It’s an ironic twist to the pandemic: When the health care system seems to need workers the most, it can’t afford to keep them all.

Though they play a vital role in pulling this nation through the pandemic, U.S. hospitals have taken a huge financial hit from the crisis.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris approved the sale of six nonprofit Daughters of Charity Health System hospitals to a for-profit chain with austere conditions. The decree has somewhat calmed a battle that divided powerful unions, both of which have claimed victory.

The state attorney general's office will host public meetings this week on the contentious sale of six nonprofit hospitals—including two in Silicon Valley—to a multi-state, for-profit chain.