Registered nurses from around the U.S. will hold a press conference Wednesday, January 8 in Naples, Fl. before a vote by shareholders of the Health Management Associates chain, challenging a buyout of HMA by Community Health Systems that would create a massive hospital monopoly they say would threaten patient access and quality of care.

Registered nurses at Keck Hospital of USC and Norris Cancer Hospital rang in the New Year with a new three-year collective bargaining agreement on Wednesday, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United announced today. The new pact, which expires at the end of April 2017, and covers 800 RNs protects the health coverage for their families, wins improvements in patient care and nurses standards, and provides for important economic gains. Nurses voted to accept the contract last Friday.

As Next Delegation Set to Deploy to Philippines. The latest group of registered nurse volunteers, who have been at working providing medical care to survivors of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, return tonight and Saturday. But the disaster relief program established by National Nurses United is far from over – another group is already in formation with plans to head to the Philippines in early January.

Nurses Protest Closures, Cuts in Hospital Care. More than 500 registered nurses from Kaiser facilities throughout Northern California, joined by patients, other hospital workers, and community supporters, marched on Kaiser Permanente’s Oakland, Ca. headquarters with a call to on the HMO giant to stop the reductions in hospital care. Singing holiday-themed carols – “Kaiser better watch out, better not cut, better not reduce our RN staff, the California nurses are in town,” and echoing chants like, “we want justice for our patients,” the RNs stepped up what has been a fall campaign of protest.