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Nurses at eight Florida Gulf Coast hospitals ratify new contracts with HCA management

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Nurses at eight Florida Gulf Coast hospitals ratify new contracts with HCA management


The new agreements bring improvements in staffing practices and other measures that will improve patient care at the hospital.

Registered nurses at eight facilities across Florida’s central Gulf Coast have voted in favor of ratifying new three-year contracts this week, winning measures to improve patient safety and nurse retention. Nurses represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), the nation’s largest nurses union, say the newly ratified agreements will improve patient care and working conditions at their hospital. A full list of facilities with newly ratified contracts is below.

“Hurricane Milton underscored how important it is to have strong, safe hospitals in our communities,” said Collette Salomon-Belfond, RN in the medical-surgical unit at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte. “These new contracts are going to make working conditions at our hospitals better, and that means better conditions for our patients.”

Highlights of the contracts include:

  • Pilot program on break relief staffing: A new program that will improve staffing practices to ensure nurses can take their meal and rest breaks during their shifts.
  • Nurse floating improvements: New measures will ensure nurses are “floated” (temporarily reassigned) to units similar to their normal specialty.
  • Inclusive documentation: Staff can use preferred names and add personal pronouns to name badges.
  • Wage increases: Substantial wage increases that will improve nurse recruitment and retention; up to 17.65% increases over the life of the contracts for some Florida nurses.

“Nurses are patient advocates at the bedside and at the bargaining table,” said Sam Guy, RN in the neurological intensive care unit at HCA Florida Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg. “Nurses’ goal is always to take the best possible care of our patients, and these wins in our new contracts will help us do just that.”

NNOC/NNU represents nearly 2,500 nurses at eight Tampa Bay area facilities and, nationally, more than 8,500 nurses who were at the bargaining table with HCA management throughout 2024, as contracts expired at 17 HCA facilities in six states. In recent weeks, nurses at HCA facilities had voted in favor of authorizing strikes if necessary to resolve negotiations, but an agreement was reached before any strikes were called by nurses on bargaining teams.

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NNOC/NNU represents nearly 10,000 nurses at HCA facilities nationwide, including some not bargaining new contracts this year. HCA is one of the largest and wealthiest health care systems in the United States.

Facilities List

  • HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville
  • HCA Florida Largo Hospital in Largo
  • HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte
  • HCA Florida Trinity Hospital in Trinity
  • HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton
  • HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital in Sarasota
  • HCA Florida St. Petersburg Hospital in St. Petersburg
  • HCA Florida Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg

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



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Florida couple in alleged embryo mix-up have identified biological parents of ‘non-caucasian’ baby

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Florida couple in alleged embryo mix-up have identified biological parents of ‘non-caucasian’ baby


A Florida couple who claimed a fertility clinic error led the woman giving birth to a “non-Caucasian child” who was not related to them said they have identified their child’s biological parents, according to reports.

“The results of testing delivered to us today confirm that our baby’s genetic parents have been identified,” Tiffany Score and Steven Mills said in a statement obtained by People on Wednesday.

A Florida couple who claimed a fertility clinic error led to the birth of a “non-Caucasian child” who was not related to them said they have identified their child’s biological parents. Mara Hatfield

Score and Mills filed a lawsuit in January against Fertility Center of Orlando and its head reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Milton McNichol, alleging that another patient’s embryo was implanted in Score’s uterus in April 2025.

The mix-up led to the birth of their now 4-month-old daughter, Shea, who is not biologically related to them, the filing alleged.

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“This ends one chapter in our heartbreaking journey, but it raises new issues that will have to be resolved,” the statement continued. “In addition, questions about the disposition of our own embryos are still unanswered and are even more unlikely to ever be answered.”

“Only one thing is as absolutely certain today as it was on the day our daughter was born —we will love and will be this child’s parents forever.”

The couple added that they will respect the privacy of Shea’s biological parents and will keep their identities “confidential.”

Score and Mills filed a lawsuit in January against Fertility Center of Orlando and its head reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Milton McNichol, alleging that another patient’s embryo was implanted in Score’s uterus. WESH2

Score and Mills, who are both white, stored three viable embryos at the Longwood clinic in 2020 for in vitro fertilization, a process that creates embryos and stores them until pregnancy.

Five years later, after an embryo was implanted, the couple gave birth to a “beautiful, healthy female child” on Dec. 11, 2025, according to the lawsuit filed Jan. 22 in Orange County Circuit Court and obtained by Law & Crime.

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“Tragically, while both Jane Doe and John Doe are racially Caucasian, Baby Doe displayed the physical appearance of a racially non-Caucasian child,” the lawsuit said.

Further genetic testing confirmed that baby Shea had no biological relationship to either parent — raising questions about where their embryos had gone or whether another woman was impregnated with their biological child.

The new parents had an “intensely strong emotional bond” with their child during pregnancy and wished to keep the girl, but recognized she “should legally and morally be united with her genetic parents so long as they are fit, able and willing to take her,” the lawsuit stated.

The Fertility Clinic of Orlando announced earlier this month that it would close by May 20. WESH2

Scarola told People, following Wednesday’s development, that Shea’s biological parents have not made any requests to take her into custody.

“Remaining questions about the fate of Tiffany and Steven’s unaccounted for embryos…are still pending,” Scarola said.

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“The current legal proceeding will remain open to address those matters,” the attorney added. “However, we expect that we will now also begin to focus on the need for our clients to be compensated for the expenses they have incurred and the severe emotional trauma that they endured and will continue to experience.”

The Fertility Clinic of Orlando announced earlier this month that it would close by May 20 — a decision leadership said was made after “thoughtful consideration.”

Neither Scarola nor the clinic immediately responded to The Post’s request for comment.



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Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida

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Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida


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NBC News NOW

Crews in Florida and Georgia are battling multiple fast-moving wildfires, stoked by dry and windy conditions. Local officials in Georgia said people in the path of the flames should be ready to evacuate. 

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Florida investigating AI role in mass shooting at university

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Florida investigating AI role in mass shooting at university


Florida on Tuesday announced a criminal probe into whether artificial intelligence played a role in a deadly mass shooting at a university in the US state.

The decision to launch an investigation came after prosecutors reviewed exchanges between OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT and the suspected gunman, who opened fire at Florida State University last year, according to state Attorney General James Uthmeier.

“If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said.

Florida law allows anyone who assists or counsels someone in the commission of a crime to be treated as an “aider and abettor” bearing the same responsibility as the perpetrator, according to Uthmeier.

In exchanges with ChatGPT, the accused shooter sought advice on what type of gun and ammunition to use, as well as where and when on campus a lot of people would likely be found, the state attorney general said during a press briefing.

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“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.



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