Registered nurses at 10 Florida hospitals that are a part of the nation's largest for profit-hospital chain, Nashville-based HCA, have achieved their first collective bargaining contract with important improvements in patient care protections and enhanced professional and economic standards. Together, these provisions will help keep experienced RNs on staff at the bedside, National Nurses United (NNU) announced today. NNU is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S., with 170,000 members.
 
The agreement affects some 3,100 RNs at HCA hospitals throughout Florida: Central Florida Regional Hospital, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Largo Medical Center, St. Petersburg General Hospital, Trinity Medical Center, Fawcett Memorial Hospital, Northside Hospital, Osceola Regional Medical Center, Oak Hill Hospital and Blake Medical Center.