Nearly 5,000 nurses, physicians and other caregivers from eight Providence hospitals and six Providence clinics began an open-ended strike at 6 a.m. Friday. “This is truly a historic event,” Oregon Nurses Association Executive Director Anne Tan Piazza said at a Thursday new conference.

Oregon’s Providence hospitals and nearly 5,000 of its workers have yet to agree on terms to bump wages and address staffing shortages. That means the largest health care strike in the state’s history will begin Friday morning.

With concern growing over hospital care as a Friday strike looms at Providence Hospitals, representatives from the Oregon Nurses Association will hold a press conference to update the public on their preparations.

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.

Thousands of health care workers at Providence hospitals and clinics in Oregon are planning to go on strike Jan. 10.

Roughly 5,000 nurses, hospitalists and other frontline health workers at Providence hospitals and clinics across Oregon are set to go on an open-ended strike starting Jan. 10.

With concern growing over hospital care as a Friday strike looms at Providence Hospitals, representatives from the Oregon Nurses Association held a press conference to update the public on their preparations.