[Oct. 25, 2017] JOSHUA TREE, Calif. – Healthcare workers at Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree, Calif. voted Oct. 24 to join SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), a union of more than 93,000 healthcare workers across California.

 The vote affects nearly 300 workers in dozens of job titles at the hospital, including licensed vocational nurses, housekeepers, technicians, and food service workers.

 “We voted to join the union because we want to provide the best patient care and have a stronger voice in making that happen,” said Donald Hartness, an Emergency Medical Technician at Hi-Desert Medical Center. “Being able to speak up with one voice about staffing and patient care means both the hospital and the community benefit.”

 Hi-Desert Medical Center was created in 1972 following the consolidation of the Hi-Desert Memorial Hospital in Yucca Valley and the Twentynine Palms Hospital District. Tenet Healthcare Corporation owns the facility, and SEIU-UHW now represents more than 4,000 employees at 11 Tenet-owned hospitals across California.