there tonight. the idaho college murder suspect in court. why it could now take months for him to enter a plea. our nbc exclusive on the possible cause of a nationwide air travel meltdown. we ask secretary pete buttigieg how it could have happened in our one-on-one interview. what he told us. lisa marie presley, the daughter of elvis presley, rushed to the hospital. what we re l learning. and the big move in the burger wars. the beloved chain from out west finally heading back east. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening from washington, where in response to what he calls the extraordinary circumstances, attorney general merrick garland today named a special counsel to look into secret documents found in president biden s delaware home in addition to a washington office he used. extraordinary circumstances may be an understatement with one current and one former president entangled in questions over the alleged mishandling of sensitiv
collected from medicare, full-time staff was reduced by 37% since hca took over. instead of three or four patients we were then taking six, seven, eight patients. and every time you add a patient, you each patient suffers. reporter: did you feel like you were putting your license at risk? every single day. still do. reporter: kelly says she became so alarmed that after 37 years, last april she quit. sue, a 17-year veteran at mission says she s seen an increase in code blues, critical emergencies. today the nation s largest union of health care workers issued a scathing report. the union claims that hca is pumping up profits by intentionally short staffing hospitals, resulting in poorer quality of care and even deaths. the report shows hca s overall staffing levels, not just nurses, were below averages at other hospitals in 19 of the 20 states where they operated back in 2020.
reporter: tonight, hca health care is facing accusations that it s making billions while slashing staffing to dangerously low levels. hca is constantly putting profits over patients. reporter: north carolina state treasurer dale falwell is the largest purchaser of health care in his state, ensuring 750,000 current and retired employees. you have called hca a virus. you ve said they re a cartel. whwhat s your r evidence?? well,l, the evidedence is very simple. you re hearing horror stories about quality. reporter: in asheville, north carolina, hca bought mission hospital four years ago. we spoke with a dozen current and former mission employees who all say under hca, patient care has suffered, so much so that seasoned nurses like kelly tyler and sue fischer joined a union. have you ever witnessed patient care being jeopardized by short staffing? yes. yes. reporter: according to federal data
but a federal rating system does give them four out of five stars for medical care. though they receive well below the national average in other categories since hca took over. it s more than a job. reporter: hca s vp of quality for north carolina. external data seems to point to the fact that mission is not staffing at a level that others consider to be safe. i can t comment on specific staffing ratios, cynthia. we ve invested millions to make sure that our staffing is appropriate. reporter: hca told nbc news that they dispute the government staffing data, and have never reduced the number of bedside roles, though they declined to provide specific nurse to patient ratios. but the union said these forms filed by its nurses at mission point to significant problems, like waiting in stool and urine with bed sores forming. i can t comment on the forms because i have not seen any of them. but i can tell you that we have a very robust process for escalating care concerns.
would you like to see them? i don t have any desire to see the forms. the disconnect for me having spoken now to a number of nurses who clearly do care, their level of upset is so palpable. are they lying about their experience? i would be hesitant to say anyone is lying. i think the truth is part in the middle, and it is perception. reporter: hca accuses the union of cherry picking data, and says its staffing is safe, appropriate, and in line with other community hospitals. lester? cynthia mcfadden, thank you. up next tonight, throughout history, pioneers looked west. so what happens when a beloved west coast burgerer joint expxpands east? you knknow that ununwelcome gut evereryone wishehes would justst leave alrlready? you knknow that ununwelcome gut thatat s covid-1-19. that s whyhy i got the new upupdated boososter, dedesigned to o help protett against rerecent omicron vavariants. dedesigned to o help protett against rerecent