ASHEVILLE, N.C.—On Aug. 6, nurses from Mission Hospital took to the streets here to protest what they describe as exploitative practices by the hospital’s owners, HCA Healthcare. The private company bought Mission Health, previously a not-for-profit community healthcare system, in February 2019 for $1.5 billion.
Molly Zenker, a nurse at Mission Hospital and a member of the Mission Nurses United bargaining team, highlighted several key issues facing the workers here during an interview with People’s World.
“We are out here on the streets because they just aren’t making any moves on their side,” Zenker said, referring to the ongoing negotiations with HCA’s lawyers. Despite multiple meetings since April, the hospital administration has shown little willingness to address the nurses’ concerns. The demands include safer staffing levels, breaks, and increased pay to retain and recruit skilled nurses.
Zenker said increased staffing is a critical and immediate need. “We’re asking for safer staffing so that we can take proper care of our patients and ensure they receive the quality care that they deserve,” she said.
Currently, the hospital’s staffing levels are insufficient to carry out the workload, leading to burnout and high turnover rates among nurses.
Another significant concern is the lack of adequate meal and rest breaks. Nurses often work 12- to 13-hour shifts without proper breaks, impacting their ability to provide optimal care as well as their own health.
“We’re only asking for 30 minutes…to go to the bathroom and get a bite to eat and rest our brain for a second,” Zenker emphasized.
The nurses are also advocating for fairer compensation. Improved pay is essential not only to retain experienced nurses but also to attract new graduates. However, the hospital administration has been reluctant to budge on wage levels.
“We’re losing everybody. Everyone goes somewhere else,” Zenker explained, underscoring the high turnover rate and the reliance on temporary staff as a short-term solution.
Zenker also shed light on the exploitation of new graduates. Many are lured by sign-on bonuses only to find themselves bound by contractual obligations that make them feel forced to stay despite the challenging working conditions.
“They’re definitely taking advantage of people who want to just come to work and don’t expect to be exploited,” she said.
The disparity between the compensation of hospital administrators and the nursing staff puts the situation in stark relief. HCA, a private entity, has seen significant profits in recent years. In 2022, it reported patient-care profits of almost $100 million—nearly 3.5 times its profits of the year before the purchase of Mission Hospital.
“They’re making that money by shorting the staff and making patients have less care than they should,” Zenker pointed out.
The nurses’ picket at Mission Hospital is a call to action for fair treatment and better working conditions. The nurses and community members ended their Aug. 6 event with a chanting promise “To be back!”
“Ultimately, we’re all out here just because…we care about people, and it’s really a huge thing when we say patients over profits,” Zenker affirmed.
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