Registered nurses will testify on deteriorating patient care conditions at Watsonville Community Hospital at the Watsonville City Council Tuesday night and ask for their support on a resolution citing the need to immediately rectify chronic short-staffing at the hospital.

Registered nurses voted overwhelmingly to ratify new collective bargaining agreements covering nearly 8,000 RNs at 17 HCA-affiliated hospitals in five states, National Nurses United announced today.

Registered nurses at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia Thursday night voted to approve a new three-year contract agreement that provides some additional patient care protections and economic gains.

Karen Higgins, co-president of the nation’s largest RN organization National Nurses United who is also a Massachusetts RN, will represent Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders at the Massachusetts Democratic Party Convention in Springfield, Ma. Saturday morning.

Nurses will hold membership meetings to vote on whether to ratify the proposed agreements through Monday. The pacts affect RNs at ten HCA hospitals in Florida, four in Texas, and one each in Missouri, Kansas, and Nevada. The agreements make substantial strides for working conditions for RNs, patient care standards and the quality of care at the 17 facilities as well as noteworthy economic gains. All the RNs are represented by the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) /National Nurses United (NNU) -- the largest organization of registered nurses in the country, with 185,000 members.

National Nurses United (NNU), the largest organization of nurses in the U.S., would like to express disappointment regarding ABC show The View's disparaging, patronizing and misinformed comments on nursing.

National Nurses United, the nation’s largest nurses’ union and professional association, representing 190,000 RNs across the country, is urging Congress to support S. 928 / H.R. 1786, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act.