HCA Fort Walton-Destin Hospital nurses to hold informational picket for patient safety

RNs protest unsafe staffing and management's failure to address workplace violence

Registered nurses at HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., will hold an informational picket on Tuesday, June 2, to highlight their patient safety concerns, including short-staffing and management's failure to address workplace violence, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) today.

"As nurses, our priority is to care for our patients and for our community," said Jan Riley, RN in the intensive care unit. "For too long, HCA has shown that their priority is profit. As union nurses, we have the privilege of standing up for ourselves, our profession, and our community and we are using our voice to draw attention to the unsafe conditions inside of our hospital. We have seen an uptick in violence against nurses and staff, and we are demanding management make improvements, so we can care for our community."

Who: RNs at HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital
What: Informational picket for Patient Safety
When: Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 7:30 - 9:30 am
Where: Near the main entrance of Fort Walton-Destin Hospital, 1000 Marwalt Dr., Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Nurses contend that HCA has ample resources to address the issues at the hospital but refuses to make patient safety a priority. HCA reported record profits of $6.8 billion in 2025 as its CEO, Sam Hazen took home more than $26 million.

"Nurses across the hospital have been documenting unsafe patient assignments which tell the story of consistent understaffing, unsafe conditions, and inadequate support from management" said Drew Davis, RN in the medical-surgical unit. "We will never stop advocating for adequate staffing and patient protections."

Nurses voted overwhelmingly to join NNOC/NNU in September 2025 and have been negotiating their first contract since January. Management has not provided responses to nurses' demands for safe staffing or adequate workplace violence protections.

CNA/NNOC/NNU represents more than 400 registered nurses at HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital.

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