Jackson Town Hall Highlights Health Care Stories from the Frontlines
Doctors, nurses, home care workers, elected officials and health experts meet in Miami, the city with the most ACA enrollees in the country, to discuss how to improve our care.
MEDIA ADVISORY April 19th
Media contact: Elizabeth Fernandez, elizabeth.fernandez@seiufl.org, 954-652-9897
WHO: Doctors, nurses, home care workers, health care experts, union members, Jackson Memorial staff, Jackson Health CEO Carlos A. Migoya, Rep. Frederica S. Wilson and other elected officials
WHAT: Health Care Town Hall
WHERE: Jackson Memorial Hospital, Diagnostic Treatment Center, Rm. 259/270, 1611 NW 12th Ave., Miami, FL 33136
WHEN: April 19th at 6 PM
Visuals: Doctors, nurses and health care workers speaking at a panel with elected officials and hospital administrators; questions and comments from an audience of 200 community members
Miami, FL — With the fate of America’s healthcare system more uncertain than ever, health care workers on the front lines are coming together in Miami, the city with the highest ACA enrollment numbers in the country. Doctors, nurses, home care workers, health care professionals and elected officials will meet on April 19th at 6 pm at Jackson Memorial, the largest hospital in the US. As a public, nonprofit teaching hospital, Jackson has been offering health care for all since the 1900s, making its employees true experts on providing affordable, comprehensive solutions for patients from all walks of life.
Outside of their professional experiences, many health care workers also have family and loved ones who will suffer drastic consequences if they lose access to affordable care. “My mother is diabetic,” said SEIU 1991 member Nancy Rodriguez, a registered nurse at Jackson Memorial. “She needs Medicare to cover the costs of her treatment. Otherwise, she’d never be able to afford her doctor’s visits or medication. She wouldn’t be able to afford her testing supplies. Like so many others, she needs affordable access to health care to survive. We need to improve our health care system, not tear it down.”
There are many steps President Trump could take to reduce health care access on his own, including reducing or eliminating Medicare, Medicaid and cost-share subsidies, which would raise insurance premiums for 7 million people.
“As doctors at the only safety net hospital in Miami-Dade, we are at the frontline in the fight to protect our Medicare, Medicaid, unfunded, undocumented and indigent patients,” said CIR Regional Vice President Dr. Michelle Fletcher, an OB-GYN resident at Jackson. “It’s our responsibility to keep our patients healthy and advocate for policies that ensure our patients can see us when they need us. It’s an outrage that this country still has the highest healthcare costs of all developed countries. Most doctors have had patients who’ve had to choose between housing and life-saving care, or between food and medication.”
Providing healthcare for an entire country is not a simple process, and it must include the voices of those who are at the frontlines of medicine. The experiences of health care workers in Miami-Dade need to be heard, as they have first-hand knowledge of how to provide the best care at the lowest cost. Marilyn Ralat Albernas, an 1199SEIU member working at Kendall Regional Medical Center, said, “As a registered nurse, a mother and a woman, I have seen the difference the Affordable Care Act has made with new mothers, infants and many other people, young and old, who can now afford life-saving medical treatments. Everyone deserves to have good health care coverage. The infants I carry in my hands as part of my job are the future of America!”
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SEIU Florida represents over 55,000 active and retired healthcare professionals, public employees and property service workers in the state of Florida. SEIU members provide vital public services in Florida’s hospitals, nursing homes, public schools, community colleges, municipal and county governments, malls, and universities. With over 2.1 million members, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in North America.
