Open Letter to Governor Ducey, Interim Director Herrington, Dr. Carmona, Healthcare Leaders & Policymakers
Letter Sponsored by Right 2 Safe Schools
Arizona’s healthcare system is in crisis. Our healthcare workforce is suffering from moral injury and burnout from the sustained onslaught that wave after wave of COVID has had on us, our families, and our communities. The COVID-19 pandemic is running unmitigated throughout the state and is straining our hospitals and affecting patient standards of care. Our current situation is unsustainable.
We – the undersigned physicians, nurses, allied healthcare workers, Public Health professionals, and other clinical support staff from across the state of Arizona – unite together in our nonpartisan call for health system leaders and elected officials to immediately respond to the current crisis by implementing preventative measures that will dramatically reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect our communities.
In order to rapidly reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to make every attempt possible to avoid worsening the crisis in Arizona hospitals, we implore our leaders to implement these interventions.
If Arizona continues on its current course in the face of combined Delta + Omicron surges, we will face collapse of our healthcare system, including the need to triage hospital resources, accelerated loss of life and long-term disability in our high vulnerability state, and worsening of severe healthcare workforce shortages.
To minimize these impending catastrophes, Arizona leaders must act swiftly to implement multiple measures that will slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of all Arizonans.
The healthcare workers who have signed on to this letter demand that our elected officials and healthcare leaders work together to immediately implement the interventions outlined above to mitigate the impact of this crisis.
Lives will be lost unnecessarily, and our healthcare system will fall deeper into crisis if you do not act now, and with urgency.
Sincerely,
The undersigned Arizona healthcare workers (physicians, nurses, allied healthcare workers, Public Health professionals, and other clinical support staff) from across the state of Arizona.
