At dozens of hospitals across the US, healthcare workers' labor contracts will be expiring soon, which has caused workers to advocate for measures to address chronic understaffing problems. Studies have found that at HCA, the largest hospital corporation in the US, staffing ratios are lower than the state averages, and workers have claimed that the understaffing causes burnout amongst employees as well as jeopardizes patient safety. Furthermore, the understaffing has resulted in high turnover of healthcare workers in these hospitals and increases risks for losing nursing licenses because each nurse is responsible for too many patients. Healthcare workers at HCA hospitals state that these workplace conditions have created a culture of overwork and stress, and argue that the company must invest in improving the culture by hiring sufficient staff.
See "Across the US, healthcare workers at HCA hospitals overworked and patients at risk due to chronic understaffing", Michael Sainato, Guardian, February 22, 2023