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Brier Grote, an intensive care nurse at Abbott Northwestern, said she had four weeks of orientation training when she was hired. While she and about 4,800 other nurses are on strike this week, they're being replaced with nurses who had just a few days of training before they began work. That's worrisome for the nurses union. However, it's unclear to what extent nurses strikes have an impact on patient safety. At this point, the issue of safety at Allina hospitals is little more than a war of words between the union and management. (Benson, 6/24)

Thousands of nurses returned to work Sunday at five Allina Health hospitals in the Minneapolis area following a seven-day strike mainly over the cost of their health insurance. The Minnesota Nurses Association and its 4,800 members began their strike June 19 after failing to negotiate a new three-year contract with Allina Health. (6/26)

Allina Health hospital nurses returned to work without incident Sunday morning after a seven-day strike, and both sides remain uncertain where contract talks are headed. Allina President and CEO Dr. Penny Wheeler went to United Hospital in St. Paul for the 7 a.m. shift change between replacement nurses and union members, and she came away impressed: “Everyone was professional, compassionate and focused on the patients,” she said. (Lonetree, 6/26)

With help from Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who played the role of unofficial mediator throughout the weekend even though he was out of town, Brigham and the Massachusetts Nurses Association found a late-night compromise that averted what would have been the largest nurses strike ever in the state on Monday. (Dayal McCluskey, 6/26)

Nurses reached a tentative agreement with Brigham and Women's Hospital early Sunday morning, averting a walkout planned for Monday. The hospital had been preparing for a strike by canceling appointments, transferring patients and training nearly 700 replacement nurses. It would have been the first nurses' strike in Boston in more than 30 years. (Bebinger, 6/26)