ALISO VIEJO, Calif. – April 13, 2020 – The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), along with several other healthcare organizations, has released a statement calling upon the government, private sector and all other Americans to “uphold their moral obligation by joining us in fighting the battle against coronavirus and the resulting COVID-19 disease.”
The statement, “The Fight Against COVID-19: A Call to Action for America,” is supported by organizations representing more than 18 million nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists and other healthcare workers. We urge everyone to “join us in this fight” so that “together we can stop this virus.”
The statement outlines three areas in which urgent action is needed:
- We must have personal protective equipment. The critical shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) is putting the healthcare workforce, patients and other American citizens at risk.
- We must have lifesaving equipment, medications and supplies. The deficit of lifesaving equipment, medications and supplies will be paid in American lives lost.
- We must stop the spread. As citizens, it is our moral obligation to act now by staying at home to save lives.
“As your healthcare providers, we honor the trust you put in us to fulfill our moral obligation of providing optimal care for you when you are ill. We now put our trust in you to fulfill your moral obligation,” the statement notes.
In addition to AACN, other healthcare associations supporting the statement are the American Association of Respiratory Care (AARC), American Nurses Association (ANA), American Thoracic Society (ATS), Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), and Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).
Read the full statement online.
About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: For more than 50 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been dedicated to acute and critical care nursing excellence. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. AACN is the world's largest specialty nursing organization, with more than 120,000 members and over 200 chapters in the United States.
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 27071 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; 949-362-2000; www.aacn.org; facebook.com/aacnface; twitter.com/aacnme