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

Registered nurses at eight facilities across Florida's central Gulf Coast have voted in favor of ratifying new three-year contracts 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 agreements will improve patient care and working conditions at their hospital. A full list of facilities with newly ratified contracts is below.

"Hurricane Milton underscored how important it is to have strong, safe hospitals in our communities," said Collette Salomon-Belfond, RN in the medical-surgical unit at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte. "These new contracts are going to make working conditions at our hospitals better, and that means better conditions for our patients."

Highlights of the contracts include:

• 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.
• Wage increases: Substantial wage increases that will improve nurse recruitment and retention; up to 17.65% increases over the life of the contracts for some Florida nurses.

"Nurses are patient advocates at the bedside and at the bargaining table," said Sam Guy, RN in the neurological intensive care unit at HCA Florida Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg. "Nurses' goal is always to take the best possible care of our patients, and these wins in our new contracts will help us do just that."

NNOC/NNU represents nearly 2,500 nurses at eight Tampa Bay area facilities and, nationally, more than 8,500 nurses who were 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.

Facilities List

• HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville
• HCA Florida Largo Hospital in Largo
• HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte
• HCA Florida Trinity Hospital in Trinity
• HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton
• HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital in Sarasota
• HCA Florida St. Petersburg Hospital in St. Petersburg
• HCA Florida Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg

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.