RNs at Fawcett Hospital blame HCA’s unsafe staffing for sentinel events

Registered nurses at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, Fla., will hold a protest on Friday, April 3, 2026, to highlight patient safety concerns at the hospital. Nurses say multiple recent patient deaths have been caused by short staffing and other harmful practices by HCA, the hospital’s owner. Nurses at Fawcett are represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU).

“Our patients come to the hospital to heal, but they are suffering at an alarming rate from preventable causes,” said Valerie Jean, RN in the float pool at Fawcett. “Our goal as nurses is always to provide the best care to our patients, so their conditions improve and they can go home to their loved ones, not to the morgue.”

Who:    RNs at HCA Fawcett Hospital

What:   Protest for patient safety

When:  Friday, April 3, 2026, 8 a.m.

Where: HCA Fawcett Hospital, 21298 Olean Blvd., Port Charlotte, Fla.; at the corner of Olean and Harbor Blvd.

“Safe staffing saves lives. Right now, that’s not happening,” said Colette Belfond, RN in the hospital’s medical-surgical unit. “Instead of listening to nurses sounding the alarm and preventing these tragedies, HCA has instead tried to silence patient advocates by suspending nurses who speak out. Nurses are being punished for speaking out about the dangers HCA creates for our patients.”

Recently, a group of over a dozen nurses attempted to bring their concerns about unsafe staffing to the hospital’s chief nursing officer. But, instead of implementing improvements, hospital management has instead started suspending the nurses who called for changes and has been pulling them into investigatory meetings to intimidate them.

Nurses say that, despite their efforts to raise concerns about short staffing and patient care with HCA, management continues minimizing staffing to maximize profits. HCA’s cuts have left staffing at dangerously low levels, leading to delayed care, delayed assessments, and less time at the bedside for nurses to care for patients. As a result of HCA’s working conditions, Fawcett hospital is experiencing a mass exodus of nurses. Nurses are speaking up to call attention to how HCA’s greed hurts patients and has created a staffing crisis at their hospital.

NNOC/NNU represents more than 340 registered nurses at Fawcett Hospital.

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.