Save San Joaquin County Health!

RNs, patients, religious leaders hold vigil to demand proper funding for vital safety net: Thursday

San Joaquin registered nurses will join community and faith leaders in a candlelight vigil Thursday to remember the 45,000 who die each year for lack of access to healthcare and to support full funding for public healthcare services for children and families in San Joaquin County.

WHAT:   Public Candlelight Vigil
WHEN:   December 10, 2009
TIME:     4:30 p.m. — Vigil begins at sundown and ends at 6:00 p.m.
WHO:     Nurses, Patients, Religious leaders
WHERE:  San Joaquin County Hospital, 
               500 West Hospital Road French Camp, CA 95231

“Working as a nurse practitioner in the primary care clinic in San Joaquin County is overwhelming,” said Maria Gomez. “We face the challenge of trying to provide care to very sick patients who are uninsured or underinsured and don’t get the care they need early enough for fear of losing what little they have. We provide care to an underserved and impoverished population who have nowhere to go if we shut our doors or cut back on vital services. “Every person has a right to be seen if they are ill and have access to preventive health care.”
 
“More than 12 million Californians were uninsured at some point last year, and with the state of the economy and the exorbitant number of foreclosures in this county, there is an even greater need for an intact public health system,” said Deborah Burger, RN, co-president of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee. “SB 810, California's latest bill to establish a universal, single payer health reform is the ultimate solution. We could have a modern, universal health care system that provides quality care for everyone and be free of the insurance industry’s interference. Nurses witness the healthcare crisis every day and know that bills like SB 810 are the most effective solution to the calamity faced by so many families”

The nurses are also questioning why the county is cutting vital health services while a multi-million dollar expansion of jail facilities without adequate funding is still on the books, and the county is purchasing new county vehicles. In the budget for this fiscal year the Law and Justice budget got an increase of $9.6 million while public health services were cut.