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Four of Oregon’s largest hospital systems announced on Thursday they have appealed a federal court ruling that dismissed their lawsuit alleging the state violates the civil rights of Oregonians with mental illnesses by giving them inadequate care.

Fewer than half of rural hospitals have labor and delivery units, and the number keeps dropping.

The closure would leave Eugene without a hospital, although two options exist in nearby Springfield.

House Bill 2002, which shores up access to abortions and gender-affirming health care, was a key driver of the Senate Republicans walkout last session.

Two of the three troubled California hospitals are especially vital to their communities because they’re the only emergency providers in their rural counties. Health care chains could keep them afloat.

Some hospitals in Southern California have a nurse vacancy rate of 30%, stressing overworked staff and causing some to leave the industry earlier than they planned.

Unionized workers are rallying in support of California Senate Bill 525, which would raise the minimum wage for people who work in health care facilities or as home health aides to 25 dollars per hour.

Several hospitals have warned that they are struggling financially after the strains of the pandemic. A new loan program, if approved, could offer short-term relief.

As hospitals and other health care facilities struggle with staffing shortages, health workers could get a wage increase under a legislative proposal. But some smaller facilities already struggling financially say they can’t afford it.

After Madera Community Hospital in Madera County closed earlier this year, other hospitals have signaled they are struggling financially. Legislators are considering several solutions to funnel more money to hospitals to prevent them from cutting services or closing.

If it passes, the compromise bill could radically overhaul Oregon’s nurse staffing law and make it among the first in the nation to create nurse-to-patient ratios.

The first-of-its-kind multi-agency analysis has provided a much more granular, regional-level understanding of why Oregon continues to suffer from a nursing shortage, and it lays out potential solutions.