I am reaching out to let our elected officials know that we are valuable assets to the companies that we are staffing, the businesses in our communities can’t and won’t function without us.  I beseech you to sign this petition which will be presented to our officials overseeing the region and the Great State of Texas.  The goal I wish to achieve with this petition is an increase in our pay.  I would like for every healthcare provider working with COVID patients to receive crisis pay.

 As many of you have experienced working as a healthcare provider during this crisis is something that cannot quite be put into words. It’s like living in a nightmare, we are covered head to toe in PPE each day, not in the comfort of our own skin but covered by two masks, goggles and gowns,  many days taking quick breaks or none at all.  We are standing in the gap between patient and family.  I know a great deal of nurses and physicians who have stepped up to answer the call for help.  We act as a beacon of hope, our job is in fact to bring comfort and care to our patients.   This year 2020 the Year of the Nurse has proven how valuable the profession is, not only to this community but to every community worldwide.  Florence Nightingale would be proud of every nurse today.  Nightingale said, “How very little can be done under the spirit of fear.”  We have not cowered in fear, there was a need and call for help and we rose up, we bravely put on our PPE and go into each room treating each patient with dignity and care.

We as a nation are in our ninth month of this pandemic, this virus has tipped the scale on everything that used to be normal.  We have all been affected in one way or another by this virus.  We are in a staffing crisis and have been supplied with nurses from the Regional Advisory Council (RAC).  We are so grateful for the help! These nurses are being compensated handsomely for responding to the staffing need.  The healthcare hero’s working in the facilities which require this additional staff should also be receiving crisis pay.  This petition will hopefully serve as a way for the staff nurses at our facilities to let their voices be heard.  We want Economic Justice, equal pay for healthcare providers working in a crisis.  We are amid a global pandemic and we should be compensated for the risk we are taking and the sacrifices we have made.  Nightingale also said, “I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words, they ought all to be distilled into actions and into actions which bring results.”  Let your voice be heard! Demand fair wages and economic justice! 

In addition to this petition I have sent correspondence to each of the offices listed below I encourage you to reach out to the elected officials in your area that can make a difference for you and your family.  Will you stand up and help me fight for healthcare worker's equal rights? 

Governor Gregg Abbott                                                                 

Office of the Governor

P.O. Box 12428

Austin, Texas  78711

Phone 512-463-2000

Senator Kel Seliger

The Honorable Kel Seliger

P.O. Box 12068

Capitol Station

Austin, Texas 78711     Phone   512-463-0131

House Representative

Mac Thornberry (13th District of Texas)

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Texas Department of State Health Services

P.O. Box 149347

Austin, Texas 78714

Phone 512-776-7111
Texas Department of State Health Services

Commissioner of Health- John Hellerstedt, MD  512-776-7363

Regional Advisory Council (Amarillo Office)

16800 IH-27 Frontage Rd

Canyon, Texas 79015    Phone  806-322-1290

Executive Director  pj.lemons@panhandlerac.com