Nurses who work for America’s largest Hospital company issue a stark warning: “when nurses are silenced, patients suffer.”
HCA employees launch national “Nurses Unsilenced” campaign including TV ads, billboards, and digital blitz to raise awareness
Riverside, CA – Hospital workers employed by the nation’s largest hospital company, HCA Healthcare, are launching a multi-state campaign that they’re calling “Nurses Unsilenced” to ensure that their voices are heard and to share their opinion that silencing nurses, especially regarding safety issues, poses a threat to both nurses and patient lives.
Hear from HCA employees about why they are launching the “Nurses Unsilenced” campaign here: https://nursesunsilenced.org
Watch the “Nurses Unsilenced” TV ad here: https://nursesunsilenced.org
The campaign is being led in part by more than 10,000 nurses in California who are members of SEIU 121RN, many of whom are HCA employees. The launch of Nurses Unsilenced coincides with an unexpected and troubling ruling from a US District Court judge regarding a controversial prior arbitration decision.
The Federal District Court confirmed the arbitrator’s findings that the nurses were well within their rights to strike over chronic understaffing levels under the contract.
However, in the eyes of the nurses, the ruling and prior arbitration award both overreached by penalizing the union for supporting members who spoke out about PPE at the height of the pandemic, despite the fact members were on strike for permissible reasons.
Nurses have pointed to the well-documented fact that in the unprecedented early days of the pandemic, PPE access was directly impacting staffing levels at healthcare facilities, because more nurses were getting sick than they had ever witnessed before as PPE access remained a challenge.
As a result of the initial arbitration, nurses and their union were ordered to pay a $6 million award to HCA. Nurses say the ruling is wrong, in part, because unions should be able to support nurses who speak out about safety issues at the hospital.
The union has vowed to continue tenaciously representing its members, and is evaluating its legal options in light of recent rulings.
Nurses say they will never stop advocating for patient safety. That is just one of the reasons why the union and its members are now taking major steps to raise awareness about the dangers of stifling frontline healthcare voices – and to promote safe working and care conditions – through the upcoming Nurses Unsilenced campaign.
“Nurses Unsilenced is the start of a movement to underscore that when nurses are silenced, it puts patients at risk. We risked our lives on the frontlines every single day during the pandemic, short staffed and dangerously exposed to disease without the necessary PPE,” said Monique Hernandez, a nurse at Riverside Community Hospital. “I felt pressured to work without PPE at the height of COVID. Now, the hospital executives are using their vast resources in a manner that will likely silence nurses who want to speak out during a public health crisis in the future.”
“Instead of celebrating the frontline workers who risked their lives during the pandemic, HCA’s legal action threatens to silence them in the future,” said Leo Perez-Ferrer, RN and President of SEIU 121RN. “Nurses who speak out do so in the best interest of their patients and the public health – especially during a crisis. HCA’s actions reveal a healthcare delivery model built on fidelity to profit and shareholder wealth, instead of patient safety.”
Additional background:
When frontline healthcare workers at HCA’s Riverside Community Hospital, represented by SEIU 121RN, went on strike in July 2020, HCA claimed the strike violated the union contract, arguing that it went beyond the “permissible” scope when nurses’ concerns about protective equipment were shared with the community.
In an arbitration that followed, HCA was able to secure a $6 million award that SEIU 121RN believes is unwarranted and which they also believe will likely silence nurses in the future.
HCA workers are fighting back this week with a six-figure multi-state advertising campaign, launching in cities across California as well as in HCA’s home state headquarters of Nashville, Tennessee.
Television ads and billboards will be up in multiple markets across California beginning in February, including in Riverside.A nationwide survey of frontline HCA employees found that 8 out of 10 reported witnessing patient care be jeopardized by short staffing. According to reports, HCA has at times staffed its hospitals at very low levels, typically about 30% below the national average, according to analysis of Medicare cost report data. In particular, Medicare cost report data shows staffing levels routinely and precipitously drop after HCA acquires a hospital.
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SEIU Local 121RN represents 10,000 registered nurses and other healthcare professionals in California.
This member-led organization is committed to supporting optimum working conditions that allow nurses and licensed healthcare professionals to provide quality patient care and safety.
