Providence Medford Medical Center said Friday that 43 percent of its striking nurses have come back to work amid an historic statewide strike. The nurses union, however, calls the number “unsubstantiated.” About 380 nurses at Providence Medford went on strike Jan. 10 along with nurses at eight other hospitals around the state. In total, nearly 5,000 Oregon Nurses Association-represented nurses remain on strike.

A majority of some 380 striking nurses at Providence Medford Medical Center have rejected the health care system’s latest contract offer, joining thousands of other nurses around the state who remain on strike going into their fifth week. It is the largest healthcare worker strike in Oregon history.

The nurses union and Providence Health & Services officials are returning to in-person mediation Wednesday after Gov. Tina Kotek requested they do so to end the largest health care worker strike in state history. 

Nearly 5,000 Providence Health & Systems nurses and other professionals walked off their jobs Friday in the largest strike by health workers in state history — and the first involving unionized doctors.

Bundled up and bearing bright-green signs, dozens of nurses gathered outside Providence Medford Medical Center Friday morning to begin their open-ended strike advocating for better pay, safe staffing and more adequate health insurance benefits.

The Oregon Nurses Association issued a 10-day strike notice Monday, setting the stage for what would be the largest healthcare worker and physicians strike in Oregon history. The notice followed a five-day cooling off period and additional mediated discussions that included nurses at Providence Medford Medical Center, as well as ONA members at Providence hospitals across the state. The strike is scheduled to begin Jan. 10.