Oregon hospitals, unions reach compromise on staffing bill

Oregon’s hospital industry and key unions have been wrangling over legislation on health care staffing since February. The Oregon Nurses Association, which represents about 15,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners, has been pushing House Bill 2697 which would impose nurse-to-patient ratios, something the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems has opposed. But after weeks of negotiations, the association, which represents all of the state’s hospitals, relented. In a joint news release issued late Tuesday, the nurses association, two other unions and the hospital group said they had reached a...