This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA.
It takes personal strength and dedication to work in a hospital, caring for people who are suffering through what are often the worst days of their lives. In a normal shift, a nurse might comfort a grieving mother, hold the hand of a frightened patient preparing for surgery, or quietly wheel a body down to the morgue.
Witnessing all this suffering and loss takes an emotional toll on healthcare workers, regardless of the cause. But why are so many people sick and injured in our society? Every hospital worker knows that it is not simply the result of natural illness and tragic accidents. Most of these hospitalizations are the result of people being pushed so far to the margins of society that they can no longer physically survive without medical intervention.
Every day, more and more people are living without access to nutritious food, adequate shelter, or reliable healthcare. As capitalism churns out higher and higher profits for billionaires, more people at the bottom are left unable to meet their basic needs. A society defined by such inherent instability can’t help but see increases in illness, addiction, and unsafe living conditions.
Healthcare workers bear witness to this injustice every time they clock in. They can either harden their hearts and lose all sense of purpose in their work, or risk becoming too emotionally burdened to stay in the profession. Either way, we need to remember that the suffering we witness is an inevitable consequence of our capitalist system.
We need to dismantle the current system and build a society that restores and supports the health of our whole community.
Click here to read the article printed in the 09-17-24 Healthcare Newsletter
