National Nurses United (NNU) staged a protest in front of the White House on May 7. Area nurses stood among 88 pairs of white shoes, representing the number of nurses known to have died of COVID-19.

Tyrone Turner / WAMU

Standing outside the White House, Yuhana Gidey calls out the names of 88 fellow nurses who have died while treating COVID-19 patients across the country.

Gidey and some two dozen nurses gathered today to demand federal action to protect healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic. National Nurses United, the largest nurses’ union in the country, organized the protest, one of a series of actions marking National Nurses Week (May 6-12). The organization is demanding “optimal” protections for nurses and has urged the president to order the production of more safety equipment and set binding workplace standards for nurses.

Gidey works at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Northwest D.C., and even though hospital staff tell her there is not a supply shortage, Gidey says the hospital is rationing supplies.

“We are being given just one N95 mask to last a 12-13 hour shift.”

She said other personal protective equipment, or PPE, like gowns and face shields are also limited by the hospital.

“I am very afraid every time I step foot at work knowing that we are not being provided with enough PPE to take care of our patients,” Gidey says.

Yuhana Giddy (right) and Stephanie Simms, nurses at Washington Hospital Center, read the names of nurses who have died of COVID-19. The protest was organized to push the White House to protect frontline health workers better.Tyrone Turner / WAMU
Some two dozen nurses gathered in front of the White House, demanding protection for frontline health care workers. Tyrone Turner / WAMU
A nurse stands among the 88 pairs of shoes representing nurses lost to coronavirus. Tyrone Turner / WAMU

Gidey adds that her hospital only tests workers who were exposed to COVID-19 if they are showing symptoms. This is in line with CDC guidelines, but healthcare workers throughout the region have expressed concern about this policy and say it’s not adequate.

In late April, the District allocated $25 million to local hospitals for supplies, personnel and other preparation for coronavirus patients; MedStar Washington Hospital Center was awarded just over $4 million.

MedStar Washington Hospital Center did not respond to a request for comment from WAMU.

The nurses protesting Thursday afternoon laid out a pair of white shoes for each colleague who has succumbed to the virus.

Stephanie Sims, also a nurse at Medstar Washington Hospital Center, addressed the crowd: “We ask you to imagine the nurse who would have walked in these shoes.”

National Nurse’s Week ends on May 12 with an online candlelight vigil that will be streamed on Facebook Live in honor of fallen nurses.

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