In a significant move aimed at enhancing staffing practices and improving patient care, registered nurses at HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital have voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU).
The vote, which took place over two days from September 10 to September 11, saw more than 65 percent of the nursing staff in favor of unionizing.
Paige Campbell, a registered nurse in the emergency department, expressed her enthusiasm about the decision: “I am absolutely overwhelmed and elated that we are now part of National Nurses United. We now have the opportunity to make real changes at our hospital so we can provide the highest quality of care to each and every one of our patients. We know that with a seat at the bargaining table, management must address our concerns. And while we rejoice in this victory, we know in the end, it is our patients who will be the biggest winners.”
Marissa Lee, a registered nurse at HCA’s Osceola Hospital and a vice president of NNU, also celebrated this milestone: “We are so proud to welcome the hundreds of nurses at Fort Walton-Destin Hospital to our NNU family. Now when nurses stand up to advocate for better patient care, they are not standing alone. They are standing with 10,000 other HCA nurses and more than 225,000 registered nurses across the country. This is a fantastic day for our union and for the nurses at Fort Walton-Destin Hospital. We could not be prouder of you!”
The decision to unionize was primarily motivated by various pressing issues, including chronic short-staffing, unsafe floating practices, persistent problems with broken equipment, and cases of workplace violence. Nurses pointed to a national study indicating that HCA’s staffing levels were approximately 30 percent below the national average, citing these factors as impediments to providing safe and effective patient care in a timely manner.
Lee commented on the company’s financial capabilities, stating: “We know that HCA has very deep pockets and could easily supply us with appropriate staffing and working equipment. But those sitting in the C-suites making the decisions don’t concern themselves with patient care; they are only concerned with profits. As nurses, we are here to remind them every day that those people lying in our hospital beds are not just a number but real people with families, dreams, and aspirations. They need and deserve the very best that we can offer them, and that means safe staffing.”
Fort Walton-Destin Hospital is part of HCA Healthcare, Inc., the largest for-profit operator of healthcare facilities in the United States, valued at more than $90 billion. In the previous year, HCA CEO Sam Hazen took home a compensation package of $23.8 million.
Florida is a particularly profitable market for HCA, with the company’s hospitals in the state generating nearly $15 billion in profits from 2019 to 2023, including $616 million specifically from Fort Walton-Destin Hospital.
With the addition of the 400 nurses from Fort Walton-Destin Hospital, NNOC/NNU now represents approximately 3,500 nurses across 11 HCA hospitals in Florida and an additional 6,500 RNs at HCA facilities in states such as California, North Carolina, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Nevada.
Having achieved this milestone, the nurses will now focus on electing their bargaining team and preparing for their first contract negotiations. The upcoming discussions will seek to tackle the very issues that prompted their unionization effort.
NNU, which represents more than 225,000 nurses nationwide, includes representation across southern states such as Texas, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Louisiana. This growth underscores NNU’s position as the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association for registered nurses in the United States, encompassing affiliates like the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.
image source from：nationalnursesunited
