Local Healthcare Advocates to Attend "SiCKO" Preview

Media briefing before film at 6 p.m.

LATHAM, NY, June 25, 2007 — On June 27 at 7 p.m., more than 200 healthcare advocates will get an advance look at Michael Moore’s new film "SiCKO" at the Spectrum Theatre, 290 Delaware Avenue, Albany.

The invitation-only preview was arranged by Moore and the Weinstein Company at the request of the New York State Nurses Association. The film opens to the public at the Spectrum on June 29.

A media briefing will be held at 6 p.m., one hour before the scheduled showing, on the issue of America’s “sick” healthcare system and how to cure it. Scheduled speakers:

Tina Gerardi, RN, chief executive officer of the New York State Nurses Association, the voice for the state’s 250,000 registered nurses.
Andy Coates, MD, secretary of the Capital District Chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, an organization of 14,000 physicians nationwide who are committed to educating the public about the benefits of a public national health insurance system.
Mark Dunlea, associate director of the Hunger Action Network of New York State, a coalition working to address the root causes of hunger.
Richard Propp, MD, co-founder of the Capital District Alliance for Universal Healthcare, a coalition of healthcare, labor, and consumer groups.

Other co-sponsors include the Solidarity Committee of the Capital District and the Troy Area Labor Council.

With more than 34,000 members, NYSNA is the oldest and largest state nurses’ association in the nation. It is an influential union for RNs, representing nurses in New York and New Jersey. Offering a wide range of services to its members, NYSNA fosters high standards of nursing education and practice and works to advance the profession through legislative activity. It is a constituent of the American Nurses Association and of the United American Nurses, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

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