4 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6
NEWS BRIEFS
FLORIDA
R
egistered nurses at two South
Florida hospitals, Florida Medical
Center (FMC) in Fort Lauderdale
and Palmetto General Hospital
(PGH) in Hialeah, voted in December by a
wide margin to approve new contracts
ensuring vital patient care and nursing prac-
tice protections.
"A safe hospital for nurses is a safe hospi-
tal for patients," said Rose Campbell, an RN
at Palmetto General Hospital. "The new
con tract gives us new tools to make sure our
hospital remains among the safest places to
work in this area."
The pacts cover 320 RNs at FMC and
620 RNs at PGH, all members of the
National Nurses Organizing Committee-
Florida. The national hospital chain, Tenet
Healthcare, owns both hospitals.
Highlights of the new contracts include:
• Economic gains to help with nurse
recruitment and retention, including new
minimum rates based on nurses' years of
experience. Through a combination of
annual raises and increased experience,
nurses' raises will average 13 percent over
the life of the contract. More than 100 nurs-
es will see an initial increase, retroactive to
April 1 of this year, of greater than 8 percent.
• New language to protect nurses from
workplace violence, prevent lifting injuries,
and address infectious disease.
• Maintenance of retirement, health, and
dental plan coverage.
• Expansion of the Professional Practice
Committee in which RNs meet with
management to address patient care and
working conditions, including staffing, stan-
dards, training, and workplace injuries.
"We've set a new bar for recruitment and
retention in South Florida hospitals," said
Mary Lin Montalvo, an RN at Florida
Medical Center. "By guaranteeing salaries
for nurses based on experience, we can keep
nurses at the bedside at our hospital and
continue to provide the quality of care our
patients deserve."
—Staff report
South Florida Tenet hospitals
cheer new contracts
