Workforce

More than 130 St. Bernards Healthcare employees tested positive for COVID-19 after the health system identified a cluster of positive healthcare workers earlier this month at its flagship facility in Jonesboro, Ark.

Cleveland-based University Hospitals will offer sleep pods for front-line workers as part of a 10-month pilot program with HOHM during the COVID-19 pandemic, the health system announced Oct. 12.

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic said about 1,500 employees at its Minnesota campus will work remotely "well into 2021," according to the Pioneer Press.

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Spectrum Health has partnered with mental health app Headspace to support the emotional well-being of its team members.

Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health said it is reducing its workforce by about 1 percent to 2 percent amid financial challenges and other industry pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 250 healthcare workers in Southern and Western states died of COVID-19 and its complications this summer as the virus surged in those areas, according to a tally from Kaiser Health News and The Guardian.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on the U.S. female workforce, with 865,000 women leaving the job market in September compared to 216,000 men during the same month, according to an analysis by the National Women's Law Center. 

Baptist Health, a nine-hospital system based in Louisville, Ky., said it is paying employees to work at polls in the Nov. 3 general election.

Guidance from Oregon's public health agency recommending that hospitals not perform internal COVID-19 contact tracing for healthcare providers has prompted concerns from employees about coronavirus exposure, The Oregonian reported.  

Nearly 9,000 employees of Louisville, Ky.-based Kindred Healthcare would join Glenview, Ill.-based Select Rehabilitation under a pending deal between the two, Kindred confirmed to Becker's.