Frontline Healthcare Workers to join Brooklyn Bridge March to Remember on COVID Day of Action and Awareness
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 7, 2021
Contact: Kristi Barnes | kristi.barnes@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
Brooklyn and New York, NY – NYSNA nurses and healthcare professionals will gather to honor their fallen colleagues and patients and to call for life-saving investment and stronger workplace safety measures. The frontline healthcare workers join community members, essential workers, and COVID survivors at the COVID March to Remember on the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, August 7, 11:00 AM.
Frontline healthcare workers saved thousands of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and lost many of their colleagues and loved ones to COVID-19 in the process. Dozens of members and retirees of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) lost their lives to COVID-19.
Nurses continue to care for COVID-19 patients, and many are experiencing the symptoms of long COVID and the mental health strains and fatigue of working non-stop throughout the pandemic. Nurses will call attention to the continued need for proper infection control and enhanced health and safety protocols for essential workers and in the state’s healthcare facilities, particularly as we face a potential third wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations. They will emphasize the increased need for mental health resources for our communities and our healthcare workforce. They are also joining survivors in advocating for improvements to New York’s workers’ compensation system.
WHO: COVID March to Remember
WHAT: March on a COVID Remembrance Day to celebrate COVID survivors, honor those we’ve lost, and demand action for those suffering from long COVID
WHEN: Saturday, August 7, 11:00 AM
WHERE: March along the Brooklyn Bridge, ending with a short program at City Hall Plaza
VISUALS: Participants wearing yellow, the color of remembrance, will march with memorial signs honoring fallen healthcare heroes. Nurses will be available for interviews at the march.
“We are marching to remember our brave members who lost their battle with COVID-19 and those who continue to struggle with its long-term effects,” said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN. “We honor their legacy whenever we fight for quality care for our patients, and safe working conditions for our nurses and healthcare professionals.”
NYSNA First Vice President Judith Cutchin, MSN, RN, said, “The COVID pandemic has taken an enormous toll, taking too many of our loved ones too soon. The pandemic has had an outsized impact in New York City, in the lives of our frontline and essential workers, and in our communities of color — and it continues to do so today. It’s so important that we come together to remember, to heal, and to continue doing all we can to end this pandemic.”
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The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. For more information, please visit nysna.org.