Roughly 5,000 Providence nurses, doctors set to strike

• Workers represented by the Oregon Nurses Association announced their plan to strike last week, calling out Providence for not coming to the table with "a fair offer" on compensation and how to address "dangerous" understaffing.
• Some 150 Providence physicians and other practitioners represented by the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association also plan to join and will be the first doctors to strike in recent state history.
• The parties failed to reach a contract agreement despite months of mediated bargaining sessions.

State of play: Providence officials anticipate long emergency room wait times at each of the striking hospitals statewide and more ambulance diversions. Also, procedures "requiring hospitalist support" may have to be rescheduled or deferred.

• With up to 70 doctors intending to strike at St. Vincent alone, the hospital plans to cap new patient admissions. Even with bringing in outside physicians, it expects doctors will be able to accommodate only 250 to 275 patients.

Flashback: In summer 2023, Providence nurses went on a five-day strike, which ended without a secured contract.

What's next: There are currently no scheduled bargaining sessions between ONA and Providence ahead of the planned strike, Myrna Jensen, a union spokesperson, told Axios.