New York, 11/16/12

Members of the New York State Nurses Association and Physicians for a National Health Program, joined by allies, gathered on the steps of City Hall today to tell Mayor Bloomberg: do more to address health needs of Hurricane Sandy survivors.

Doctors, nurses, EMTs and street medics have been volunteering to help residents recovering from the storm. They have gone door-to-door looking for vulnerable, home-bound patients, often working with Occupy Sandy and the People's Medical Relief. They have seen an alarming number of patients in urgent need of medication and care in the Rockaways, Coney Island, Red Hook and Staten Island. Make-shift clinics set up by volunteers have helped many patients in the affected areas, but these advocates argue that the responsibility lies in our government to rebuild local health care infrastructures.

Significant human and financial resources need to be committed by the city, state and federal governments to rebuild and improve access to health care for all New York City residents.