Workforce

Nurse practitioners play an integral role in providing healthcare and work in various settings, including hospitals, physician offices and clinics.

The number of hospitals and health systems requiring COVID-19 booster shots for employees is growing as the pandemic continues in the U.S.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and its subsidiaries terminated 250 of its more than 10,000 employees after they refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the company's Jan. 4 deadline, a spokesperson told Becker's. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Jan. 5 announced a $10 billion, multiyear investment in healthcare, which includes $4 billion for wages and bonuses for healthcare workers.

Humana is indefinitely postponing a return to in-person work for employees around the country as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, a spokesperson told Becker's. 

As hospitals across the U.S. face a COVID-19 surge and exacerbated staffing challenges, more states are enlisting National Guard members to support overwhelmed facilities, according to CNN.

Beth Israel Lahey Health and Mass General Brigham are among the major Massachusetts health systems to mandate COVID-19 boosters for their workforces, The Boston Globe reported Jan. 4. 

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic will fire about 1 percent of its 73,000-person workforce because of noncompliance with the health system's required COVID-19 vaccination program, according to a statement shared with Becker's.

The quit rate for American workers saw yet another series high in November 2021, reaching 4.5 million, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Jan. 4.

Nurse employment remained low while wages increased during the first 15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting a tightening labor market in which demand outpaced supply, according to a study published Jan. 4 in Health Affairs.