Guest column: Healthcare workers deserve our thanks

Originally Published: May 19, 2020 11:07 a.m.

As health care professionals, we are focused on ensuring the well-being of our patients especially during these times of uncertainty. Our doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals work tirelessly to provide quality care to anyone who walks through our hospital doors.

These health care heroes come to work each day not knowing what challenges they will face, but are always prepared to save lives. Their courage and commitment to quality care has never been more apparent than during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To the thousands of health care workers and first responders, we thank you for caring for our patients and their families during this time of crisis. We honor your courage, compassion and continued commitment to providing the highest quality of care for the people of Arizona. We know this hasn’t been easy, but your selflessness is appreciated and admired.

Arizona, you have proven time and again how we can come together to help those in need during a time of crisis. Whether it is helping a loved one battling the virus or a neighbor that has encountered economic hardship, the people of Arizona are answering the call to service. We thank those who have volunteered at food banks, donated blood, delivered food to first responders, made face masks and shields for health care workers, and distilled hand sanitizer for protection.

We know that these actions have not come without sacrifice; the COVID-19 pandemic has not just presented our State with a health care crisis but also an economic one. We have experienced economic hardship in our own facilities, but in spite of these challenges, we join you in a shared commitment to recover and rebuild.

This crisis is not over. We must remain vigilant in the fight against COVID-19. As businesses begin the process to reopen and daily routines are restored, we urge Arizonans to continue to take proper precautions to protect themselves and others. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, everyone should wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol, avoid close contact with people who are sick, wear masks when around others, cover coughs and sneezes, and clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Together, through service and community, we will overcome this challenge.

Peter Fine