The group called for safe staffing, wage increases, safer working conditions and the availability of mental health services after years of burnout and overwork. A tentative agreement was reached on Friday. "We are out here trying to get the hospital to listen to us about getting paid, being willing to make good contract agreements with us that will make nursing more sustainable, and improve our staffing, among other things," said Kathy Stormberg, a registered nurse at Stanford and vice president of Crona (Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement), the union representing the nurses during the strike.

Back in January, travel nurse Michael Odell killed himself in the middle of his shift. His body was found in the sea near San Francisco’s Dumbarton Bridge. Odell had previously attempted suicide in April 2020 and then took a hiatus from nursing before reentering the field in January 2022 during the Omicron wave.

Following his death, San Francisco nurse Josh Paredes, a friend of Odell’s started a nonprofit, DontClockOut.org, a digital platform where nurses can find someone to talk to — usually another nurse. "If frontline healthcare workers were truly regarded as heroes, we would have absolute world-class care when it comes to mental health,” he told NBC Bay Area News.

In the same month as Odell’s first suicide attempt, Dr. Lorna M. Breen, the medical director of the emergency department at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, killed herself while visiting family in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her father described her as feeling “detached” from watching a high number of patients die, reported The New York Times.

Kaiser says it is offering emotional support and resources to staff following the nurse’s death. Paredes says he hopes this support will become permanent for nurses everywhere.

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