Nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville voted in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract this week after months of negotiation.
According to a press release shared by Nation Nurses United Wednesday morning, the contract includes measures to improve patient safety and nurse retention.
The previous contract expired July 30, and the nurses union had since been negotiating a new contract and even voted to approve the ability to strike in September.
“We are excited to have this new contract and ensure that our hospital is on a path to taking the best possible care of our patients and community,” Huns Brown, a nurse in the pulmonary progressive care unit, stated. “The devastation Hurricane Helene brought to our region underscores how Mission being the best possible version of itself is more important than ever.”
According to the release, the contract includes agreements between the union and healthcare giant HCA on “substantial wage increases that will improve nurse recruitment and retention; raises up to 29% for some nurses over the contract’s three-year term.”
It also includes a new program that will “improve staffing practices to ensure nurses can take their meal and rest breaks during their shifts.”
“Mission Hospital is so important to Asheville and all of western North Carolina,” Hannah Drummond, a nurse in the Mission catheterization lab recovery unit, stated. “This contract is another step forward to making Mission the hospital it needs to be for our patients. Nurses are the backbone of Mission Hospital, and this contract adds steel to our spine.”
Other new measures include allowing staff to use preferred names and pronouns to their staff documentation and a move to ensure nurses are working in units similar to their specialty.
"As we indicated all along, our goal was to reach an agreement that was fair for our colleagues and maintained the flexibility that allows us to operate in an ever-changing healthcare environment, and this contract meets those goals," Nancy Lindell, as spokesperson for Mission Health, wrote in an email.
"Now, as our Western North Carolina community comes together to heal from Hurricane Helene, we are eager to move forward together in providing high-quality care to our patients."
The build-up
About two months ago, nurses and their supporters picketed outside the Asheville facility, calling for the Mission health care system to meet demands about patient safety and working conditions.
The unrest was the latest in a series of challenges for HCA in Western North Carolina since it purchased the then-nonprofit Mission Hospital System in 2019.
In late July, the independent monitor assigned to evaluate whether HCA complied with the terms of the sale reported it had found potential non-compliance in three areas.
In addition to the ongoing nurses' negotiation, HCA faces several legal challenges related to the Mission facility.
In late 2023, state Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein filed suit against the health care giant alleging violation of the purchase agreement. The case is pending in the state's business court.
Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare issued an “immediate jeopardy” designation to the health care system after a report by CMS outlining multiple incidents of patient harm and death. The hospital took corrective action, satisfying inspectors who permitted the facility to continue to receive CMS funding.
The nurses are not alone in their calls for accountability at the hospital. In late July, a newly formed coalition of political leaders and advocates called for HCA to sell Mission to a nonprofit entity.
