Nurses from Prime’s Centinela Hospital Medical Center to strike over unsafe staffing, patient safety concerns

Nurses as Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, Calif., gave notice to their employer, Prime Healthcare that they will hold a strike for one day on Feb. 19, 2026, to protest the administration’s refusal to address RNs’ deep concerns about patient care and safe staffing, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU).

Centinela Hospital nurses are in the process of negotiating a new contract with little to no movement on key issues. The RNs urge management to invest in nursing staff and agree to a contract that provides safe staffing and a commitment to practices that recruit and retain nurses amid high nurse turnover.

What: Centinela one-day strike
When: Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7 a.m. to Friday, Feb. 20, at 6:59 a.m. Rally at 1 p.m. 
Where: Centinela Hospital Medical Center, 555 E. Hardy St., Inglewood, Calif.

“At Centinela Hospital, nurses are striking because patient safety is being put at risk every day,” said Elexa Elkins, RN at Centinela Hospital. “Chronic short staffing and unsafe conditions make it harder to provide the care our patients deserve. We are standing up because our community deserves better.”

Nurses at Centinela have been in negotiations for a new contract since July 2025, with little to no movement on key issues. This ten-days’ notice of their strike follows a nearly unanimous strike authorization vote on Jan. 14. 

California Nurses Association represents 800 RNs at Centinela Hospital.

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.