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Updated May 2026 workforce data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing show men accounted for a smaller share of registered nurses in 2024 than in 2022. Five notes: 1. Men represented 10.4% of registered nurses in 2024, down from 11.2% in 2022, according to data from the National…

California has the highest hourly mean wage for registered nurses in the U.S., while Oregon has the highest hourly mean wage for RNs when adjusted for cost of living, according to data released May 15 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Below are the mean annual and hourly wages for…

Workforce spending remained hospitals’ top expense in 2025, representing 60% of total expenses, according to the American Hospital Association.  Workforce costs rose 5.6% in 2025 as hospitals continued increasing wages and investing in recruitment and retention efforts for nurses, physicians and other staff, according to the AHA’s 2026 “Cost of…

Becker’s has compiled a list of the hospitals with a CMS 5-star rating for cleanliness. CMS’ Patient survey (HCAHPS)-Hospital database listed hospital ratings based on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys. This is a national, standardized survey of hospital patients about their experience during a recent…

On the surface, the conventional rural health story is one marked by rising financial pressures, dwindling care access and closure risks. But those constraints don’t define rural healthcare, and the idea that rural systems are always playing “catch up” to their urban counterparts isn’t always true. Dr. Prathibha Varkey, president…

In 2025, the average U.S. hospital lost $5.19 million from registered nurse turnover. Financially and operationally, a persistently high turnover rate among early-career nurses presents a growing risk for the industry, according to Press Ganey’s “State of Nursing 2026” report. The report, published May 11, analyzed data from 422,761 registered…

Forty-one percent of nurses report using AI regularly, compared to 57% of physicians, and of those who use AI, only 30% regularly use clinician-specific tools, a May 12 Elsevier report found.  Elsevier’s “Clinician of the Future 2026” report gathered responses from 2,757 clinicians, including physicians and nurses, across 118 countries. …

Healthgrades recognized 373 hospitals with its 2026 Outstanding Patient Experience Award. The organization evaluated 3,020 hospitals that submitted at least 100 patient experience surveys to CMS’ Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems between January and December 2024. Hospitals in the bottom 20% of overall clinical quality were excluded…

Healthgrades recognized 80 hospitals with its 2026 Outstanding Patient Experience Award and the Patient Safety Excellence Award. The organization evaluated 3,020 hospitals that submitted at least 100 patient experience surveys to CMS’ Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems between January and December 2024. Hospitals were evaluated on patient…

Only 20 states are prepared for a public health emergency, a new Trust for America’s Health report found. The “Ready or Not 2026: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism” report groups states into three performance tiers: high, middle and low. States were grouped based on their performance…

Atlanta topped WalletHub’s 2026 ranking of the best and worst places to start a career, while New York City ranked worst. For the ranking, released May 11, the personal finance company compared 182 cities — including the 150 most-populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities…

Hospital margins are under pressure and the latest data shows the strain is not evenly distributed. According to Kaufman Hall’s April 2026 National Hospital Flash Report, which draws on data from more than 1,300 hospitals nationwide, hospital finances are being squeezed from multiple directions at once. Expenses are running higher…

Healthcare continues to face tight margins, patient expectations keep climbing and clinical and operational leaders are being asked to do more with the teams and tools they already have. The organizations making a difference despite these challenges are the ones turning data, education, and coordination into measurable results. Below are…

Healthcare employment rose by 37,300 in April, in line with the 12-month average of 32,000 monthly job gains, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The bureau released the March jobs report May 8. Here are three more takeaways: 1. Ambulatory healthcare services employment rose by 18,200 in April,…

Five U.S. hospitals have received an “F” safety grade from The Leapfrog Group for spring 2026.  Leapfrog calculates hospital safety grades using up to 22 CMS patient safety measures, data from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and supplemental imputation. Read more about Leapfrog’s methodology here. For spring 2026, safety grades were…

As U.S. nurses increasingly employ AI in their day-to-day tasks, the American Nurses Association is advocating for more nurse-led guardrails amid concerns of bias, unclear accountability and a decline in professional judgement.  On April 22, the ANA hosted an invitation-only “AI in Nursing Practice Think Tank” for nursing leaders to…

For every additional patient assigned to a medical-surgical nurse in Pennsylvania, there is an associated 8% increase in fatality risk within 30 days, according to a study published April 30 in Medical Care.  The study analyzed outcomes of nearly 550,000 medical and surgical patients who received care at a Pennsylvania…

Birmingham-Hoover, Ala., is the top U.S. metropolitan area for college degree holders in their 20s, according to a study from payroll provider ADP. ADP analyzed anonymized payroll data from more than 209,000 Americans ages 20-29 at more than 20,000 U.S. employers from January 2025 to January 2026, according to the…

Thomas “Tog” Goss, MSN, RN, was appointed CEO of Putnam General Hospital in Eatonton, Ga., effective June 1. Mr. Goss will join Putnam General from Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin, a 140-bed acute care hospital in Milledgeville, Ga., where he serves as COO, according to a hospital news release. Atrium Health…

Physician burnout is declining, systems are finding new ways to recruit physicians without raising pay, but international physicians are in limbo amid visa renewal delays. There are just a few things to know about the physician workforce in 2026. Here is where the workforce stands in the first half of…

Orthopedics and plastic surgery have traded the top two spots in Medscape’s annual Physician Compensation Report every year since 2021, and both specialties have seen compensation climb by more than $80,000 over that span.  Orthopedic surgeons now command an average of $611,000 annually, up 20% from five years ago, while…

As da Vinci surgery platforms evolve into data-rich, digital ecosystems, health systems are discovering that the real value isn’t just in the operating room — it’s in what the technology can teach. During a featured session at Becker’s 16th Annual Meeting, Ankit Patel, MD, professor of surgery at Emory University…

In honor of National Nurses Month in May and National Nurses Week (May 6-12), hospitals and health systems are recognizing nurses across the country.  This year, the American Nurses Association is again highlighting “The Power of Nurses” as its National Nurses Week theme. Here are some stats to know about…

AI was front and center during recent earnings calls for UnitedHealth Group and Elevance Health, as leaders discussed their companies’ respective $1.5 billion and $1 billion tech investments. Both organizations, along with Centene, made Fortune‘s top companies for AI adoption in 2025, as well. Payers have been experimenting with internal and member-facing capabilities, while grappling with health…