Nurses at two El Paso hospitals ratify new contracts with HCA management

The new agreements bring improvements in staffing practices and other measures to improve patient care at Las Palmas and Del Sol medical centers.

Registered nurses at Del Sol and Las Palmas medical centers in El Paso, Texas, voted in favor of ratifying new three-year contracts this week, winning measures to improve patient safety and nurse retention. Nurses represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), the nation's largest nurses union, say the newly ratified agreements will improve patient care and working conditions at their hospitals.

"Our contract fight was all about making progress for us as nurses and for our patients here in El Paso," said Julianita Garcia, RN in the post-anesthesia care unit at Del Sol Medical Center. "Our new contracts are all about making that progress. We won measures that are going to make our hospitals safer places with better care for our patients."

Highlights of the contracts include:

• Pilot program on break relief staffing: A new program that will improve staffing practices to ensure nurses can take their meal and rest breaks during their shifts.
• Improved call-off protocols: New restrictions on management's ability to reduce staffing on shifts, and improved protocols for nurses who are called off.
• Nurse floating improvements: New measures will ensure nurses are "floated" (temporarily reassigned) to units similar to their normal specialty.
• Wage increases: Substantial wage increases that will improve nurse recruitment and retention; up to 25% bumps for some Texas nurses over the term of the contracts.
• Inclusive documentation: Staff can use preferred names and add personal pronouns to name badges.

"Everyone in El Paso deserves the best possible patient care when they come to our hospitals," said Juan Anchondo, RN in the medical-surgical department at Las Palmas Medical Center. "We're patient advocates, and, at our bargaining table, we fought for what we need to take better care of you."

NNOC/NNU represents 850 nurses combined at Las Palmas and Del Sol medical centers and more than 8,500 nurses who were at the bargaining table with HCA management throughout 2024, as contracts expired at 17 HCA facilities in six states. In recent weeks, nurses at HCA facilities had voted in favor of authorizing strikes if necessary to resolve negotiations, but an agreement was reached before any strikes were called by nurses on bargaining teams.

NNOC/NNU represents nearly 10,000 nurses at HCA facilities nationwide, including some not bargaining new contracts this year. HCA is one of the largest and wealthiest health care systems in the United States.

National Nurses Organizing Committee is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates also include California Nurses Association, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.