic almost scored an exemption from Minnesota's Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act — until its opposition to the proposed nurse staffing ratios sparked pushback from other health systems, leading the state to cut those provisions entirely and pass a compromise nurse safety bill. Now, one state senator is speaking out, calling Mayo's tactics "corporate hijacking." 

Immigrants hired to yearslong contracts to fill thousands of U.S. healthcare roles said they are paid less than their co-workers, deceived about benefits such as free housing and, if they try to leave, threatened with tens of thousands in debt, NBC News reported June 4. 

Missouri hospitals continue to struggle with attracting and retaining staff, with turnover and vacancy rates among nurses and other surveyed professions exceeding all survey years other than 2021, according to new research from the Missouri Hospital Association.

Two members of Congress are requesting data regarding layoffs at New Orleans-based Ochsner Health to ensure the move did not disproportionately affect women or minority communities.

The federal government is formally withdrawing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees of CMS-certified healthcare facilities that was enacted in November 2021 and moving to treat the virus, from an oversight standpoint, more like the flu.  

Healthcare gained 52,400 jobs in May, similar to the average monthly gain of 50,000 over the previous 12 months, according to the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Mercy Health-Springfield (Ohio) Regional Medical Center unveiled its own police department and vehicle on May 25. 

As bosses and workers return to in-person work, more organizations are mandating Mondays in-office, according to management consulting firm Korn Ferry. 

What factors do you see affecting health system staffing strategies? What shifts do you anticipate based on the financial challenges hospitals and health systems face today?

More than a year after launching an in-house travel staffing agency, UPMC is adding a new regional approach to the effort.

Medical clinics' staffing costs rose 10 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to a recent survey from medical group advisory firm AMGA Consulting. 

Healthcare/products, which includes hospitals and medical products manufacturers, announced the fourth-most job cuts among 30 industries and sectors measured in the first five months of 2023, according to one new analysis.

Syracuse, N.Y.-based St. Joseph's Health is inviting back employees who were terminated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, WSTM reported May 31. 

Healthcare staffing legislation remains under consideration in some state legislatures and in limbo in others, although two governors recently signed such bills into law. Here are six updates from across the U.S.: 

Cigna HealthcareSM has sponsored and provided editorial input on this article. Healthcare workers are experiencing unprecedented levels of burnout and cognitive fatigue. This is draining their enthusiasm for work and affecting their mental health, while also hurting organizations by increasing employee turnover and absenteeism. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill May 24 to enhance criminal penalties for people who knowingly commit assault or battery upon workers at a hospital. 

Tech enablement, or automation, and improved delegation of tasks have the potential to free up to 15 percent of nurses' time.

Baby boomers are poised to pass down $16 trillion in the next decade and $84 trillion through 2045. That financial cushion could influence millennial and Gen Z workers' choices, according to management consulting firm Korn Ferry.