Nurses union holds rally at Mission Hospital ahead of contract negotiations

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WSPA) – A union representing more than 1,500 nurses at Mission Hospital hosted a rally Thursday ahead of contract negotiations with the hospital.

National Nurses United said their contract with HCA Healthcare, the parent company of Mission Hospital, will expire on July 2.

“When HCA took over Mission in 2019, it completely changed our hospital for the worse,” said Kelly Coward, RN in the cardiovascular intensive care unit at Mission Hospital since 1997 in a statement released by National Nurses United. “We used to be the place that every nurse in the region wanted to work, and we had high retention because of it. But HCA cares more about profits than the people we take care of. This contract fight is about reclaiming Mission as a hospital to provide care for patients, not just an investment to milk for cash.”

The rally was held at 8 a.m. in front of Mission Hospital.

“The protests against Mission Health are no different from the ones National Nurses United has organized against other hospitals across the United States,” said hospital spokesperson Nancy Lindell, in a statement. “As we enter negotiations for a new contract, we expect that this labor union will continue with various antics and making unfounded claims about our hospitals.”

Lindell went on to say that the nurse turnover rate at Mission Hospital is 14%, compared to the national average of 22% and that the number of nurses employed by the hospital, both full time and part time, has increased by 11%.

Mission Hospital said they have spent an additional $20 million annually on pay increases over the last two years.

In December, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein filed a lawsuit against the hospital and HCA Healthcare, which bought Mission Hospital in 2018.

The suit claims HCA violated its purchase agreement which required the hospital to maintain the level of services it had before the sale.

In early April, Buncombe County asked to be added to the lawsuit in an attempt to recoup money the county has spent paying EMTs – who are county employees – to work in the hospital’s emergency room.

The county is asking for $3 million in damages to recoup the costs of having EMTs working in the ER and not out running calls in the community.

Read Thursday’s full statement from Mission Hospital:

The protests against Mission Health are no different from the ones National Nurses United has organized against other hospitals across the United States. As we enter negotiations for a new contract, we expect that this labor union will continue with various antics and making unfounded claims about our hospitals.

In 2023, our employed fulltime and part-time RNs increased 11% and our RN turnover rate is at 14%, compared to the 22% national average, which means more nurses are choosing to stay at Mission. Mission Health also spent an additional $20 million annually on pay increases over the past two years, which were not the result of any union bargaining.

Nancy Lindell, spokesperson for Mission Hospital

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