Friend,

Nurses across the country are putting their lives on the line every single day to care for us -- and I've thought of them every single day since this pandemic began.

We recently celebrated National Nurses Week, and stories like the ones from Betsy and Claire below remind me of why we're fighting for fact-based, rational policies that put people first. They're risking their lives to keep us safe -- the least we can do is support them, and all our first responders and essential workers, by slowing the number of people infected every single day.

Their stories are inspiring, and I hope you'll join me in thanking all of our nurses for their incredible focus, empathy, and skill.

Betsy Scott is a nurse at Swedish Cancer Institute where she and her colleagues have continued to tend to patients fighting cancer amid the COVID-19 crisis. Betsy cares dearly for her patients, who are not only battling cancer, but must face the anxiety of their more vulnerable immune systems being exposed to COVID-19. A great deal of care must be taken to ensure that the cancer patients and health care workers are not exposed to the virus. Betsy has worked hard to make sure her patients receive the safest possible care every day.

Claire Johnson is a nurse at Tacoma General Hospital who volunteered to work on the hospital's newly established COVID-19 floor when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Over the past month, Claire and her colleagues have taken on the labor-intensive work of caring for COVID-19 patients. Just as importantly, she has worked to bridge the divide between patients in isolation and family members who cannot be by their sides. The emotional support for patients and families is so important and has had a lasting impact not only on those families -- but on Claire as well.

Nurses like Betsy and Claire, care coordinators, and doctors are more essential than ever as they work to provide greater care to protect themselves and their patients, who depend on them to get well during this difficult time. They are two of the thousands of nurses in Washington state and across the country risking it all on the front lines of this pandemic.

Every week should be National Nurses Week -- if you or someone you love is a nurse, I speak for all of Washington when I extend my deepest gratitude. The work you're doing will be remembered as the heroic work of this incredibly challenging time, and you will be the heroes the history books remember.

Thank you.

Very truly yours,

Jay

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