Labor & Employment Law

Central Florida Nurses Are Latest to Join NNU

By James Parks

The 300 registered nurses at Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford, Fla., voted last night for better patient care by joining the National Nurses Organizing Committee-Florida (NNOC-Florida), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU). This is the second time in a week that nurses in central Florida have gained a voice through NNU?RNs at Osceola Regional Medical Center in Kissimmee voted for the union Nov. 15.   

As Karyn Hayduk, a medical surgical oncology RN at Central Florida, said:

This is a historic time for Florida nurses and the patients they care for. Now nurses will have a voice to give the best care possible for our patients.

Both Central Florida and Osceola are part of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), the nation’s largest hospital system. RNs at several other HCA hospitals in Florida will also vote in the coming weeks on whether to join NNOC-Florida.

With Monday night’s vote, more than 6,800 RNs have voted for representation by NNU this year, many of them at HCA hospitals in Texas, Nevada, Missouri and Florida.

NNU Vice President Malinda Markowitz, who chairs the union?s HCA RN Council, said:

We are looking forward to changing the face of healthcare in Florida and the nation with the growth of NNU, and HCA RNs will be at the heart of that effort.  

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on November 23, 2010 (boomark / email).