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Thousands of nurses in the Twin Cities and Duluth area voted to ratify a new contract after months of bargaining. The Minnesota Nurses Association, which represents 15,000 nurses across 13 hospitals, says the new contract addresses staffing, workplace safety and fair wages. Twin Cities nurses will see a 10% raise over three years and Duluth-area nurses will see a 9.75% raise over three years. The ratification puts and end to four months of negotiations, during which time thousands of nurses worked without a contract and the union voted to authorize an unfair labor practices strike. (Nace, 7/15)

Registered nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore are preparing to strike for the first time in the form of a one-day walkout next week, they announced Monday. (Karpovich, 7/15)

Every year since 1999, the Rio Grande Valley has hosted a massive five-day event to offer free health services across several counties. More than 6,600 people received services from the event last year. People lined up as early as 4 a.m. to access physician check-ups, immunizations, sports physicals, screenings for diabetes, dental services, eye exams and prescription glasses. (Garcia, 7/16)

³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ: Lost In Translation: Interpreter Cutbacks Could Put Patient Lives On The Line

Patients need to communicate clearly with their health care provider. But that’s getting more difficult for those in the U.S. who don’t speak English. Budget cuts by the Trump administration have left some providers scrambling to keep qualified medical interpreters. And an executive order designating English the official language of the United States has created confusion among providers about what services should be offered. (Sánchez, 7/16)

A Sun Pharmaceutical plant in India that has been repeatedly cited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for serious quality control issues failed another inspection last month over concerns the company was not doing enough to prevent medicines from becoming contaminated. (Silverman, 7/15)

Nationwide, nearly a quarter of emergency department visits among people 60 and older resulted in a hospital stay. That's according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found the rate goes up the older you get. Marty Irons, a pharmacist in Rutland, has noticed his widowed father, who lives alone in Goshen, New York, has been visiting the hospital more frequently. So, he made an emergency go-bag for his dad. It's something health experts say more of us should have. (Keck, 7/15)