RNs at Orange County Global Medical Center vote overwhelmingly to join California Nurses Association

Nurses say say union protections will lead to improved care

Registered nurses at KPC Health's Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, Calif. voted overwhelmingly on Thursday, June 4 to join California Nurses Association (CNA), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), the nation's largest and fastest-growing registered nurse (RN) union. The nurses voted 91 percent in favor of joining the union.

"I have been a nurse at Orange County Global Medical Center for 16 years. I've dedicated my life to working here because this hospital, my coworkers, and my patients have been my community," said Fred Camungao, a registered nurse in the psychiatric unit. "After years of takeaways, we need a union so we will have a voice to advocate for our patients, recruit and retain excellent nurses, and make improvements."

Nurses at the 282-bed facility say they voted to join the union because it is critical that nurses have a say in making decisions to help recruit and retain experienced nurses, which leads to improved patient care.

Nurses say they are struggling to provide care without appropriate staffing, working with frequently broken equipment, and are floated to units outside of their expertise.

"Our patients deserve the best care and our nurses deserve the tools, support, and staffing to provide that care," said Hyejin Park, a registered nurse in the emergency department. "With our union, we can effectively enforce safe staffing and workplace violence prevention standards."

CNA now represent 550 nurses at Orange County Global Medical Center. With the Orange County Global Medical Center vote, nurses at five KPC Health hospitals are represented by CNA. The other hospitals include South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, Anaheim Global Medical Center in Anaheim, Chapman Global Medical Center in Orange, and Hemet Global Medical Center in Hemet. In all, CNA represents some 1,600 KPC Health nurses.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.