Nurses union reaches tentative contract agreement with Bradenton hospital’s owner
Registered nurses at 10 Central and Gulf Coast Florida hospitals, including Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, have reached a tentative agreement with HCA Healthcare on a new collective bargaining contract.
The National Nurses Organizing Committee-Florida, an affiliate of National Nurses United, announced the tentative agreement on Tuesday.
The proposed settlement will be presented to the RNs at all the facilities in membership meetings for ratification beginning Wednesday, depending on conditions caused by Tropical Storm Elsa.
Terms of the settlement will be available after the membership votes.
The agreement covers union-represented RNs who work at Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte, Largo Medical Center, Medical Center of Trinity, Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg, Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville, Osceola Regional Medical Center in Kissimmee, and St. Petersburg General Hospital.
“We are extremely pleased to move forward with an agreement that we believe will improve protections and conditions for our patients, and our communities, as well as enhance standards for the nurses,” Osceola RN Marissa Lee, said in a press release.
Nurses at Blake Medical Center have periodically taken their contract concerns to the street.
In 2018, protesting nurses and their supporters walked the sidewalk in front of the hospital encouraging management to address turnover in nursing staff and comply with staffing guidelines as part of ongoing contract negotiations.
“We are the nurses, the mighty, mighty nurses. Out here for our patients, out here for our contracts,” they chanted.
In May of 2020, about 20 Blake nurses took part in a demonstration, against possible layoffs as well as the strain of staff shortages and the lack of protective equipment during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response, a Blake spokeswoman said that Blake had not furloughed, or threatened to furlough, anyone during the pandemic.
“Comments regarding staffing, equipment and possible layoffs are simply not accurate,” Lisa Kirkland said in May 2020.
HCA, based in Nashville, has more than 180 hospitals in the United States and the United Kingdom.
