RNs condemn health care cuts that endanger 600+ hospitals nationwide

April 25 community event with free food and wellness checks will focus on nurses’ Vision for a Healthy Society

Oroville Hospital registered nurses, who are members of California Nurses Association (CNA) and its parent union National Nurses United (NNU), will hold a rally and community event on Saturday, April 25 to demand long-term solutions to keep Oroville Hospital open and advance their Vision for a Healthy Society.

Oroville Hospital, which receives more than 85 percent of its net patient revenue from Medicaid and Medicare, faces significant financial challenges as a result of the federal budget bill (H.R. 1) passed last year. Access to health care and poverty are notable issues for residents of Butte County. As a result of the H.R. 1 cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, they are expected to have less support and access to health care. 

“Oroville is a crucial health care resource for our community, many of whom come through our doors in life or death emergencies,” said Eric Smith, RN at Oroville Hospital. “Their timely, life-saving care is now under threat because of the federal government. Unless we come together to reverse the cuts, quality of life in Butte County and rural communities in northern California will continue to decline.” 

What: Oroville Hospital nurses ‘RED ALERT’ rally and community event 
When: April 25, 2026 | Free wellness checks from 11 a.m.; free tacos and live music featuring the Stevie Cook Trio and Las Hijas de Maria from 11 a.m.; program/rally begins at 12 p.m. 
Where: Oroville Hospital | 2700 Olive Hwy, Oroville, CA 95966
Speakers and guests include: NNU President Cathy Kennedy, RN; CA Senator Mike McGuire, Butte County Supervisor Tami Ritter; Gridley Councilmember Catalina Sanchez; President of North State Labor Federation Justin Meyers; Director of Hmong Cultural Center of Butte County Seng Yang

Oroville Hospital is also in the midst of a bankruptcy crisis. While CNA members are hopeful that an appropriate buyer will emerge to help alleviate the $200 million bond debt, this will not mitigate the funding shortfall expected from H.R. 1. 

The April 25 event is part of NNU’s RED ALERT tour, which is travelling to communities facing a drastic reduction in the quantity and quality of health care services as a result of H.R. 1 – the budget bill that cut more than a trillion Medicaid and Medicare dollars to give billionaires tax breaks, militarize immigration enforcement, and fund endless wars abroad. NNU researchers have identified more than 600 nonprofit and community hospitals in a similar position to Oroville. 

Smith, RN continued, “Nurses condemn the funneling of our health care dollars into tax cuts for the wealthy and war on innocent people both in our country and abroad. Northern Californians need more health care resources. We need protections against wildfires and climate change. We need more affordable housing. In a country as wealthy as the United States, we can build the pillars of a healthy society so all of us can enjoy safe, healthy, and comfortable lives, not just the millionaires and billionaires.” 

The patients Oroville Hospital nurses serve will undoubtedly be hit with a double punch as H.R. 1 is slated to cut SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) by $186 billion dollars over the next ten years.         

"Two million veterans live in this state. One of every seven live in rural areas,” said Veteran Action Group, which will be at the Oroville Red Alert event. “Oroville Hospital has provided community care and emergency care and supportive care to those who have honorably served our country. When it’s gone it’s gone and veterans will suffer. We are an activist organization. Our focus is the oath we all wore to: to protect and defend the United States and our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Now our domestic enemies consist of the current administration, bent on destroying our way of life, including our beloved Oroville Hospital. How many hospitals could be built and staffed with two billion dollars, the cost of one day of this immoral, illegal, catastrophic war?"

More information on the financial vulnerability of Oroville Hospital and potential impacts to patient care are available here.

‘RED ALERT’ tour offers the union nurse vision for how to make America healthy:

In response to H.R. 1 and the unprecedented attack on public health, NNU – the nation’s largest union of registered nurses – will be taking their alternative vision for a healthy society directly to the patients and working-class communities they serve. The ‘RED ALERT’ tour aims to build the power and community support needed to save more than 600 vulnerable nonprofit hospitals from slashed services or closure. 

To date, RED ALERT has visited communities in Glendale, Oceanside, and Alameda in California.

“Nurses reject the deadly agenda of the billionaire class and their Republican puppets,” said NNU President Mary Turner, RN and resident of Minneapolis, Minn. “We’re taking the wheel and bringing our vision for a healthy society directly to patients and communities who will bear the brunt of Republican policies. We invite everyone who has felt abandoned by the political system to join us and build real working-class solidarity.”

Senator Bernie Sanders has released comprehensive tax proposals to change the U.S. tax system and raise trillions in revenue, which NNU strongly endorses to keep hospitals and health services accessible, eventually guarantee health care for all through Medicare for All, and build the pillars for a society that takes care of everyone’s needs, including affordable housing, education, and unionized living-wage jobs. He also recently introduced, alongside Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17), the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act, which would establish a five percent annual wealth tax on billionaires and invest the revenue in working families, including reversing the H.R. 1 Medicaid cuts, and expanding Medicare to include vision, hearing, and dental. 

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.