Nurses Week is different this year. Every nurse knows that in Pennsylvania and across the country we have lost far too many patients, colleagues, friends, and neighbors to the pandemic. We lost them to the virus — but also to the inaction of elected leaders, that has failed to keep our families, friends, communities and us as frontline nurses safe in this moment of crisis.
Nurses did our jobs. As frontline caregivers and patient advocates fighting COVID-19, we are proud of the work we’ve done to heal patients and to help keep people out of our hospitals. We’ll continue to be there for our patients and our communities. That’s what nurses do.
In this moment, being able to advocate for our patients means we need a say in Pennsylvania’s recovery plan. We’re trained to advocate for our patients and residents and for the health of our communities, and especially in a pandemic the decisions that impact our patients and everyone who would be our patients if politicians continue to ignore frontline caregivers, are being made in corporate boardrooms, Harrisburg, and DC.
It’s time to put patient and public health advocacy above partisan politics. It’s time for legislators to work with us to pass a Nurse Recovery Plan for PA.
On the call we discussed the following beginning pieces of that developing platform, which we arrived at through 4,300 Voter Values Surveys, and multiple calls and discussions with hundreds of nurses. Below is a short outline. Each issue is a piece of a broader fight, and the beginning of a discussion to demand our legislators take the action nurses need, at our direction, with our input.
- Adequate PPE now and stockpiled for the future
- Widespread rapid testing and contact tracing
- Paid sick time for every essential worker
- Nurses must have a seat at every table where recovery plans are being made
- Workplace protections for nurses advocating for our patients
- Get people the healthcare they need, regardless of the money they have
- We must take steps to ensure things never get this bad again
The details matter, and that’s why we’re demanding a seat at every table where the details are being worked out.
And of course, we won’t win any improvements if we don’t build power, organize, and speak out.
Here’s the plan for Nurses Week:
🚚Monday, May 4th: With your help, raised $1,400 to rent a digital billboard truck for 8 hours and drive it around to park outside the offices of legislators putting politics over our patient advocacy.
- GOAL REACHED! Thank you to everyone who donated and shared for helping us to reach our goal in time! Look out for updates on the adventures of the truck.
📣Wednesday, May 6th at 4PM: Nurses Take Harrisburg: Virtual Rally for our Nurse Platform
- HOW TO JOIN: Click here to RSVP and you will get an email and a text with the information to join the Zoom call 30 minutes before it starts, and you will also get a link to share the Facebook livestream when it goes up.
- WHAT IS IT: The Virtual Rally is the moment nurses seize the public conversation on the first day of Nurses Week. We want to get as many people as possible to tune in as we announce the Nurse Recovery Plan for PA, and explain to the public, the press, and the legislators that supporting nurses means supporting our nurse platform.
- WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MAKE IT SUCCESSFUL: Tune in, share it and spread the word, and think of the live stream as an opportunity to involve people who haven’t been involved, whether nurses or the public, in our fight. So whether you tune in to the Zoom call or the Facebook livestream, you can help talk to other people in the comments why this matters and how they can support nurses.
- WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MAKE IT EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL: Since we were able reach the fundraising goal for our billboard truck in just 12 hours, we decided to dream bigger, and we asked: Could we park a billboard truck in front of the Capitol all day on Wednesday playing videos of nurses speaking out and then livestreamed the Virtual Rally in front of the Capitol for all to hear? Then we figured out the answer is yes! We can, if we can raise $1,600 more. Can you chip in to help bring the Virtual Rally to the steps of the Capitol?
📝Thursday, May 7th at 4PM: Nurses Week Legislative Briefing and Discussion
- HOW TO JOIN: Click here to RSVP and you will get an email and a text with the information to join the Zoom call 30 minutes before it starts, and you will also get a link to share the Facebook livestream when it goes up.
- WHAT IS IT: The Legislative Briefing is when we talk in-depth to legislators about the Nurse Recovery Plan for PA and ask them if they will support our platform. And for any legislators who don’t care enough to show up, after Thursday, we start turning up the heat. Stay tuned for details on how we step up the pressure.
- WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MAKE IT SUCCESSFUL: Click here to send your legislators an invite to join us for the Briefing at 4:30PM (legislators join 30 minutes after nurses). Every legislator has been invited at least once, and 30 have registered. You don’t need to check if they’ve already said yes before inviting them, because the more invites they get, the more they’ll understand how important this is.
We have a real opportunity to shape care in this important moment. Thanks for stepping up, and look out for updates about the plan.
– Nurses of PA
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