HARTFORD CT – Stamford lawmakers along with Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport, Monroe and Trumbull) will lead a caravan in support of Nursing and Group Home staff and residents as well as promoting health protections for them on Friday, May 8, 2020.
The legislators are scheduled to leave the St. Camillus Center, 494 Elm St. in Stamford, at 9 a.m. Friday morning carrying signs of support while practicing social distancing in their cars with planned stops in Norwalk, Bridgeport, Milford and New Haven culminating with a 12:30 p.m. arrival at Kimberly Hall North Nursing home in Windsor where they will be joined by other legislators from around the state.
“We very much appreciate and support nursing and group home residents and their workers,” State Representative Patricia Billie Miller (D-Stamford, 145th District) said. “As elected officials we’re highlighting the needs to provide PPE and/or direct administrators to distribute PPEs in order to protect the residents, workers and the families they go home to every night.
“Also, the Coronavirus disproportionately affects black and brown communities and PPE issues in nursing and group homes is a contributor to this crisis. Furthermore, it illustrates the broader issue which is the lack of testing and health care in black and brown communities and for all low-wage workers, regardless of color. We’re not in session because of the virus, but we are still engaging in the public discussion on these issues, and we want to find solutions as quick as possible.”
“We are at a time when by going forward, it is important to aim at a better future than what was the recent past,” State Rep. David Michel (D-Stamford, 146th) said. “Those considered essential are our nurses but also the grocery store workers. Those are also the same people that regularly demand better pay and better treatment. Today we want to let them know that we are with them, we see them and we will do our best to protect them.
“I’ve learned firsthand that people working in nursing homes around the state don’t always have adequate PPE. These workers risk their lives and their families’ lives too,” Senator Alex Kasser said. “They deserve more than thanks. They deserve real protections and healthcare. It’s not a coincidence that many of these workers are Black or Hispanic. Data shows that people of color are TWICE as likely to die if they get COVID. We have to account for these risks in our policies.”
“Our elderly and loved ones that require assistance unfortunately are the most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis,” Senator Carlo Leone said. “We must do all we can to insure the workers have the protection they need to properly care for those living in each and every one of these facilities. Anything less will only exacerbate the health and safety of each person. It is a travesty, and we cannot allow the lack of resources or understanding prevent us from doing all we can to correct the shortfall in protecting all affected.”
“Nursing-home workers have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in Connecticut, and I’m extraordinarily grateful for their service. They deserve our thanks, and just as important, our support, fair pay, and safe working conditions. I’m proud to join my colleagues in showing our appreciation for them today,” Rep. Matt Blumenthal (D-Stamford/Darien, 147th) said.
“We are so grateful for the incredible devotion of our nursing home staff across CT who are working tirelessly and risking their lives to protect the health of our community,” Rep. Caroline Simmons (D-Stamford, 144th) said “It’s an honor to join my legislative colleagues to express our sincere gratitude.”
