Nurses rally in Palm Springs calling for more COVID-19 protection

Nurses with the California Nurses Association (CNA) held a to rally in Palm Springs Wednesday night demanding more personal protective equipment. The rally started at 6 p.m. on the corner of Tachevah and Indian Canyon drive near Desert Regional Medical Center.

National Nurses United, a labor union of registered nurses with nearly
185,000 members nationwide are putting on this rally.

In addition to more PPE, union members are also rallying for the passage of a $3 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or the HEROES Act. This has passed the House of Representatives but has not yet been voted on in the Senate.

This would include more PPE domestically through the Defense Production Act, along with cash payments, unemployment benefits and daycare subsidies that the union also supports.

Todd Burke with Desert Regional Medical Center gave us several statements regarding this nurse rally. The statements below read:

"The California Nurses Association (CNA), the labor union that represents our Registered Nurses, is holding a rally today outside Desert Regional Medical Center. The union is holding similar events at other California hospitals."

"Our hospital is fully operational and our staff’s focus, as always, is on providing exceptional quality patient care."

"While we value all of our nurses who are represented by the CNA, we are disappointed that the union is taking this action. The demands of COVID-19 have placed a great strain on all California hospitals and we remain committed to protecting the health and safety of our patients and staff. We continue to follow the guidelines set by the California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

"We take immense pride in the extraordinary professionalism and dedication our physicians, nurses and other staff have demonstrated every day in caring for our COVID-19 patients. This work has not been easy, but they have risen to the challenge during this unprecedented pandemic."

The rally is expected to go until 8 p.m.