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Registered nurses at three South Florida hospitals owned by Healthcare Systems of America (HSA) voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying new union contracts this week, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse retention.
The new contracts are for nurses at three facilities: Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah, and Coral Gables Hospital in Coral Gables.
Nurses represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), the country’s largest nurses union, had been prepared to strike at all three hospitals, but the strike was called off as a deal was reached.
“This contract is full of wins for nurses and our patients,” said Lazaro Garcia, RN, in the critical care unit at Palmetto General Hospital. “We showed management we were prepared to strike to reach a deal, and now, we have the deal done and a contract that will continue to improve our hospitals.”
Highlights of the contract include:
• Nurses won an enhanced protection that will reduce unsafe staffing in critical care units.
• Safety committee work expanded, bringing more direct nurse involvement into conversations about patient safety.
• New improved language protecting nurses who speak out for patient safety.
• Economic gains that will make it possible to recruit and retain more nurses, including minimum across-the-board raises of 12.25 percent over the term of the contract with pay retroactive to Oct. 1, 2025.
“When we stand together, we win,” said Leroy Desance, RN, in the intensive care unit at Coral Gables Hospital. “HSA wants to try to continue the same practices that Steward was using, but our new contract proves things can get better when people work together.”
The new contracts cover the period from Jan. 13, 2026, to Jan. 13, 2029. NNOC/NNU represents more than 1,000 nurses combined at the three South Florida HSA hospitals.
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