Agentic AI Is Already in Your Building — Do You Know Where?

HIMSS 26 just closed in Las Vegas with 24,000 healthcare technology leaders sending one unmistakable message: agentic AI has moved from the exhibit hall into your operations. Meanwhile, the largest nurse strike in US history ended at Kaiser Permanente with a 21.5% wage deal — and that number is now living in the institutional memory of every union organizer in the country. Bo, Luke, and ASHHRA Executive Director Jeremy Sadlier break it all down.

Also — happy Healthcare HR Week! March 16th through Friday. Head to ashhra.org to celebrate the HR leaders keeping healthcare running.

🤖 Agentic AI: From Pilot to Operations Epic announced 85% of its customers are now using AI and debuted an agent factory — a no-code tool for building custom AI agents inside the EHR. Amazon entered the market with Amazon Health Connect. The vendor conversation has shifted from capability to ROI, governance, and implementation ownership. HR Action: Be the AI maestro. If HR is not at the table when these decisions get made, you will find out in a budget meeting six months from now.

👁️ Shadow AI: The Canary in Your Coal Mine Healthcare IT leaders at HIMSS were direct — 2026 is the year organizations must formalize AI governance or face HIPAA, compliance, and liability exposure they have not planned for. Your staff is already using unapproved tools to cope with documentation burden. Shadow AI is not a discipline problem. It is an operational signal. HR Action: Before you enforce, investigate. Find out what staff are using and why — then build governance around real workflows.

💰 Kaiser's 21.5%: Everyone's Benchmark Now 31,000 nurses ended the largest open-ended work stoppage in US history with a 21.5% wage increase over four years — roughly 5.5% annually. That number is now public and referenced in every upcoming negotiation nationwide. HR Action: Run your comp data for clinical staff now. Your nurses already know this number.

🔎 This Week's 3 Mission-Critical Moves

• Map your AI governance gap before a compliance event forces your hand
• Find your shadow AI — treat it as a signal, not a threat
• Benchmark against Kaiser — know where your clinical compensation stands today

The organizations that thrive will be the ones where HR leads the AI transition and stays ahead of the labor curve.

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