Nurses, doctors, EMTs, and other relief volunteers join rally in front of Mayor’s house

They call on mayor to Build Back Better New York’s healthcare system

NEW YORK, December 14, 2012 — New York nurses, doctors, EMTs, and other relief volunteers will rally in front of Mayor Bloomberg’s home tomorrow. They will call on Mayor Bloomberg to stop the worsening public health crisis left behind by the storm.

What: Nurses Join City-Wide Rally in Front of Mayor Bloomberg’s home
When: Saturday, December 15, 5pm
Where: 17 East 79th Street, between 5th and Madison Avenue, in Manhattan
Photo Op: Life-Size Bloomberg Cut-out, hundreds of caregivers and relief volunteers rallying

Nurses say Sandy left behind a gap in care and New Yorkers lives remain at risk every day the mayor fails to take action.

When Sandy forced Bellevue, the country’s premiere public hospital and 3 other primary care hospitals to shut down, RNs with the New York Nurses Association stepped up to safely evacuate of each of over 700 patients under the most difficult conditions. For over one month, nurses have taken the lead in emergency medical relief volunteer operations in the hardest-hit areas of the city.

Thousands of New Yorkers are still living without heat, power, hot food, and access to their medication. Black mold, poor sanitation, and dust are still health hazards, and now flu season has arrived.

Last month, NYSNA RN’s and other medical volunteers initiated the Build Back Better Campaign, calling for the city to re-invest and allocate resources towards the building of a better, disaster-proof, and emergency-responsive city healthcare system that serves ALL New Yorkers, including the poor and uninsured.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

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