Friend,

Healthcare workers are our first line of defense against COVID-19, and each day they risk their lives to keep us safe. It’s our job to support them, too.

With a nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), healthcare workers are getting sick and dying at high rates. It’s completely avoidable and unacceptable—especially in the richest country in the world.

Will you join a growing coalition of elected officials, organizations, and everyday Americans making sure healthcare workers get what they need to stay safe?

Sign the petition: Support frontline healthcare workers now.

This hits home for all of us. My niece is in her first year as a nurse, and she sent me this text recently, which brought me to tears:

Thank goodness, she has access to PPE. But others don’t, and they’re forced to ration masks or use insufficient substitutes, which put them and patients at risk.

Here in Michigan’s 13th district, our campaign has delivered thousands of pieces of PPE to community members most in need, including local health clinics. But we need a massive nationwide response.

So we’re calling for these protections to support brave healthcare workers, including hospital custodians, paramedics, nurses, and more:

• Personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical. This refers to items like N95 respirator masks, face shields, and basic masks. Nationwide, PPE is running low as hospitals get overwhelmed with patients, putting healthcare workers in danger.

• Emergency child care so healthcare workers can do their jobs knowing that their loved ones are safe. As schools and childcare centers close—and extended families are told to physically distance—healthcare workers are left without reliable childcare during one of the most stressful times in their careers.

• Paid sick leave. We need this nationally for every single person, but it’s outrageous that there are still gaps even within the healthcare sector. Just like people in any other field, healthcare workers cannot afford to lose pay when they need to stay home because they're sick. The already significant public health risks associated with a lack of paid sick leave are multiplied during a pandemic.

We need YOU to add your name now, in order to build the growing pressure for change.

Sign the petition now to keep healthcare workers safe.

Thanks for all you do,

Rashida

P.S. If you can, please donate to Masks for America, an important project providing safe masks to frontline healthcare workers.