RNs demand serious proposals to improve staffing at Brooksville hospital

Nurses at HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville, Fla., will hold a rally on June 19 to protest HCA’s failure to seriously address nurses’ concerns in contract negotiations. Nurses are represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) in negotiations.

“We need management to get serious about a strong contract,” said Judy Preuss, RN in the intensive care unit (ICU). “Our patients need us, and nurses need to know we’ll have safe staffing on every unit on every shift in our hospital. This fight is about a better future for our hospital.”

The nurses’ current contract was set to expire on May 30, but the agreement’s expiration date has been extended to July 1. Nurses report that, in bargaining sessions, HCA has focused on shortchanging nurses and their patients, whose care conditions are directly impacted by facility working conditions.

• Who:    Nurses at HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital
• What:   Protest to demand a strong contract
• When:  Wednesday, June 19, 7:45 a.m.
• Where: 11375 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville, Fla.

“Safe staffing is one of our key demands because of our concerns about patient safety,” said Tina Urbanski, RN in the ICU. “Nurses know what’s safe for our patients, and we need HCA management to hear us at the bargaining table because we’re at the bedside taking care of the patients they refuse to put before their profits.”

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 over $31.7 billion in profits since 2018 and executive compensation totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

HCA cofounder 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 more than 470 nurses at HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital and nearly 10,000 nurses at HCA facilities nationwide. NNOC/NNU nurses are currently negotiating new contracts at 17 HCA hospitals in six 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.