A group of nurses held a protest and created a heartbreaking memorial in front of the White House

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday May 07, 2020 · 2:31 PM PDT

2020/05/07 · 14:31

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 07: Members of the National Nurses United stand in protest among empty shoes representing nurses that they say have died from COVID-19 in Lafayette Park across from the White House May 07, 2020 in Washington, DC. The union is protesting during Nurses' Week to demand that their employers and the federal government 'provide safe workplaces by providing optimal personal protective equipment (PPE), safe staffing, presumptive eligibility for workersâ€™ compensation benefits and more' during the novel coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Medical and health professionals have been risking their lives amid the novel coronavirus pandemic with little to no personal protective equipment. For weeks healthcare personnel have spoken up about a shortage of masks and lack of other equipment in hospital and care facilities. The current administration has ignored the needs of and provided no support to front-line workers during this crisis. As a result, healthcare workers decided to take action during National Nurses Week and demand the Trump administration produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers.

Members of National Nurses United (NNU) came together and laid 88 pairs of shoes in front of the White House Thursday to honor the 88 nurses who have died on the front lines of the country’s COVID-19 crisis. While practicing social distancing, they read out the names of colleagues who died, and spoke in their honor. Registered nurses also held signs to call attention to the thousands of healthcare workers who have become infected by COVID-19 due to a lack of PPE. According to the nurses of National Nurses United, about 18 million doctors, nurses, and home nursing aides are fighting COVID-19 across the nation.

The protest follows an Oval Office event meant to recognize National Nurses Day in which Trump--of course--wrongly told a nurse who said that mask availability was “sporadic” that she didn’t know what she was talking about. “Nurses’ Week 2020 is unlike any other,” NNU executive director and nurse Bonnie Castillo said, according to USA TODAY. “We find ourselves in more danger than ever before, as nurses are sent to the front lines to fight COVID-19 without safe personal protective equipment.”

Right now at the White House:

Nurses from National Nurses United protest for PPE, with 88 pairs of shoes to represent each nurse who has died from coronavirus.

pic.twitter.com/CjaVs37rRN
Ã¢ÂÂ Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) May 7, 2020

In addition to honoring fallen nurses, the protesters demanded the Trump administration’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) implement an emergency temporary standard that allows healthcare workers to be provided with PPE. The standard would provide necessary PPE including N95 respirators, face shields, gowns, gloves, and shoe coverings, as well as ventilators and COVID-19 testing kits, NNU said.

A month before the protest, NNU petitioned OSHA for this safety standard but never received a response, a press release by the organization said. Due to a lack of equipment, healthcare professionals remain at the highest risk of contracting the virus. “With the failure of the Trump administration to protect health care workers, NNU is demanding that Congress include a mandatory OSHA emergency standard in its next COVID-19 legislative package,” the release said.

NNU serves as the largest nurses’ union in the country. Last month the organization began demonstrations nationwide to honor fallen healthcare workers. "We are here today to say that nurses are not being valued by our employers and our government who are failing to provide us safe workplaces and optimal protections as we care for others during the COVID-19 pandemic," Stephanie Sims, a Registered Nurse and member of the NNU, told WUSA.

Despite not having the proper gear, healthcare workers are sacrificing their time and energy night and day to treat victims of the novel coronavirus. These heroes deserve not only to be honored but protected and supported by all. Without healthcare workers on the front lines, our country would see an even higher death toll than the outrageous number it is currently at. Too much time has been wasted--healthcare workers need protection and they need it now.

As of April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 9,000 healthcare workers have been infected, and at least 27 have died of COVID-19.

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