On June 2, St. Joe’s nurses filed a class action lawsuit against Ascension Healthcare and Prime Healthcare for inflicting severe emotional distress by chronically understaffing the hospital. According to the complaint, the hospital’s ongoing refusal to meet safe nurse-to-patient ratios has caused significant burnout, fatigue, and damage to nurses’ mental and physical health.

We know Prime and Ascension will fight their hardest to dismiss our case, but we’re already seeing the benefits from this unique legal strategy:

First, the case has already garnered widespread media attention in Joliet, Chicagoland, and even in some national outlets (have you seen the video from influencer Nurse Erica yet?). Attention on this issue = public embarrassment for for-profit hospital owners = more leverage for us. And we won’t stop telling anyone who will listen how harmful for-profit healthcare is for our communities!

Second, this lawsuit represents the first time anyone has tried to sue for chronic understaffing under the acuity part of the Illinois Hospital Licensing Act.  We’re pushing the boundaries on how to fight corporate greed, and we hope others follow our lead in aggressively pursuing every avenue to hold corporations accountable for the harm they cause their employees and communities.

Third, we’ve demonstrated the importance of filing Assignment Despite Objection (ADO) forms. Over the years, nurses at St. Joseph’s diligently filed hundreds of ADOs to document unsafe conditions at the hospital. Now, we can show the courts that these complaints were routinely ignored by Ascension and Prime, forcing nurses to work shifts that compromised patient safety.

What’s Next at St. Joe’s

For years, the nurses at Joe’s have been on the frontline defending the hospital from corporate greed. This lawsuit represents one way nurses are fighting back, but it’s not the end of the story. We know that the best way to resist is to ORGANIZE. As Prime continues its appalling service cuts—including its latest decision to close and merge the east wing of the hospital—we will continue to show up, rally our coworkers, engage the community, and fight for the future of St. Joe’s!

If you haven’t already, be sure to sign and share the public petition against Prime: