Registered nurses at HCA HealthONE Swedish (a.k.a., Swedish Medical Center) in Englewood, Colo., voted to join National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU).
The election was held on July 1 and 2, 2026.
“This is a huge r for the nurses at our hospital and across the HCA system nationwide,” said Christina Michas, RN in the general rehabilitation unit at Swedish. “We showed HCA that, even when they try to illegally interfere with our elections, nurses will hold them accountable and keep fighting until we win the union protections we need.”
A second election came after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that the employer, HCA Healthcare (the country’s largest hospital system), illegally interfered with a previous union election held in 2024. That now-invalidated 2024 election was marred by illegal interference by the employer.
Nearly 800 nurses work at Swedish, and, since the first election, staff turnover at the facility has been so high that only about one third of nurses who worked at the hospital in 2024 still work there today. Nurses at Swedish say the high turnover is emblematic of the issues they face at the facility and are excited to address those issues in bargaining.
With their election victory in hand, nurses would be able to start negotiations on their first union contract, which could address several of HCA’s issues that are driving nurses away from the facility and endangering patients.
HCA had appealed the NLRB’s ruling to hold a second election, the one now won by the nurses. This is another nasty attempt by HCA to trampling nurses’ union rights. NNOC/NNU intends to standby nurses until the end.
