The California Department of Health Care Access and Information approved $40.8 million in grants to 20 organizations to support underrepresented students, according to a Sept. 21 news release.

Throughout the pandemic, hospitals and health systems have implemented COVID-19 vaccination requirements for employees, citing a need to protect patients, workers and the communities they serve. The list continued to grow once CMS announced its vaccination mandate covering healthcare facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid. Now, health systems continue to update their policies as the virus situation changes and additional vaccines become available. 

In recent months, the term "quiet quitting" has gained traction on social media, referring to a phenomenon in which workers reduce their enthusiasm at work and stick to the minimum expectations of their role. The exact phrase has particularly caught on among younger workers, with 82 percent of millennials and Generation Z workers saying that the concept appeals to them, according to a new study.

Workers at Audrain Community Hospital in Mexico, Mo., and Callaway Community Hospital in Fulton, Mo., were fired after a Texas-based company took over the facilities from Kansas City, Mo.-based Noble Health, Kaiser Health News reported Sept. 22.

Emotional exhaustion among U.S. healthcare workers worsened over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and threatens to compromise patient care, according to a Sept. 21 analysis from JAMA Network Open.

The Boston-based University of Massachusetts Office of the President, Boston-based Mass General Brigham and Irvine, Calif.-based UMass Global are collaborating to train more than 1,000 under- and unemployed individuals for healthcare's front lines. 

Healthcare workers experienced an uptick in unemployment rates after the pandemic's onset. However, unemployment was far higher in workers outside the healthcare industry during the same period, research shows.

Sixty-nine percent of U.S. healthcare practitioners say that a lack of skilled workers is the biggest threat to the national health system, according to a survey conducted by the World Innovation Summit for Health.

Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City, Calif., has increased the security and police presence on campus following the stabbing of an employee.

Amid a changing work landscape, health systems must adjust recruiting and retention practices to ensure they meet employee needs and expectations across generations. This is particularly true as more older healthcare workers have retired or plan to retire, and as younger generations such as millennials and Generation Z make up large portions of their workforces.  

On Sept. 17, the state of California rescinded its weekly testing requirement for healthcare workers unvaccinated against COVID-19 due to religious or medical exemptions. 

Currently, Houston Methodist is not requiring employees to receive new COVID-19 vaccines targeting omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts issued an executive order to extend previous executive orders made to facilitate hospital planning and to ensure additional healthcare workforce capacity, according to a Sept. 19 news release from the governor's office.

"Quiet quitting" is nothing more than a new phrase for an old phenomenon, according to workforce reporter Derek Thompson. 

Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Healthcare and Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health are rolling out extra security measures as violence against employees surges, the Virginian Pilot reported Sept. 18. 

Centennial, Colo.-based Centura Health is reducing its workforce by about 1 percent across Colorado and western Kansas, the health system confirmed in a statement shared with Becker's Sept. 17.

Bend, Ore.-based St. Charles Health System has lifted COVID-19 vaccine requirements on its workers, the Bend Bulletin reported Sept. 15. 

Martha's Vineyard (Mass.) Hospital is the largest employer on the island, and for months it has operated with a quarter of its staff jobs left unfilled, according to a Sept. 16 report from The Washington Post.

Duke Health has contacted police after two employees became sick Sept. 15 after eating donated homemade cookies, NBC affiliate WRAL reported.

Wyoming is the only state without specific penalties for violence against hospital employees. On Sept. 14, the state's lawmakers rejected a bill that would implement them, Wyoming Public Radio reported.