Tell the U.S. Senate to pass critical protections for nurses

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Tell the U.S. Senate to pass critical protections for nurses

United States Senate

Nearly five months into this pandemic, nurses and other frontline workers STILL do not have the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need. At least 164 registered nurses have now died from COVID-19 as a result. You have an opportunity and an obligation to urgently address this crisis.

A recent survey of 23,000 nurses in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and four territories found that a whopping 87 percent of respondents reported having to reuse a single-use disposable respirator or mask with a COVID-19 patient. This is very unsafe and puts nurses at greater risk of contracting the virus.

It is the responsibility of health care employers to provide safe workplaces, including proper PPE, to all their staff. The HEROES Act legislation passed by the House of Representatives includes key provisions that would finally get lifesaving PPE to frontline workers. The bill mandates an OSHA emergency temporary standard on infectious diseases to protect frontline workers and it establishes a transparent, efficient, and effective system to manage the medical supply chain and to ensure that the Defense Production Act is fully utilized to increase PPE production. Both of these measures will save the lives of our nurses across the country, and must be included in the Senate legislation.

I demand that the U.S. Senate take swift action to include both the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard and full use of the Defense Production Act to scale up production and distribution of PPE in this next COVID-19 bill.

Additional Sponsors

Social Security Works

Progressive Democrats of America

Daily Kos

Progress America

Be A Hero

Women's March National

People's Action

Ro Khanna

LeftNet

Washington, DC

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress

To: United States Senate
From: [Your Name]

Nearly five months into this pandemic, nurses and other frontline workers STILL do not have the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need. Over 120 registered nurses have now died from COVID-19 as a result. You have an opportunity and an obligation to urgently address this crisis.

A recent survey of 23,000 nurses in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and four territories found that a whopping 87% of respondents reported that they still do not have the correct protections to stay safe while providing patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a very unsafe practice that puts nurses at greater risk of contracting the virus.

It is the responsibility of health care employers to provide safe workplaces, including proper PPE, to all their staff. The HEROES Act legislation passed by the House of Representatives includes key provisions that would finally get life-saving PPE to frontline workers. The bill mandates an OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard to protect frontline workers and it establishes a transparent, efficient, and effective system to manage the medical supply chain and to ensure that the Defense Production Act is fully utilized to increase PPE production. Both of these measures will save the lives of our nurses across the country, and must be included in the Senate legislation.

I demand that the US Senate take swift action to include both the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard and full use of the Defense Production Act to scale up production and distribution of PPE in this next COVID-19 bill.

Sign This Petition