SAINT PAUL – The Committee to Protect Health Care, a national group of health care professionals and physicians, announced today their first ever ad buy in Minnesota in support of frontline worker pay. The ad will be targeted to 18,248 people in the 25th Senate District, 17,400 people in the 35th Senate District, and 22,899 people in the 39th Senate District, with the aim of persuading Senators Senjem, Abeler, and Housley to support the measure. The targeted residents include civically-engaged constituents as well as medical professionals. In addition, the ads will target the Mayo Clinic campus in SD 25.
“Frontline workers never turned their backs on their communities during the pandemic, even as they risked their lives and those of their loved ones, and Minnesota lawmakers shouldn’t turn their backs on them,” said Dr. Rob Davidson, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Health Care. “As a physician, I saw brave people of all backgrounds, including nurses, custodians, bus drivers and grocery store workers, put themselves in harm’s way each and every day to take care of the sick and make sure that others were able to eat, get around, learn, and stay safe. Additional pay for these frontline workers is long overdue, and the Committee to Protect Health Care is proud to be taking action to make it a reality.”
The ads call on Republicans in the Minnesota State Senate to keep their promise to ensure frontline worker pay for Minnesotans who worked throughout the pandemic in health care and other critical fields.
“Doctors like me saw firsthand the risks so many Minnesotans took to do their jobs, as well as the burdens they faced when they or a loved one got sick,” said Dr. Amy Engebretson, an OB/GYN in Saint Paul. “These patients may still be facing medical bills, or may be unable to work due to long-haul COVID-19 symptoms. As we continue to recover economically from this awful pandemic, our elected officials should make good on their promise to help frontline workers who put themselves in harm’s way, risking their ability to work and thus their pay. Frontline worker pay is a critical step toward making these Minnesotans whole.”
Watch the ads here, here, and here.
Read the transcript of the ad below:
When COVID hit, they stepped up.
Nurses, Cops, Fire Fighters, Teachers, Childcare workers,
When nobody understood the risks, they went to work.
Last summer our leaders made a promise to support them with frontline worker pay.
Now, that promise is in jeopardy, but Senator Senjem/Abeler/Housely can save it.
In Minnesota, a promise made is a promise kept.
About the Committee to Health Care
The Committee to Protect Health Care is a national mobilization of doctors, health care professionals, and advocates who are building a pro-patient health care majority in Congress and in states so that we can live in an America where everyone has the health care they need to thrive. To learn more: www.committeetoprotect.org
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