Registered nurses at Tenet facilities approve three-year contract

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) - Registered nurses across the six California Tenet facilities, including Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, voted to approve on a three-year contract designed to improve patient safety and nurse retention, the California Nurses Association announced Friday.

With a 93% approval vote, registered nurses ratified on an agreement that will cover the period of July 1, 2025 through July 1, 2028.   

"For well over a year, our nurses have been at the table, in the facility and out on the streets," Rachel Garcia, a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at Desert Regional, said in a statement. "We have been voicing our concerns and demanding improvements. "Today, we stand proud. We have won a fair contract, one that delivers real improvements for our patients."  

The contact will improve safe staffing, which includes a dedicated rapid response nurse at every facility and a guaranteed minimum orientation for three nurses, no takeaways to health care benefits and wage increases from 11% to 18% over the life of the contact, officials said.

Tenet nurses voiced their concerns in October 2025 when they held a one-day strike regarding better patient care and safe staffing after the nearly 3,000 registered nurses were in contract negotiations with the multibillion-dollar hospital corporation, Tenet.

"This victory reflects the power of unity, perseverance and an unwavering commitment to safe quality care,'' Deb Edwards, a Tenet nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at Desert Regional, said in a statement. "Together, we have made our voice heard, and together we have made change happen."