August 15, 2025
July 10, 2025
The reality cannot be overstated: Washington hospitals are on the brink of a crisis, and without immediate and impactful action to retain and attract critical workers the state’s health care system could face an unprecedented collapse in capacity and care.
September 13, 2021
Because Governor Inslee has issued this mandate, health care employers – public and private – have to abide by the mandate. However, all employers still have to bargain with WSNA over the effects of the mandate.
August 10, 2021
As unions representing nurses and health care workers in Washington state, WSNA, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and UFCW21 support science-based public health directives on COVID-19 vaccination requirements for frontline health care workers, with medical and religious exemptions.
August 9, 2021
On June 21, Governor Inslee announced that three coronavirus pandemic-related proclamations would be rescinded in anticipation of Washington state's June 30 reopening date. One of these proclamations, the High-Risk Worker Proclamation, will be rescinded June 28 and transition to the new Health Emergency Labor Standards Act.
June 24, 2021
On May 11, Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5190 into law — which goes into effect immediately and provides presumptive eligibility for workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance.
May 12, 2021
Gloria Brigham, WSNA director of nursing practice, received a key to the city of Federal Way on April 6 from Mayor Jim Ferrell. Brigham, representing WSNA, was one of seven people who accepted the awards on behalf of healthcare workers, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and grocery workers.
April 22, 2021
WSNA applauds the guilty verdicts delivered against former police officer Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd. The jury’s conclusion supports what we know to be true: that Black Americans, especially Black men, are too often victims of systemic racism in law enforcement in this country, and the consequences can be deadly.
April 21, 2021
As a volunteer for the nonprofit organization The Bridge of Hope, Kyla Arama has helped create a self-sustainable medical system in Sierra Leone, a developing country on the southwest coast of West Africa.
April 16, 2021
During this year’s Washington State Nurses Convention, we hope nurses across Washington state will feel connected to and supported by others who have also felt the heavy weight of the pandemic on their shoulders.
April 14, 2021
Nurses say PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center needs to do more to attract new nurses and retain the nurses it has after a brutal year on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. On April 10, hundreds of registered nurses and supporters rallied at the Vancouver Waterfront to call for safe nurse staffing at Southwest.
April 10, 2021
The national theme for Public Health Week 2021 is “Building Bridges to Better Health,” a recognition that making communities safe and healthy is public health’s top priority and that COVID-19 has made that even more important.
April 7, 2021
Both the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives released their budget proposals in late March – and both provided significant new funding for Foundational Public Health Services.WSNA and the Washington State Medical Association issued a joint statement to budget leadership on March 28.
April 2, 2021
These recent murders are only the most violent, visible manifestations of the increased racism against community members of Asian and Pacific Islander descent that has been a dreadful side effect of the coronavirus pandemic.
March 19, 2021
The Governor’s office is recruiting for several vacancies on the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission.
February 5, 2021
To help deliver vaccines across the state, nurses must register as an Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioner in the Washington State Emergency Registry of Volunteers (WAserv) at WAserv.org.
February 1, 2021
The single-greatest risk factor for overexertion injuries is the manual lifting, moving and repositioning of patients, clients and residents. Washington state law requires acute care hospitals to have a safe patient handling program.
January 15, 2021
I looked out my window and saw the burnt orange sun rise over the Cascades, but the mountain range was hidden by the smoke. Is this our new normal?
In October, as a winter surge of COVID-19 cases loomed ahead, we spoke to five nurses about their experiences on the front lines over the past year. Here are their stories.
January 14, 2021
Washington hospitals must do better by nurses and health care workers to keep them safe and keep them on the job, where we all so desperately need them.
January 9, 2021
"I strongly encourage you to work closely with the health care workers and their unions in your facilities as you are developing your COVID vaccine distribution and prioritization plan," wrote Governor Jay Inslee in a letter to hospital administrators on Dec. 15.
December 18, 2020
We believe that healthcare workers should be prioritized to receive the vaccination and strongly recommend that registered nurses be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a key component of a comprehensive prevention effort.
December 7, 2020
Representing more than 64,000 nurses and frontline health care workers, the Washington State Nurses Association, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and UFCW 21 applaud Governor Jay Inslee for listening to and addressing the concerns of our members.
November 25, 2020
Nurses will continue to step up and take care of patients through this pandemic; state health officials and hospitals need to step up and make sure nurses have what they need to stay safe and healthy
November 13, 2020
Unions representing 500k+ nurses, health professionals demand Trump’s OSHA stop unconscionable delay and issue workplace protections against COVID-19, influenza, Ebola, and more.
October 29, 2020
