The health care industry could be short 2.1 million nurses by 2025, according to an analysis from The Josh Bersin Co. and Eightfold, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from California, Minnesota, and Mississippi.

• California: An analysis from workforce strategy research and advisory firm The Josh Bersin Co. and talent management software company Eightfold found that the health care industry could be short 2.1 million nurses by 2025. To predict the number of nurses departing, entering, and remaining in the workforce, the companies analyzed data from the 2022 NSI National Healthcare Retention & RN Staffing Report. While nurses account for the largest group of health care professionals—with 5.8 million workers—their analysis found that the current nursing workforce will not be sufficient, citing hospital nurse turnover rates of up to 60% and increasing demands on the health care system. According to their estimates, an annual turnover rate of 17% and an annual entry rate of just 6%, combined with growing demand and supply, will result in a shortage of 2.1 million nurses by 2025. (Kayser, Becker's Hospital Review, 9/15)

• Minnesota: Thousands of nurses on Thursday returned to work after roughly 15,000 nurses on Monday walked out of several health systems in the Minneapolis and Duluth areas on a three-day strike. According to the nurses, who are asking for salary increases, higher pay will help improve patient care and ease understaffing issues that worsened during the pandemic. While the affected hospitals have offered a 10% to 12% wage increase over three years, nurses are requesting wage increases of over 30%—a demand hospital leaders have said is unaffordable. The striking nurses could soon find out whether the strike had an impact on their efforts to reach new agreements. According to a statement made Thursday by the Twin Cities Hospitals Group, negotiators are expected to resume talks sometime this week. (AP/Modern Healthcare, 9/15)

• Mississippi: Gov. Tate Reeves (R) and Jackson officials in separate announcements informed residents that the state health department lifted a boil-water notice that was put in place almost seven weeks earlier for the city of 150,000. "We have restored clean water to the city of Jackson," Reeves said during a news conference. Currently, emergency repairs are underway to resolve problems at Jackson's main water treatment plant, which caused most customers to lose service for a few days in late August and early September. However, Reeves noted that the water system is still "imperfect." "It is possible, although I pray not inevitable, that there will be further interruptions," Reeves said. "We cannot perfectly predict what may go wrong with such a broken system in the future. (AP/Modern Healthcare, 9/15)