Literature Review

MultiCare healthcare workers in Spokane might go on strike NBC KHQ - NonStop Local, by Laura Erickson; 3/28/24Over 1,400 healthcare workers at MultiCare Deaconess and Valley Hospitals plan to strike for seven days beginning April 7, denouncing what they’re calling “bad faith bargaining” from institution executives in response to short staffing crises in their hospitals. The SEIU Healthcare 1199NW union consists of over 33,000 caregivers throughout hospitals, clinics, mental health, skilled home health and hospice programs in Washington and Montana.

Connecticut Appellate Court rules employer could discharge medical marijuana user impaired on the job The National Law Review; by John G. Stretton, Nicole S. Mulé, Zachary V. Zagger of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.; 3/27/24 On March 19, 2024, the Connecticut Appellate Court upheld an employer’s right to discharge an employee for being impaired on the job from medical marijuana under a state law that provides employment protections for qualified medical marijuana users.

Home care unionization efforts beginning to tick back up Home Health Care News, by Andrew Donlan; 3/25/24 The home care workforce has traditionally been a tough one to organize. But efforts have ramped up over recent years, leading to more workers opting into unions across the country. Recently, University of Rochester Medicine Home Care (URMHC) workers “overwhelmingly” chose to join a labor union. They aligned themselves with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which is one of the largest health care worker unions in the country. 

Hospice nurse plays instrumental role in patient’s joyCity Sun Times, by Lin Sue Flood; 3/27/24You see it at every symphony performance - people so enraptured by the music that their eyes close and their fingers dance in the air. Stuart Brown is one of those people. But as illness began to limit his mobility, the 81-year-old relinquished the thought of ever attending a live concert again. That’s when his Hospice of the Valley nurse secretly reached out to the Phoenix Symphony with a request to hold a small private concert in his Scottsdale home. “We absolutely can make this happen for him and his family,“ said Valerie Bontrager, director of community engagement. Editor's Note: Need some inspiration? Read this heart-warming story.

2,300 University of Michigan Health workers unionize as part of growing labor movement Detroit Free Press, by Kristen Jordan Shamus; 3/27/24 More than 2,300 University of Michigan Health employees have joined the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Michigan, part of a growing labor union-represented workforce at the Ann Arbor-based health system. ... Already, about 80% of the workforce at Michigan Medicine belongs to a labor union, the SEIU reported Tuesday.

New Orleans nurses rally before union contract negotiations Healthcare Journal of New Orleans; 3/26/24Nurses rallied on March 25 at University Medical Center (UMC) in New Orleans as they began negotiations on their first union contract with LCMC Health, the hospital’s management. Nurses at UMC made history in December when they overwhelmingly voted to join National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), becoming the first unionized private-sector hospital in the state of Louisiana and members of the largest nurse’s union in the United States. 

Nurse managers' 4-day workweeks: How it's going at Mount Sinai Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Mariah Taylor; updated 3/22/24In fall 2022, New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System launched its four-day workweek program for nurse managers. More than a year later, the program continues to improve staff engagement, satisfaction and has become an important retention strategy, Beth Oliver, DNP, RN, chief nurse executive for the system, told Becker's. Dr. Oliver added, experienced nurse managers play a critically vital role in supporting staff retention and engagement, championing organizational culture, and ensuring quality and safety of patient care.

My Mother is in Hospice Care Reformed Journal, by Doug Browser; 3/25/24 My 96-year-old mother entered hospice care a few months ago. For a while, it seemed as though she would go on forever, even though we knew that was unlikely. ... [Here’s] the thing, maybe the most striking thing I’ve learned while sitting with my mom over these last few months. Loss of memory can sometimes be a gift. ... I realize that there can be a kind of grace in not remembering a few things. ... We don’t have to go back and revisit any of it. We have this time together. ... And together we are a mom and a son, present in the moment, a moment with a surprising amount of grace. I never expected to get there.

Massachusetts makes paid family leave more accessible, offering services in Spanish, Portuguese New England Public Media, by Elizabeth Roman; 3/22/24... The state passed a law in 2018 which provides paid family and medical leave (PFML) for serious injury or illness whether personal or a family member, as well as time for parental leave, but found that people whose primary language is not English were unaware of, or hesitant, to apply for the services. ... While the state portal for applying for PFML services now has options in various languages, some people are still overwhelmed by filling paperwork out online. ... There are representatives who speak Spanish and Portuguese and the state also works with an interpretation service for many other languages.

Thank a social worker this month The Alpena News; 3/22/24 March is National Social Worker Month, and we encourage anyone who knows a social worker to take the opportunity to thank him or her for all they do. ... There are more than 700,000 social workers across the U.S., more than 30,000 of them in Michigan, working in all kinds of fields, from child advocacy and protection to behavioral health to hospitals and hospice. “Our mission is to help the vulnerable,” Karen Wagner, a social worker with Hospice of Michigan’s Alpena team, told News staff writer Mike Gonzalez for a recent story. 

Inside Jefferson's push to engage retired nurses Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Mariah Taylor; 3/21/24 Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health is keeping more retired nurses connected to the system through its Nurse Emeritus program. ... The program offers retirees an opportunity to reenter the workforce and provide guidance to new nurses and help nurses at the bedside. To participate, retired nurses must have an active New Jersey nursing license, work at least eight hours per month and have retired in the last three years. Nurse Emeritus participants work in an education-based role and do not perform hands-on clinical care or medication administration. 

Bill to help health workers with burnout moves ahead in Congress Modern Healthcare, by Michael Mcauliff; 3/20/24 A bill designed to help counter depression, burnout and suicide among healthcare providers cleared a key hurdle Wednesday, passing unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act of 2024 updates and extends for five years an earlier version of the law. It funds grants for healthcare organizations and associations to run programs aimed at improving workers' mental health amid staff shortages and ongoing fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Where states stand on medical marijuana in the workplace JD Supra, by Madalyn Cohee; 3/18/24 A federal judge in Vermont last month ruled a plaintiff’s medical marijuana use was not protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. In Skoric v. Marble Valley Regional Transit District et al., the plaintiff was fired by his employer for failing a random drug test by testing positive for marijuana despite having a valid, state-issued medical marijuana card and being prescribed medical marijuana to treat his chronic pain and depression.