• 3 days ago
This nurse gave a moving account of treating COVID-19 patients ... and it brought Joe Biden to tears.
Transcript
00:00The physical impacts of this virus have been devastating.
00:04I myself have held the hand of dying patients
00:09who are crying over their family that they can't see.
00:26I've taken care of co-workers
00:30as they fight for their lives on a ventilator
00:34and knowing that they got sick because the hospital
00:38or their government hasn't protected them.
00:43Throughout this pandemic, we've had to reuse N95s.
00:46So many times, sometimes the masks literally fall off our faces.
00:52We can't stay safe when we are using these kind of standards.
00:58As a result, nurses are getting sick.
01:02A month ago in my hospital, nine ICU nurses were out with COVID.
01:07Just recently, we had 12 emergency room nurses out with COVID.
01:14We need to protect our frontline workers so that we can take care of you.
01:18Remember, there is no second line of defense. It's us.
01:24As president of the Minnesota Nurses Association,
01:27I have been on multiple picket lines with frontline healthcare workers
01:31who are protesting to get the PPE that they need and other protections.
01:39President-elect Biden, there is something seriously wrong
01:43when nurses have to take to the streets to beg for protection
01:48in the middle of a pandemic.
01:50What we're experiencing in Minnesota is what nurses are experiencing
01:54all over the country.
01:57We're not being given the protection that we need.
02:00We need to have optimal PPE for all staff to prevent airborne
02:05and droplet transmissions.
02:07We need testing of our workers and patients and contact tracing
02:12and notification of exposure for healthcare workers.
02:16Do you know that I have not been tested yet
02:19and I have been on the front lines in the ICU since February?
02:22You're kidding me.
02:24Workers who have been exposed or who are sick need to be allowed
02:28to quarantine at home without fear of losing income in their jobs.
02:34This is a novel virus, but the principles of infection control are not.
02:39Our hospitals have not been providing these basic protections.
02:44This is why it is so critical for the federal, state and local governments
02:49to step in to ensure that nurses are protected.
02:53Unfortunately, the federal government has not been there.
02:57As a result, the pandemic is surging and frontline workers
03:01are getting sick and dying.
03:04Nurses across the country were so relieved and grateful,
03:08Mr. President-elect.
03:11When you committed to taking action that we need to have
03:15to get this pandemic under control.