Literature Review

A broken immigration system keeps workers out of jobs the U.S. needs to fillWashington Post, 12/21/23Bismarck, ND - North Dakota’s hospitals are desperate for nurses, but backlogs and other problems in immigration agencies block the way. The leaders of Sanford Medical Center had waited all summer to learn the fate of the 59 nurses planning to move across the world to their isolated state capital. The reinforcements from the Philippines, Kenya and Nigeria would allow the hospital to expand its heart unit and staff a new wing. Costly temporary nurses would go. The scramble to fill shifts would finally be over. But by the time the hospital’s department heads gathered in a conference room this fall to hear the latest development, the news already had spread. The nurses were delayed—again.

St. Francis Medical Center workers fired 5 days before ChristmasLos Angeles Daily News, 12/22/23Striking workers at St. Francis Medical Center who have openly complained of understaffing and inadequate patient care were fired Wednesday, Dec. 20, just five days before Christmas.

OSHA, NAHCA alliance aims to protect CNAs from safety and health hazardsMcKnight’s Senior LivingDecember 21, 2023A new alliance between the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Association of Health Care Assistants aims to help protect certified nursing assistants in Missouri from exposure to safety and health hazards. The agreement, signed by OSHA’s regional office and NAHCA last month, provides the framework for a new alliance. 

Healthcare organizations hiring, retaining more employees—FitchModern HealthcareDecember 20, 2023Hospital employment numbers have increased, while healthcare job openings are on the decline—though the industry is still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 17.2 million individuals were on the payroll at healthcare organizations in November 2023, compared with 16.6 million in December 2022, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Hospice of the Chesapeake celebrates highly successful first year with NICHEAnne Arundel (MD) PatchDecember 20, 2023Pasadena, MD—Hospice of the Chesapeake is celebrating the graduation of seven registered nurses and 46 certified nursing assistants in a prestigious training program. It marks a highly successful first year as a member of the Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders, or NICHE, program of New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing. The program helped the not-for-profit hospice organization train nurses to become key leaders in the NICHE Leadership Training Program. 

There are more Florida nursing students but fewer qualified applicants, a report showsHealth News FloridaDecember 19, 2023The number of students enrolling in nursing programs in Florida is increasing. But colleges and universities are reporting a drop in qualified applicants. That’s one of the findings in a new report from the Florida Center for Nursing. It surveyed more than 500 programs over the past year—most of them in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. ... Rayna Letourneau, the center’s executive director, says Florida needs to start recruiting while students are young. ... The report also finds a decrease in nursing faculty.

Nurses First, Doctors Distant Second in Healthcare Provider RatingsGallup OrganizationDecember 18, 2023Washington, DC—At the end of a year when Gallup found Americans’ confidence in the U.S. medical system at its lowest in a decade, a new survey reveals that some prominent players in the system are still widely acclaimed while others are not. Nurses receive the best rating by far, with 82% saying they provide excellent or good medical care, and doctors rank second at 69%. 

Despite Economic Growth in 2023, State of the Commonwealth Report Shows Worrying TrendsNews ReleaseDecember 18, 2023Norfolk, VA—There are positive takeaways from Old Dominion University’s ninth annual State of the Commonwealth Report. Virginia’s economy and population continued to grow in 2023 and a record number of people were employed and in the labor force, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. But the report, produced by ODU’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, also raises questions about the commonwealth’s future. 

After bitter strike, nurses ratify new three-year contractNJ.comDecember 16, 2023The nurses union at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital ratified a new contract Friday, two weeks after reaching an agreement with the hospital following a bitter strike. 

Largest nursing home in St. Louis closes suddenly, forcing out 170 residentsAssociated PressDecember 18, 2023St. Louis, MO—The largest skilled nursing facility in St. Louis has closed suddenly, forcing about 170 residents to be bused to other care centers. Many left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. The abrupt shutdown of Northview Village Nursing Home on Friday came after workers learned they might not be paid and walked out, confusing residents and their relatives. Many family members gathered through the day Saturday outside the facility on the city’s north side. Some didn’t immediately know where their loved ones were taken. 

Washington Post Reports Highlight Assisted Living Resident Elopements and Staffing Problems, Industry Pushes BackSenior Housing NewsDecember 17, 2023A new Washington Post investigation has detailed dozens of incidents where senior living residents have wandered away and died as well as “bare-bones” staffing levels at communities across the country. In one article published over the weekend, the Post examined thousands of cases since 2018 where senior living residents wandered away from their communities, resulting in nearly 100 deaths in that time. ... The articles underscore the challenges senior living operators will surely have in the coming years, in terms of both staffing and managing communities and maintaining positive perceptions among the public. 

SLU Hospital nurses plan two-day strike in late-DecemberKTVI-TV (St. Louis, MO)December 15, 2023St. Louis, MO—A group of SLU Hospital nurses is planning a two-day strike later this month. Organizers say the strike comes in protest of “union-busting” practices and outsourcing of RN jobs. Nurses gave their employer (SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital) notice Friday that they would plan a 48-hour strike. It’s currently scheduled outside the hospital from 7 a.m. on Dec. 27 to 6:59 a.m. on Dec. 29.

‘Stop the bleeding’—A year after Safe Staffing law, nurses report high patient loadsTimes Union (Albany, NY)December 15, 2023One year after New York’s minimum staffing law for hospitals went into effect, nurses continue to report exceptionally high patient loads as hospital leaders struggle to keep up with turnover rates. ... Implementation of the new regulations—from the establishment of committees to negotiate those institution-specific staffing standards to the mandate for hospitals to report departments’ actual staffing ratios to the state Department of Health annually—has been rocky across the state’s 222 hospitals.