I helped start this because we have some very
concrete needs that are not being met right
now as far as taking care of patients and
ensuring that workers are not infected.
We have a lot of issues with getting the gear
that we need to protect ourselves.
We also have issues with getting the equipment
we need to properly take care of the patients.
And we’re out here today not just to draw
awareness to that, but we have some very concrete
demands that we would like to have met by
the public healthcare system here.
Can you, for a national audience, even for
people in New York City, Health and Hospitals
Corporation, understand the difference between
city hospitals and the private hospitals,
and is there different treatment within?
You’re standing outside of Harlem Hospital,
which is a city hospital.
So often understaffed, undersupported.
And then if you could go to the issue of — I mean, the issue of problems even before COVID
and the coronavirus?
Right.
So, I do work at a public hospital within
the Health and Hospitals Corporation system.
There’s a private sector system that comprises
other institutions.
And there have always been funding disparities.
You know, we rely on public funding, that has been cut continuously over the past several decades.
We’re looking at some of those cuts now
with the introduction of the Medicaid cuts
in this most recent state budget.
And really, the crux of the issue here is
that we’re looking at a system of healthcare,
not just in New York, but throughout the country,
that prioritizes extracting a profit while
making people feel better, instead of actually participating in some kind of widespread healing effort.
And this is what happens when you have people
running the system that are not direct workers,
when they’re absorbed with their bottom
line, and the politicians who write the policy
are owned by them.
And really, the people that suffer are the
people on the frontline and the patients.
And so, that’s why it’s been really interesting
to hear this idea of nationalizing the healthcare
system come out of this, because right now
we’re dealing with a scarcity of resources
and disjointed resources.
And with a nationalized system, what we have
is the ability to share resources across the
system as needs arise.
Finally, Sarah, what gives you the strength?
What gives you the remarkable bravery to go
to work every day, when you encounter your
own preexisting condition?
Right.
So, I’m type 1 diabetic since the age of
2.
I’m now 30 years old.
You know, this is not a time for people to
be sitting on the sidelines.
We need to be out here in it.
We need to absolutely have our voices heard.
We need to make big demands of the system,
that it be changed in a way that can make
it so that in the future we’re not cut to
the bone in a situation like this, that we
have a robust healthcare system.
And that’s what we’re out here today to
ask for.
You’re supporting Medicare for All?
Yes, absolutely, Medicare for All, even further
measures such as nationalizing the healthcare system.
Well, I thank you so much, Sarah, for being
there, registered nurse working at med/surg
— that’s medical/surgical unit — at the city 
hospital, the public hospital, Harlem Hospital.
She’s part of New York State Nurses Association
union,
helped to organize today’s frontline medical workers’ protest.
