Critical‑care nurses at HCA Healthcare, the biggest US hospital chain, say the AI scheduler called Timpani is missing the mark. Amber Retzloff, a Florida nurse, asked for fifty specific 12‑hour shifts over four months but was assigned back‑to‑back days more than half the time. She says the tool ignores nurses’ requests for days off, spacing between shifts, and the need for senior staff on busy days.
What the nurses report
Nurses across at least five HCA locations told WIRED that Timpani often schedules too few nurses, puts junior staff on high‑acuity cases, and forces them to trade shifts or appeal schedules more often than before. One nurse in Missouri said she had to delay a medical appointment because the system placed her on a “red day” – a day she had specifically requested off. Another said the chance of successfully swapping a problematic shift is only about 50 %.
Company response
HCA spokesperson Harlow Sumerford says managers still make final decisions and that the AI is meant to match the right skills to patient needs while considering staff preferences. The company notes that Timpani, built on Palantir Foundry, schedules about 1 % of requested days off, according to HCA data. HCA says it is updating the tool based on feedback, though nurses say problems persist.
Why it matters
For nurses, the tool means more unpredictable hours, added stress, and time spent fighting schedules instead of caring for patients. For patients, understaffed or mismatched teams could delay treatment and affect safety. The company’s claims of efficiency remain unverified, leaving the real impact on care quality uncertain.
