Masking in Healthcare in Dane County - Thursday 5/18, 7pm via Zoom
A Community Informational Session
Thursday, 5/18, 7-8 PM Central
View the handout including link to the slide deck
Agenda:
An educational presentation on the current state of the pandemic and the need for universal masking in healthcare, presented by Kaitlin Sundling, MD, PhD
Testimonials about why masking in healthcare is important to us
Community questions, answers and informal discussion
Action: Sign and share our petition to reinstate masking at UW Health https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/keep-healthcare-masking-at-uw-health-in-wisconsin-and-illinois
Part of the National Week of Action to Keep Masking in Healthcare
Please share the information about this Zoom meeting with anyone in the broader community who may be interested.
As part of the premature winding down of the pandemic response, hospitals such as UW and Meriter and other healthcare organizations are rolling back masking requirements, which has major implications for public health and accessibility for everyone who needs to access healthcare. At least 400 concerned community members have signed our petition to reinstate masking at UW Health. We should “protect the vulnerable,” but who are the vulnerable? The answer is: all of us!
This will be a presentation about masks in healthcare–why they are important, why we need to continue this as a standard public health practice, and an opportunity to talk to Dr. Kaitlin Sundling about your questions and how to advocate for continuing masking in healthcare. In this session, we make the case that dropping masking requirements puts patients at unnecessary risk, and is especially dangerous to those of us with chronic health conditions, including common conditions such as diabetes, cancer, or immunocompromising conditions. COVID already disproportionately impacts marginalized communities, including stark racial disparities. This is just a part of a larger effort society-wide to prematurely declare the pandemic over by decree and discontinue valuable social programs such as additional food assistance, rental assistance, expanded access to Medicare and Medicaid, etc. This is a response to the pandemic that is driven by politics, not by science or concern for public health.
Who we are: We are a group of educators, workers, and concerned citizens fighting for continuing the public health response to COVID-19. We welcome anyone who wishes to join us in our mission of rebuilding public health in Dane County. We are participating in this meeting as community members and not as representatives of any institution. To contact us or get involved, please email uwcovidworkersgroup@gmail.com.
A note regarding access needs for the Zoom event: Auto-generated closed captioning will be available for all participants. We will record (and make available after the event) Dr. Sundling’s presentation and a portion of community testimonials. If you have additional access needs, please contact us at uwcovidworkersgroup@gmail.com. We are a volunteer group and will do our best to accommodate.
Here is the handout including a link to the slides from yesterday's presentation: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Lo9sveKAo1gRte98CJjyAfR7ZQs5-q7MhEM6BIdCFpE/edit?usp=sharing