RNs demand serious proposals to improve staffing, nurse retention

Nurses from HCA-owned Las Palmas Medical Center and Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, will hold a rally on Wednesday, June 26, at Las Palmas to protest HCA’s failure to seriously address their staffing and nurse retention crises in contract negotiations. Nurses at both facilities are represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU). 

“Nurses are standing together to let HCA management know that we need real solutions to the staffing crisis at our hospitals,” said Juan Anchondo, RN at Las Palmas Medical Center. “A strong contract is the best way to improve staffing and nurse retention, which is essential for high quality patient care.”

The nurses’ current contract expires on June 30, but, in bargaining sessions to date, nurses report that HCA has refused to address chronic and systemic issues such as short staffing and lack of resources which undermine and jeopardize patient care.

Who: Nurses from HCA Las Palmas and Del Sol Medical Centers
What: Rally to demand a strong contract
When: Wednesday, June 26, 6 p.m.
Where: Las Palmas Medical Center, 1804 N. Oregon St., El Paso, Texas

“We’re fighting for the people of El Paso. The proposals in our contract will improve patient care at Las Palmas and Del Sol,” said Ariana Lucio, RN at Del Sol Medical Center. “HCA needs to hear us at the table because we’re speaking with our expertise from working at the bedside.”

HCA, the largest health system in the country, advertises over 180 hospitals in its network. The company self-reported over $5.2 billion in profits in 2023 but regularly shuts down vital health services at its hospitals. According to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, HCA has reported more than $31.7 billion in profits since 2018 and executive compensation totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

HCA co-founder and major shareholder Thomas Frist Jr., who has extensive experience serving as an executive at HCA, currently ranks in the top 75 of the Forbes 400 Richest Americans and the top 60 of the Bloomberg Billionaire Index of the world’s 500 richest people, with an estimated net worth of nearly $30 billion.

NNOC/NNU represents nearly 450 nurses at Las Palmas Medical Center and more than 460 nurses at Del Sol Medical Center, totaling over 900 nurses represented at HCA facilities in El Paso.

National Nurses Organizing Committee is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates also include California Nurses Association, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.