Registered nurses at three Healthcare Systems of America hospitals in South Florida plan to strike Jan. 9, according to a Dec. 29 news release from the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United.
The union represents more than 1,000 nurses combined at Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah and Coral Gables Hospital in Coral Gables. The hospitals, previously owned by Dallas-based Steward Health Care, were sold to Glendale, Calif.-based HSA during Steward’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Healthcare Systems of America operates a network of hospitals across Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
Union members are bargaining for renewed contracts and say the strike centers on staffing concerns.
“Employee retention is a major issue for patient safety and has been a top priority of nurses,” Leroy Desance, RN, who works in the intensive care unit at Coral Gables Hospital, said in the release. “HSA has not meaningfully addressed this issue after months at the bargaining table, so now we’re ready to take action for safe staffing.”
Becker’s has reached out to HSA for comment and will update this story if a response is received.
