Members of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West have voted to authorize a five-day strike beginning May 22 at five HCA Healthcare facilities in California.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the healthcare ecosystem – from supply chain disruptions and burgeoning staff caseloads, to declining  reimbursements and revenue cycle challenges. But the biggest impact being felt from the pandemic is acute staffing shortages that have left a significant number of healthcare service providers failing to complete their mission-critical projects.

Allina Health has reached a tentative agreement with SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa bargaining groups, averting a strike.

Nurses at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Ore., have been raising alarms on short-staffing and work conditions as contract negotiations wear on. Recently, those protests have escalated to a series of formal complaints and labor charges. 

Members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 have extended the deadline of a strike at Valley Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas. 

On May 4, members of the California Nurses Association approved a new contract at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, Calif. 

Resident and fellow physicians at Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine have voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents, a local of the Service Employees International Union.

Members of the California Nurses Association are set to strike May 11 at PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. 

Lewis County Health System, which includes a hospital in Lowville, N.Y., is advertising on city billboards to recruit OB-GYNs.

Members of the Committee of Interns and Residents have voted to authorize a strike at Elmhurst Hospital Center in New York City.

Human resources and internal communications professionals are shaking up their employee messaging mix in the pandemic's wake, Forbes reported May 2. 

Members of the Committee of Interns and Residents are set to begin a three-day strike this month at Jamaica and Flushing hospitals in New York City if they are unable to reach a contract agreement with leadership.

Members of SEIU District 1199 have voted to authorize a strike at Cleveland Clinic Lutheran Hospital, cleveland.com reported. 

Members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East have approved a contract with Danbury, Conn.-based Nuvance Health that includes wage increases. 

Resident and fellow physicians employed by Washington, D.C.-based George Washington University have voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents, a local of the Service Employees International Union.

Members of the Committee of Interns and Residents have voted to authorize a strike at Jamaica and Flushing hospitals in New York City.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have subsided, but its enormous toll on staff and management at hospitals and health care organizations is still evident, creating tension, pressure, internal disputes and turnover.

Members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 are set to strike May 9 at Valley Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas. 

Healthcare leaders are acutely aware of the financial impacts of elevated labor expenses, largely driven by contingent labor use during and after the pandemic.

Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., is seeking legal action against the union representing resident physicians related to a demonstration last year, DCist reported April 20.