Registered nurses who are employed at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, Calif. and members of California Nurses Association issued the following statement in response to the passage of Measure AA:

“Registered nurses at Desert Regional Medical Center vow to continue our fight for the highest quality of care at our facility and for Tenet Healthcare to safely staff and maintain the hospital, so that we can provide our patients and our community a clean and safe environment that promotes health and healing.

“We know Tenet has a long history of short-changing our patients and the Coachella Valley community, but we will never give up on our mission to push those who manage  Desert Regional Medical Center to put patients before profits. It is inexcusable that Tenet, a company valued at more than $15 billion, should have a facility that is under resourced, where maintenance is deferred, where staffing is insufficient, and where patient safety is at risk.

“Nurses also hold the Desert Healthcare District responsible for the deterioration of our hospital under Tenet’s tenure. The district was founded in 1948 to build a hospital in Palm Springs and to provide oversight and governance to ensure the highest quality of care at Desert Regional Medical Center. However, the district has failed to carry out its duty to hold Tenet to a reasonable standard, even as Tenet has extracted $500 million in profits from 2018-2023. 

“As nurses who have devoted our professional lives to advocating for our patients, we will continue to insist that every patient on every shift deserves holistic, optimal care. We will continue to publicly hold both Tenet and the health care district responsible for their failures to provide high-quality care to the Coachella Valley. We will never abandon our patients as we strive to create a Desert Regional Medical Center that provides our community a safe and well-resourced environment that promotes health and healing.”

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and nearly 225,000 RNs nationwide.