OLYMPIA — Hospital executives and nurse union leaders achieved detente late last month in their years-long battle on staffing levels. They only had a handshake, not a deal. Agreement required several more days of negotiations between the two groups and a handful of state senators, drafting every word in a bill prescribing procedures for drafting, deploying and enforcing of staffing plans.
Read MoreJune in the News
Funding and more will help replenish the community health centers many relied on the past two years.
The landmark investments made this legislative session to Washington state’s health care system are akin to providing critical life support to a patient.
After two years of pandemic response, along with providing continued essential primary and behavioral health services, our community health centers in Snohomish ...
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OLYMPIA — A fierce legislative fight over staffing levels and worker protections in hospitals is over. For now. A bill that would have limited the number of patients assigned to a nurse and imposed hefty fines on hospitals that failed to comply with staffing plans died in a Senate committee earlier this week. Nurses and health care workers, many physically and emotionally wiped ...
Read MoreThe Senate and House passed the Senate’s proposed supplemental budget which intends to spend billions on various sectors. The state’s spending bill is now awaiting a decision from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
Democratic legislators in both the Washington House and Senate released their 2021-2023 supplemental operating budgets last week. On Friday, the Senate voted 29-19, passing its proposal into ...
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EVERETT — Amid the Taliban’s rise, more than 300 evacuees from Afghanistan were welcomed to Snohomish County between October and the end of January.
Another 150 were expected by mid-February, advocates say.Those numbers don’t account for all arrivals from Afghanistan, only those served by a welcoming center the county stood up in October. The increase this month is due to the ...
Read MoreOLYMPIA — Nearly two years after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Washington Senate on Tuesday approved a measure that authorizes legislative leaders to terminate an emergency after 90 days if the Legislature is not in session. Senate Bill 5909 passed the Democrat-led chamber on a 29-20 vote and now heads to ...
Read MoreWeek Five – February 7-13
We are now five weeks into session with only four more weeks to go. February 7, was the House of Origin Fiscal Committee cutoff when all bills needed to be voted out of their fiscal committees to stay alive. Following last Monday’s cutoff, legislators have been on the floor passing bills out of their respective chambers. ...Read MoreOne of Washington’s most popular new family support programs, the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, is facing serious problems. Employers are supporting a bill by Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, that will help stabilize this important benefit for workers and their families in Washington.
In 2017 the Legislature passed the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML), one of the first ...
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A majority of Washington health care workers report feeling burned out in the pandemic, according to the latest survey. Now, legislation aims to address their concerns by ensuring safe staffing levels, as well as rest and meal breaks.
Companion bills in the state House and Senate create staffing ratios for different departments within a hospital. They also repeal certain exemptions ...
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PFML has improved the health and economic resilience of Washington families
Washington launched its new Paid Family & Medical Leave program (PFML) in January 2020, just weeks before the first U.S. COVID case was first identified in the state. That timing turned out to be fortuitous. PFML has helped keep Washington families financially afloat, improved health, and relieved stress during the ...
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