Hospitals need nurses. Yet health systems have been grappling for years with a shrinking pool of nurses, who after the COVID-19 crisis left the industry in droves. To deal with the demand, hospitals have relied on staffing services, which pay nurses more to fill in holes in coverage. University Hospitals created Enterprise Staffing Services, an in-house staffing agency, to help. Staffing services nurses cost up to twice as much or more than full-time nurses based in a single hospital. But now that UH is in dire financial straits (the system posted operating losses of $256 million in 2023 and $302 million in 2022), it’s cutting hundreds of staffing service nurses’ pay, $10 an hour for night shift. “Obviously, this was never a long-term strategy or viewed as sustainable,” UH said. “The increased labor costs have been a key contributor to recent UH financial losses.”
— Laura
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Overnight Scores and Weather |
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Some University Hospital nurses are facing a pay cut as the health system adjusts to conditions after the COVID-19 pandemic. (John Pana, cleveland.com) |
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Nurse pay: More than 300 University Hospital nurses are facing pay cuts as the health system makes post-pandemic staffing adjustments and tries to fix two years of budget shortfalls. Julie Washington reports the change affects 350 Enterprise Staffing Services nurses working in the surgical, emergency department, intensive care and other departments, a memo says. Parks and rec: Cleveland City Hall is preparing to undo a 2010 mega-merger of the Public Works Department in hopes of providing more attention to city parks and recreation centers. Courtney Astolfi reports Mayor Justin Bibb wants the greenlight to create a new standalone Parks and Recreation Department, resulting in a slimmed-down version of the Public Works Department as it exists today. Biden on ballot: The Ohio House on Thursday passed a pair of bills to restrict foreign contributions to statewide ballot issues, as well as allow President Joe Biden on the November ballot despite an administrative snag. Jeremy Pelzer reports House Bills 1 and 2 now head to the Ohio Senate. House GOP leaders said the measures represent a compromise deal between them and Senate Republicans. Cleveland-Cliffs: A judge has rejected an attempt by the Cleveland-based steel giant Cleveland-Cliffs to force Yahoo Inc. to reveal the identity of an anonymous online critic of the company, reports Cory Shaffer. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Deborah Turner ruled Wednesday that the publicly traded corporation amounts to a public figure and the comments that the user posted on a Yahoo message board concerning the company’s stock prices were largely statements of opinion. Today in Ohio: Ohio rules that took effect Tuesday zero-out a previous requirement that medical marijuana patients pay $50 annually and caregivers pay $25 a year to register for the program. The state hopes that by zeroing out the fee, medical patients will continue to access the medical program instead of becoming adult-use customers. We’re talking about weed on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Whaley job: Nan Whaley, the Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in 2022, has a prominent new job. Andrew Tobias reports that Whaley will be the next CEO of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region starting July 1. She previously was the mayor of Dayton from 2014 until 2022 and served on the Dayton City Commission before that. Medical marijuana: Four more medical marijuana dispensaries were given state approval to open their doors to patients in recent weeks – bringing the total number of retailers to 124, reports Laura Hancock. This could give adults aged 21 and older more locations to buy marijuana once recreational sales begin. NCAA settlement: Ohio, along with nine other states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Department of Justice have entered into a proposed settlement with the NCAA after they sued over the “double transfer” rule, reports Laura Hancock. The rule requires athletes who transfer among Division I universities to wait one year before competing in games unless granted a waiver. HB6 case: FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and senior vice president of external affairs Mike Dowling – both accused of engineering multifaceted, multimillion-dollar bribery schemes to bend state government to their will – have asked a judge to throw out the state’s bribery case against them. If that broader effort fails, they’ve also asked the judge to dismiss some, but not all, of the most severe charges they face, Jake Zuckerman reports. Petition language: A panel of three federal judges has ordered Attorney General Dave Yost to certify petition language for a ballot issue campaign seeking to make it easier for Ohioans to sue police for using excessive force, ruling Yost’s repeated rejections of the language violated the group’s First Amendment Rights. Andrew Tobias reports the 2-1 decision issued by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals orders Yost to certify the “Protecting Ohioans’ Constitutional Rights” petition language, putting the group one step closer to being able to collect the hundreds of thousands of voter signatures it needs to qualify for the ballot. Health effects: More than a year after a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio members of Congress are pushing legislation that would authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to study the long-term health impacts of the toxins released in the accident. Sabrina Eaton reports the East Palestine Health Impact Monitoring Act introduced by all Ohio and Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senators passed the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions with overwhelming bipartisan support. |
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Toxic spots: Greater Cleveland released fewer toxic emissions in 2022 than the previous year and Cuyahoga County led the charge downward. Zachary Smith reports that in Cuyahoga County, 130 toxic release facilities were tracked in 2022 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, releasing 6,972,614 pounds of 77 separate toxic chemicals into the environment. Delinquent: Within the world of criminal justice a Venn Diagram exists, with overlap among victims and offenders. Owing to risk factors like trauma and violent neighborhoods, some people find themselves at both ends of the crime spectrum at different points in life. John Tucker and Kaitlin Durbin report in their series Delinquent that rarely is someone a victim and offender in the same case. That’s what happened to Sandy. Business help: Cuyahoga County launched a new Office of Small Business in May to help connect, support and grow other small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. Kaitlin Durbin reports Cuyahoga has over 30,000 small businesses, employing close to 300,000 residents with an annualized payroll of close to $18 billion. PIB carts: Put-in-Bay Village Council recently passed a law that caps the number of golf carts on the island to the number registered on Put-in-Bay last year. Susan Glaser reports Mayor Judy Berry estimated there are about 900 registered golf carts for rent inside the village. And the surrounding township has at least that many. Council also instituted a new $5-per-hour fee for drivers who park downtown. Artist death: Lakewood-based artist Arabella Proffer, whose work is now on view in a Cleveland exhibition and who evolved from making paintings to creating NFTs, or non-fungible tokens in recent years, died Tuesday at age 45 after a long battle with cancer, Steven Litt reports. |
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Roblox mental health: The Cleveland Clinic says it created a set of mental health tools inside the game Roblox. Gretchen Cuda Kroen reports Zen Quest is a virtual toolset available on the Roblox platform that allows players to visit virtual spaces where they can participate in guided breathing exercises, meditation, self-affirmation, or enjoy relaxing landscapes or artwork. Walgreens: Two dozen employees from the Walgreens at Kamm’s Corners in Cleveland are looking to unionize and have filed a petition to start what would be a second attempt at unionizing the store. Sean McDonnell reports UFCW Local 880 filed a union election petition Wednesday to represent 27 employees at the store. COVID cases: After last week’s slight tick upward, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Ohio resumed falling, from 953 last week to 890 this week, reports Julie Washington. |
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Flamingo vandals: Three men were arrested and accused of removing and damaging the 7-foot-tall, plastic pink flamingo that stood next to the scripted Parma sign at Anthony Zielinski Park on West Ridgewood Drive. The men – Taylor Pupkiewicz, 25; Marcus Balue, 25; and David Burak, 24 – were charged in Parma Municipal Court with vandalism, a fifth-degree felony. Restaurant stabbing: A Cleveland woman is accused of attacking a restaurant manager at her workplace, sparking a melee in which the manager was stabbed multiple times in the back, reports John Tucker. Clinisha Alston, 32, was charged Tuesday in Cleveland Municipal Court with felonious assault. Illegal crypto: A Cleveland man is accused of running a $3 million illegal cryptocurrency exchange, reports Adam Ferrise. Donald G. Greene III had no license to operate a currency exchange and did so to avoid paying fees associated with exchanges. He kept about 12% to 28% of each transaction for himself. |
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Summer camp: Peter Chakerian went ziplining to challenge his fear of heights as part of our Summer Camp for Grown-ups series. You climb up to a high platform, push off and enjoy a bird’s-eye view while feeling like you’re flying! In the case of Lake Erie Canopy Tours’ double zipline experience, you do this a total of eight times – flying further into the forest toward the Lake Erie shoreline. Ask Yadi: If your upstairs neighbor is really loud, should you say something? Hopefully you have introduced yourself to your neighbors and have some sort of friendly relationship, writes Yadi Rodriguez. If you do, have a conversation with them. Jim Donovan: Longtime WKYC Channel 3 sports anchor Jim Donovan announced his retirement from television news. Joey Morona reports the 67-year-old Donovan’s final broadcast on the local NBC affiliate will be on June 10. Million Dollar Mo: Morelle McCane, a graduate of Glenville High School and Cuyahoga Community College, is the first female boxer to qualify out of Cleveland for the Olympics. Marc Bona reports more than 100 people gathered at the City Club to hear about “Million Dollar Mo’s” journey from Cleveland to Paris. Gervasi: Gervasi Vineyard Resort and Spa is famous for its sprawling 55-acre estate in Canton, a popular site for picturesque weddings and the production site of its award-winning wines. Alex Darus writes that wine might be the star of the show at the vineyards, but Gervasi also has an impressive distilling operation on the site. Things to do: Outdoor venues like Blossom Music Center and Cain Park are open for concerts, theater and special events. Dress in rainbow colors and get caught up in the energy of Pride in the CLE on June 1. Check out the expanded Little Italy Art Walk this weekend. Paris Wolfe has 17 ideas. |
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Northeast Ohio road construction: What delays can driver’s expect? Read more Voyeur snaps photos of girl in Berea library restroom Read more Man assaults Speedway employee after she refuses to help him pay for cigars Read more Medina plans for roadway construction at Spring Grove Cemetery Read more Medina bugler tapped for ’100 Nights of Taps’ at Gettysburg Cemetery Read more South Euclid Food Truck Park opens second season June 7 with INTERSECTION community party Read more Civic leaders excited about Solon Library expansion Read more Avon Lake Power Plant redevelopment remains on track Read more |
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