We Need to Do More for Our Healthcare Workers, Because They are Our Saviors

Without doctors and nurses, we would all be long dead from the coronavirus.

They are the thin dancing line that protects us all.

We need to do more for them.

We can forgive their debt.

CNN:

Health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic would have some of their student loan debt forgiven under a new bill introduced in Congress.

The “Student Loan Forgiveness for Frontline Health Workers Act,” introduced by New York Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney on Tuesday, would create a program that forgives federal and private loans obtained “to receive medical and professional training held by health care workers who have made significant contributions to COVID-19 patient care, medical research, testing and enhancing the capacity of the health care system to respond to this urgent crisis,” according to a release from her office. Doctors, nurses, medical researchers, lab workers and other health care workers responding to the pandemic would be eligible along with others who are giving their support to fight the virus.

Maloney said there is an “obligation to ensure that they are relieved of the debt they incurred to train for this critical work.”

We can give them immunity from malpractice lawsuits so that they’re not held accountable when people die after they put them on ventilators that the federal government gives them $39,000 every time they put someone on.

Lancaster Online:

Gov. Tom Wolf has signed an executive order protecting medical personnel from malpractice lawsuits during the coronavirus crisis, but some providers — including doctors — claimed the action fell short of the broader protections needed.

The immunity covers “good faith” actions by licensed medical workers “serving on the front lines of the disaster response,” Wolf said. It applies only to individuals and not hospitals, nursing homes, health systems or businesses making medical equipment, officials said.

We can fly jets across the sky in their honor.

Clark County Today:

Hurtling through the air at half the speed of sound, F-15 fighter jets soared across the skies above many area hospitals today, in honor of those that work in them.

The spectacle drew hundreds of socially distanced onlookers at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver; one of the stops on the planes’ flight plan.

The pilots from the Oregon Air National Guard, conducted the maneuvers as a visual “thank you’’ honoring medical and healthcare workers, who have faced great danger and difficulty during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We can give them potted plants.

Riverhead Local:

Four East End Rotary clubs are distributing thousands of plants to front-line workers at the three East End hospitals this weekend.

“It’s our way of saying thanks,” said Dr. Rajesh Patel, a pulmonologist and longtime member of the Riverhead Rotary Club, which organized the plant giveaway in conjunction with the hospitals and the medical mission organization Operation International.

We can record pop songs for them.

Pappas Post:

One of Greece’s most popular singers and a golden girl of the Greek diaspora has shared a heartfelt tribute to the medical workers of Greece which has gone viral.

Helena Paparizou opened her video, thanking the healthcare workers of Greece who have worked tirelessly to keep Greeks healthy during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Joined on camera in a separate screen and playing remotely was composer Giannis Christodoulopoulos, who added his own appreciation.

Together, with Paparizou on vocals and Christodoulopoulos on the piano, the duo performed the hit song Mazi Sou (With You) because, according to Paparizou, “together we can accomplish everything.”

We can give them free shoes.

KELO:

A lot of businesses and supporters are searching for ways to help medical workers on the front lines of this pandemic.

Fit My Feet Shoe store in Sioux Falls is doing its part. Owner Nick Kolterman is teaming up with a national shoe brand to donate 500 pairs of shoes to nurses and doctors at Sanford and Avera. Fit My Feet works closely with medical professionals year round.

“What better way for us to give back than to give 500 pairs of shoes away. That’s a lot of shoes,” Kolterman said.

We can give them RVs.

The Denver Channel:

Healthcare workers and first responders continue to put themselves in harm’s way during the course of the coronavirus pandemic, and many of them are concerned they could infect loved ones when they come home.

“That chance that I could bring it home, and my clothes, walk by my sisters and then breathing it in, it was very scary,” said EMT Baily Queen.

Queen is one of 24 medical workers in Colorado to get an RV to use for free from the Facebook group “RVs for MDs.”

“It’s actually pretty nice, it’s like a little hotel room; I can’t complain, it’s pretty comfortable. It has everything you need and I’m very fortunate to have gotten this,” Queen said of the RV he plans on living in for another month.

We can give them a 20% pay raise.

Herald Tribune:

Tributes to nurses and other medical professionals working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic continue to pour in all over the country.

One local company decided to deliver its praise in the form of a pay raise. Coastal Care Staffing in Nokomis recently increased the hourly pay of certified nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses up to 20%.

We can give them gourmet French food.

France24:

Before coronavirus struck New York, one of the world’s premier seafood restaurants Le Bernardin was offering tasting menus including striped bass truffle tartare and grilled lobster mi-cuit.

Today it serves up hundreds of plastic trays of roast chicken, rice and cabbage to feed the city’s medical workers.

We can give them free plane tickets.

WYRK:

Life is hard right now, especially for healthcare workers. But JetBlue is hoping to make all the hard work feel much more worth it with some free flights.

According to WIVB, the announcement was made that JetBlue is going to give away flights to anywhere that they fly when the time is right.

The plan is to give away 10,000 pairs of flights to healthcare workers in New York City (the place where the pandemic has hit our country the hardest and thee home town of JetBlue) and then the remaining 90,000 pairs of flights will go to workers across the country.

We can give them gift bags of soap.

WSMV:

To honor health care workers during National Nurses Week, a Murfreesboro soap maker donated over 700 gift bags to local hospitals and clinics.

Buff City Soap donated the gift bags to the Murfreesboro Medical Clinic, Murfreesboro Medical Center, Trustpoint Hospital, TriStar Medical Physicians, TriStar Stonecrest Medical Center, MMC Now Walk-In Clinic, Primary Care & Hope Clinic and Hometown Family Medical.

We can give them free gasoline.

We can give them free luxury hotel suites.

INSIDER:

Amid widespread coronavirus closures, the US hospitality industry has been sent into freefall. In spite of the financial toll, 15,000 US hotels — from independently operated businesses to large hotel chains — have pitched in to help medical personnel amid the pandemic, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

The association declined to release the name of hotels helping essential workers, but city officials in New York, Chicago, Miami, Washington, and Honolulu claimed Trump’s properties were not participating, The Washington Post reported.

We can stonefire our grills with compassion.

We can give them bras.

WWD:

Innerwear brands continue to support the ladies.

But now, some brands — including Wacoal America and ThirdLove — are going one step further by donating free bras and underwear to nurses and other essential medical staff working in coronavirus hotspots the week starting May 6, or National Nurses Week.

We can give them French Franks meals.

County Press:

LAST Friday afternoon (April 24) French Franks opened to serve a ‘TFI breakfast’ at St Cross Business Park in Newport to health and care workers.

The Island eaterie, famed for its fresh coffees, fruit smoothies and hearty lunch menu, offered a range of bacon rolls, pastries, hot drinks and other beverages to health and care workers.

The sustenance was well received, with over 500 people — more than half of who had pre-ordered for collection — were served outside the building observing distancing measures.

All food and drink was free for frontline NHS or care workers, with anyone else invited to make a donation.

We can give them a 50% discount at Applebee’s.

We can paint a mountain blue.

KVOA:

Tucson Sentinel Peak Park, also known as A Mountain, was painted blue this morning to honor local healthcare workers.

A Mountain has been a symbol in Tucson for many years and it is rarely ever painted anything other than white.

Painting it to honor health care workers though was an easy decision for the mayor, city council and the district.

We can do a raffle.

We can fly fighter jets.

We can give them shoes.

INSIDER:

Once New York City went into lockdown in March, Jennifer Barthole started thinking about how she was going to help those in the healthcare community.

And so, Sneakers for Heroes was born. It all started when Barthole reached out to medical professionals in her personal network about sending care packages. But many of them expressed a need for supportive footwear instead.

“Due to working back-to-back shifts, they were experiencing foot and back pain. Also, constantly disinfecting their shoes was causing their footwear to wear out at a faster pace,” Barthole told Insider. “Once I understood that sneakers were in such high demand, I personally committed to sending out 50 pairs to my friends and family in the medical field.”

We can give them free Uber rides.

CNBC:

Ride hailing major Uber India on Friday said it would offer free rides to healthcare workers and government officials of Greater Chennai Corporation engaged in COVID-19 related work under its UberMedic Service.

The free rides worth Rs 25 lakh was part of Uber’s global commitment to offer 10 million free rides.

We can give them $1 million worth of free shoes.

SGB Online:

New Balance announced that it is teaming up with its athletes, including Milos Raonic, Sydney McLaughlin, Dejounte Murray, Rose Lavelle, Rob Pannell, Trayvon Bromell, Joey Gallo and Zdeno Chara, to collectively donate more than $1 million worth of footwear to front line medical workers.

We can throw them a parade.

CBS2:

City police, county deputies, paramedics and firefighters will honor West Valley Medical Center staff Thursday for their commitment to the Caldwell community.

Members of the Caldwell Police Department, Caldwell Fire Department, Canyon County Paramedics and the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office have organized a parade to honor and thank the medical center staff for their commitment to the Caldwell community.

We can draw hearts in the sky.

KATV:

A team of 10 pilots drew hearts over central Arkansas on Wednesday to honor medical workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bulldog Flight Formation Team drew the first heart in the sky above Little Rock about 3:20 p.m. The pilots drew a second heart over Maumelle about 3:30 p.m. The team drew a third heart above North Little Rock around 3:30 p.m.

We can give them free doggie daycare.

But none of this is even anywhere close to enough.

It’s no wonder the healthcare workers laugh at us, spit on our pitiful gestures and demand more.

They’ve sacrificed everything to save us from the most deadly virus of all, which has already killed billions.

They carry the burden.

And all they are asking is that we give them more.

We should be lining for miles to lick the bottoms of their shoes.

We should be moving them all into houses made of diamonds.

We should be renaming cities “Doctorville” and “Nurse City.”

We should be sacrificing our first born sons on stone altars before them.

We must do more for these gods who walk the earth who saved us from this virus.