(PORTLAND, Ore.) -- Recent findings from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) confirm what frontline caregivers at Providence hospitals have long been warning: Providence is failing to meet critical staffing requirements, putting patient care and worker safety at risk.
 
According to OHA's investigations into multiple staffing complaints at Providence Portland Medical Center and Providence Seaside Hospital, OHA found multiple violations of Oregon's hospital staffing laws, including failures to adopt required Nurse Staffing Plans (NSPs) in critical departments such as Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Cardiology, Critical Care, and Emergency Departments.
 
Providence recently stated, in a communication to staff, that "Providence ministries are complying with Oregon's staffing law...We will not agree to additional contract requirements that differ from the law." However, OHA's repeated findings of violations of Oregon's Safe Staffing Law tell a different story--one of a systemic and dangerous pattern of failing to follow even the most basic legal requirements.
 
OHA found that, at Providence Portland Medical Center, the hospital repeatedly failed to adopt legally-required Nurse Staffing Plans (NSPs) for critical units, including the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Critical Care, Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology, and Labor and Delivery. In recent complaint investigations, OHA cited Providence for failing to adopt staffing plans on 8 units at Providence Portland Medical Center. This means that--according to nurses on those units and the Hospital Staffing Committee--those units are not staffed appropriately for safe and therapeutic patient care. This systemic failure has left caregivers without the necessary staffing guidelines to provide safe and effective care. 
 
Additionally, the OHA investigation uncovered repeated violations in the Medical Oncology and Surgical Oncology units, where Providence failed to meet RN staffing levels across multiple shifts in June 2024, jeopardizing patient outcomes and staff well-being.
 
These violations in oncology units--where cancer patients require intensive and specialized care--demonstrate Providence's ongoing disregard for legally-mandated staffing levels. 
 
The pattern of non-compliance extends beyond Portland, as OHA also found that Providence Seaside Hospital failed to adopt required staffing plans for its Medical-Surgical (Med-Surg) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) departments by the June 1, 2024 deadline. Earlier this year, Providence was also found in violation at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center for submitting a staffing plan it created rather than a more detailed plan that was approved by the Hospital Staffing Committee.
 
This failure to meet basic legal obligations underscores why caregivers are fighting for stronger, enforceable staffing protections in their contracts; Providence has repeatedly demonstrated it cannot be trusted to adhere to existing regulations without additional safeguards in place.
 
The Oregon Nurses Association urges Providence to acknowledge their ongoing staffing failures and negotiate in good faith to provide meaningful staffing protections and stop obstructing hospital nurse staffing committees. Caregivers remain committed to fighting for the safety of their patients and the integrity of their profession.