Nurses and healthcare workers talk to voters

SEIU Healthcare 1199NW nurses and healthcare workers know how critical it is to talk about what’s at stake in the upcoming election: our healthcare and education.

Jay Inslee and SEIU President Mary Kay Henry joined nurses and healthcare workers on Saturday, October 27 as they took to the doors and phones this morning to share our message that Jay Inslee is the right candidate for governor.

Jay knows that working families like ours depend on healthcare coverage, and he will fight to protect and expand health benefits for all of us. And his work to help pass the Affordable Care Act has brought critical healthcare protections to our patients and families. Young adults can now stay on their parents’ plans until age 26, seniors get help with the cost of their prescriptions, and children can no longer be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions.

“This is a moment in time, where we decide if we are going to move forward to make sure every Washingtonian has access to health insurance, or if we go backwards and lose what we gained under the leadership of President Barack Obama. When I am governor of the state of Washington, we are going to move forward so everyone has access to health insurance,” said Jay Inslee.

“The choice is clear: a candidate who will expand healthcare access and support our work to ensure safe staffing, or a candidate who wants to disassemble our healthcare system and give out vouchers and catasatrophic plans. Our patients are counting on us to vote for Jay Inslee,” said Diane Sosne, RN, MN, President of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

“Jay understands how important quality, affordable healthcare is for me, my family, and my patients. I work in the OR, and I see patients too often who wait to get the surgery they need. And these aren’t elective surgeries, they are brain tumors. That could be your mother, sister, brother, who can’t afford the care they need. That’s why we need a governor like Jay, so we can expand access to care” said Bernedette Haskins, RN at Swedish Medical Center.

“Jay will help us protect and improve care. Our patients are important, and we want to provide the care they need without rushing to and from their rooms,” said Shadrick Kautzman, a Nursing Extender at Yakima Regional Medical Center.

“The Affordable Care Act needs to be fully implemented, and we need a friend like Jay Inslee in the Governor’s office. I’m knocking on doors today for the patients I see, but also for the patients I don’t see, who still need us to keep working to provide access to the care they need,” said Vanetta Molson-Turner, an RN at Swedish Medical Center.

“You and I know there’s a lot at stake for each and every one of us. What we are doing on behalf of our selves, families, communities, and our coworkers is defeating the basic belief that we are on our own. We are saying as a nation that we are all in this together, and we are going to solve problems and invest in vital services like healthcare and education.”