Mass. Nurses Union Members Plan NYC Trip To Protest Against Steward

We're hearing rumblings of discontent from unionized nurses at Steward Health Care hospitals, the rapidly growing — at least in recent months — chain owned by Park Avenue private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.

A press release from the Massachusetts Nurses Association says that boarding buses for a Park Avenue protest tomorrow will be MNA nurses from Steward-owned Carney Hospital, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Holy Family Hospital, Merrimack Valley Hospital, Morton Hospital, Norwood Hospital, Quincy Medical Center and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center. From the release:

New York City - Hundreds of nurses and their supporters from across the U.S. will converge outside the offices of Cerberus Capital Management, 299 Park Avenue, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 12:30 p.m., to protest the practices of the multi-billion dollar private equity firm’s health care unit, Steward Health Care System...

The nurses — from Massachusetts, and joined by RNs from NY, DC, CA, Il, PA and NV — are members of National Nurses United, the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S., with 170,000 members. Nurses, allies and Occupy Wall Street protesters will speak at the rally, which will also feature theater and a 10-foot, three-headed dog, “Cerberus,” the mythical canine at the Gates of Hell.