National Nurses United

NewsBriefs_OCT 11/29/11 10:11 PM Page 4 NEWS BRIEFS stations established by RNRN and National Nurses United at various Occupy encampments around the country: New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Oakland, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego—the list keeps growing. The first aid stations are both a way for NNU nurses to support the Occupy movement's protest of the huge income gap between rich and poor in the United States, as well as a practical way for nurses to do what they do best, helping and healing communities largely shut out of the healthcare system—patients like Susan. "The people we see have been victims of the system for a long time," said Cruise, a public health nurse and Rodolfo and Martese Chism. Rodolfo and Chism were held for nearly 24 hours, and the next day appeared at a press conference to confront Mayor Rahm Emanuel about why he was denying protesters their First Amendment rights to assemble. "We believe that they have a right to assemble and the right to the freedom of speech under the Constitution," Chism told the Chicago Tribune. "We see our patients suffer from the economic crisis, and we believe the only way to heal America is to address Wall Street." Nurses staffing the medical stations report that people are presenting with the types of minor scrapes, injuries, and ailments associated with living outdoors and in close quarters. Blisters, dehydration, and upper respiratory infections are common. RNs in colder climates, such as New York and Washington, D.C., are seeing cases of hypothermia and foot problems, often a result of protesters staying in wet shoes and clothes. "Without proper shelter, they're soaked to the bone and NNU Nurses Take Risks to Give First Aid at National Occupy Sites H NATIONAL er name was susan, and she came to the nurses' OccupyLA first aid station complaining of pain in her left breast that always seemed to appear during her menstrual period. RN and Registered Nurse Response Network (RNRN) activist, Maureen Cruise, listened to her symptoms and gave some suggestions for positioning and care and comfort for her pain and swelling, then handed Susan a list of free clinics and county facilities where she could seek additional help. Susan quickly scanned the sheet and pointed out that she had approached almost all on the list; none were options for her. County facilities wouldn't accept her, she said, and the "free" clinics weren't really free, but still required a minimal fee that she could not afford on her low income. Susan is just one of hundreds of people participating in the Occupy movement who have sought medical aid from first aid 4 N AT I O N A L N U R S E single-payer healthcare activist. "For these people, what are their options in this non system? Many of them were comforted just to have nurses pay attention to them and have their basic worth as human beings affirmed." NNU established many of the first aid stations starting in mid October, often in the face of police opposition and under threat of bodily harm. At Occupy Wall Street in New York City's Zuccotti Park, only a chain of human protesters around the station and the unexpected participation of noted civil rights leader Jesse Jackson prevented the New York Police Department from tearing down the preliminary structure that NNU nurses and staff had erected. The next morning, they succeeded in setting up an even larger station. In Chicago, even a chain of peaceful protesters and the presence of two registered nurses were not enough to keep the police at bay. In the early morning hours of Oct. 23, police arrested a group of protesters defending the first aid station at Occupy Chicago in Grant Park, including RNs Jan W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G their body temperatures dip too low," said Maria Fehlig, RN and NNU staff person who ran the New York City station for almost a month. "We need to warm them back up." The vast majority of protesters do not have medical insurance, and their visit to the Occupy first aid station was the first time they've talked to a healthcare provider in years. In addition to registered nurses, physicians, paramedics, social workers, and mental health workers are helping to staff the stations. And as a sign of just how bad lack of access to medical care for the uninsured has become, San Francisco news media reported that a woman who had been stabbed elsewhere in the city sought help at the OccupySF first aid tent for her wounds. "I feel like I'm honoring the ancestors of all the people who fought before us to have basic human needs met," said Alicia Rucker, an RN at Washington Hospital Center about her volunteer work at OccupyDC. "High quality healthcare is a human right, not a privilege." —Staff report O C TO B E R 2 0 1 1

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