I’ll begin in the same fashion all emails and commercials seem to start these days; these are scary and uncertain times. As my quarantine began some five weeks ago now, I began a new organizing project for our client, The Committee to Protect Medicare. The Committee is a grassroots healthcare advocacy organization dedicated to protecting Medicare. Their goals are to lobby and persuade elected officials to support healthcare for all and hold those who don’t support accountable come election season.
I began a fellowship here at The Action Factory as my final quarter in school began and jumped into an organizing project to collect videos regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. My focus over the last month has been recruiting a wide range of healthcare professionals by calling, texting, and emailing to give them a platform to share their COVID-19 stories with the public. The Stories from the Frontlines campaign uses first hand experiences and knowledge to build a cohesive message about how the COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the weaknesses of our current healthcare system; one that the Committee is working to change. After speaking with me, healthcare workers go on to record short 30-90 second “selfie” videos speaking to their experiences and expertise on public health. Their video becomes a part of a large and growing collection of testimonials. The stories spotlight how this pandemic has affected their work, their lives, their families and to tell the government and the public what must be done. The Stories from the Frontlines project is a call to action aimed at the Trump administration’s failed and dangerous lack of response to this crisis. The goal of the campaign is to amplify these testimonials on social media and traditional media. These videos have been used in direct and targeted ad campaigns to the 5 key states that could determine the results of the 2020 election, and the future of the American healthcare system.
I’ve called hundreds of people to hear their stories. Some are on the brink of losing their practices because they can’t see patients and have no form of income. I’ve spoken to mother’s that have lost their sons. I’ve spoken to retired nurses and doctors that want to get back on the frontlines to help their colleagues on the ground. The images they paint are vivid and jarring. I spoke with a retired nurse from South Carolina that is presenting all the symptoms. As she coughed over the phone, she said she just prayed it wouldn’t get to her.
Talking to healthcare workers makes you realize that while this is a collective traumatic experience, only healthcare workers know the true realities of the illness. They have dedicated their lives to stop suffering and this virus and our current administration are making it one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish. One doctor I spoke to said it well: “The heart and soul of medicine comes from we who provide the care: The doctors and nurses, the therapists and technicians; those who clean and fix the hospitals and equipment and feed its workers and patients … Healthcare must be driven by values but guided by brains and by science. We must not allow the manipulation of politicians or the greed of medical profiteers interfere with that sacred mission.” The Committee is led and guided by a board of physicians, who know the ins and outs of the healthcare system best.
As the number of deaths in this country continues to skyrocket, already surpassing 60,000 lives lost, my project to search for more people to share their stories continues. We do this not only because we want to amplify their stories and voices, but to express to them and the rest of the country that they are not alone. We are here fighting for them, just as they are fighting for us, even if the President refuses to do so.
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