Orange County Global Medical Center RNs vote to join CNA

Registered nurses at KPC Health’s Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, California, voted overwhelmingly on Thursday, June 4, to join the California Nurses Association, or CNA, an affiliate of National Nurses United. The nurses backed the union by a 91% margin, according to the press release.

The nurses said they want union protections because they believe having a voice in workplace decisions can help improve patient care. They also said that stronger representation can support efforts to recruit and retain experienced nurses, which they see as important to the quality of care patients receive.

Fred Camungao, a registered nurse in the psychiatric unit, said he has worked at Orange County Global Medical Center for 16 years and described the hospital, coworkers and patients as his community. He said years of takeaways made it necessary for nurses to have a union so they can advocate for patients, recruit and keep excellent nurses, and make improvements.

Nurses at the 282-bed facility said they are struggling to provide care without appropriate staffing. They also said they are working with frequently broken equipment and are being floated to units outside their area of expertise.

Hyejin Park, a registered nurse in the emergency department, said patients deserve the best care and nurses deserve the tools, support and staffing needed to provide it. She said the union can help nurses effectively enforce safe staffing and workplace violence prevention standards.

With the vote, CNA now represents 550 nurses at Orange County Global Medical Center. The hospital becomes one of five KPC Health hospitals represented by CNA. The other facilities are South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, Anaheim Global Medical Center in Anaheim, Chapman Global Medical Center in Orange and Hemet Global Medical Center in Hemet.

In all, CNA represents about 1,600 KPC Health nurses, according to the release. California Nurses Association/National Nurses United says it 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 across California and more than 225,000 registered nurses nationwide.