What began in the pre-dawn dark in Albuquerque, NM ended in a sun-drenched garden in downtown Denver, CO before an inspired and vocal crowd of doctors, nurses, activists, teachers, and Coloradans demanding quality, affordable healthcare for all. CIR doctors had boarded vans in Albuquerque at 4 a.m. and drove the 7.5 hours up Route 25 to rally with their fellow SEIU members and lend their voices to the growing chorus demanding urgent action on healthcare reform.

The Healthcare Reform NOW rally in the Sunken Gardens featured music by Death Cab for Cutie, Chuck D of Public Enemy, and DeVotchKa, and speeches by Andy Stern of SEIU, Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, National radio commentator, writer and public speaker Jim Hightower, and representatives from SEIU Local 105, Colorado for Healthcare, ACORN, Health Care for America NOW!, Healthcare United – and Dr. Elizabeth Burpee, Secretary-Treasurer of CIR and Chair of the Political Action Committee for CIR’s Executive Board.

Chuck D and Jim Hightower served as co-emcees of the afternoon and constantly reminded the crowd how grassroots activists have the power to demand change and accountability of our elected officials. Speaker after speaker stressed that it wasn’t enough to elect a president and a Congress friendly to healthcare reform – we needed to fight against the entrenched influence of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies to make quality, affordable healthcare a reality.

Since she had embarked on a 450 van ride just to be there, Dr. Burpee was an instant hit with the crowd. She urged them to work together to fix our broken healthcare system and stressed how important it is for doctors and other healthcare professionals to be engaged and hold their elected officials accountable. “We caregivers can make sure that healthcare reform gets done right, once and for all!” she said.

Dr. Burpee is no stranger to political action on behalf of better patient care. Over the past year, she and other CIR residents in New Mexico have met with Governor Bill Richardson and Lt. Governor Diane Denish to advocate for universal healthcare. In April, Senate candidate Tom Udall followed Dr. Burpee as part of SEIU’s “Walk a Day in My Shoes” program. Throughout the summer, she has been a driving force for Healthcare United in New Mexico – an organization formed to make the voices of frontline healthcare workers heard in the national healthcare debate. As Dr. Burpee explained to the crowd, “The bottom line for us in our work is the quality of care we can give to our patients.”