The new agreement brings improvements in staffing practices and other measures that will improve patient care at the hospital.

Registered nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., voted in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract this week, winning measures to improve patient safety and nurse retention. Nurses represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), the nation’s largest nurses union, say the newly ratified agreement with HCA management will improve patient care and working conditions at their hospital.

“We are excited to have this new contract and ensure that our hospital is on a path to taking the best possible care of our patients and community,” said Huns Brown, RN in the pulmonary progressive care unit. “The devastation Hurricane Helene brought to our region underscores how Mission being the best possible version of itself is more important than ever.” 

Highlights of the contract include:

• Wage increases: Substantial wage increases that will improve nurse recruitment and retention; raises up to 29% for some nurses over the contract’s three-year term. 
• Pilot program on break relief staffing: A new program that will improve staffing practices to ensure nurses can take their meal and rest breaks during their shifts.
• Nurse floating improvements: New measures will ensure nurses are “floated” (temporarily reassigned) to units similar to their normal specialty.
• Inclusive documentation: Staff can use preferred names and add personal pronouns to name badges.

“Mission Hospital is so important to Asheville and all of western North Carolina,” said Hannah Drummond, RN in the Mission catheterization lab recovery unit. “This contract is another step forward to making Mission the hospital it needs to be for our patients. Nurses are the backbone of Mission Hospital, and this contract adds steel to our spine.”

NNOC/NNU represents more than 1,600 nurses at Mission Hospital and more than 8,500 nurses who have been at the bargaining table with HCA management throughout 2024, as contracts expired at 17 HCA facilities in six states. In recent weeks, nurses at HCA facilities had voted in favor of authorizing strikes if necessary to resolve negotiations, but an agreement was reached before any strikes were called by nurses on bargaining teams. 

NNOC/NNU represents nearly 10,000 nurses at HCA facilities nationwide, including some not bargaining new contracts this year. HCA is one of the largest and wealthiest health care systems in the United States.

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.