As a nurse of 26 years, I care for people when they are at their most vulnerable, but right now it is healthcare workers who are feeling betrayed and completely at risk – both from the coronavirus and the utterly inadequate response by the Trump Administration.
Every day we are hearing of healthcare workers across the country forced to provide care without essential personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95 masks or gowns or even forced to reuse or make their own! We are hearing about the shortage of ventilators and hospital beds for critically ill patients. Millions of Americans are denied testing because we lack enough available tests. We are infuriated and exhausted by the Trump Administration’s false assurances at a time when we need real leadership most.
This is beyond immoral. We are the richest country in the world – yet millions of Americans are afraid to seek treatment because they lack health insurance. Nurses, respiratory therapists, doctors, janitors, and dietary workers are showing up every day and doing our best. But hospitals don’t make N95 masks and we need more support now! We need to ensure every healthcare worker is protected and that every American is given access to testing and treatment. We need to ensure that our public healthcare infrastructure receives proper investment so we never find ourselves in this situation again. Anything less is not just unacceptable; it’s deadly.