Nurses campaigning in a time of coronavirus
In this election year, the pandemic has made one thing crystal clear: nurses are vitally important to the health of our communities. We need nurses — in our hospitals, in our long-term care facilities, in our schools and in our state legislature.
July 21, 2020 • 2 minutes, 35 seconds to read
This content originally appeared in the Spring/Summer 2020 issue (PDF) of The Washington Nurse magazine.
In this election year, the pandemic has made one thing crystal clear: nurses are vitally important to the health of our communities. We need nurses — in our hospitals, in our long-term care facilities, in our schools and in our state legislature.
Stay-home orders have thrown state legislative campaigns into new territory — with candidates unable to hold events, meet their constituents at the door or present at town halls. That hasn’t stopped these two amazing WSNA-PAC-endorsed nurses from stepping up to run for the state legislature!
Washington state currently has only one nurse serving in the legislature, Rep. Eileen Cody. There is no nurse in the State Senate. We know we need nurses in the legislature so that when scope of practice, patient safety or bills dealing with working conditions arise, a nurse is on hand to explain the implications of potential policy changes. It is vital to the mission of WSNA to support and elect nurses.
Please learn more about the nurses running for office in 2020 — and contribute to their campaigns if you are able
WSNA member: Ingrid Anderson
Running for State Senate
5th Legislative District - Issaquah, Snoqualmie, North Bend
IngridforStateSenate.com
Ingrid Anderson is someone who steps up when there’s a need. As an Emergency Department nurse, she took her hospital to arbitration over missed breaks — and won. She showed up in Olympia to testify in support of the breaks and overtime protections bill to ensure that all nurses across the state have access to the same breaks she does—and won. And now she’s running for State Senate — and, with the support of the many groups and individuals who know she will fight for them, she is poised to win.
For nearly 30 years, Ingrid has called her district home. She graduated from Snoqualmie public schools and Bellevue College and earned a full scholarship to earn her bachelor’s degree at UW Bothell. Following graduation, Ingrid worked in Overlake’s Emergency Department and served as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. Ingrid now works in Overlake’s psychiatric department and is pursuing her master’s degree to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
Now, Ingrid is ready to draw on all this experience to represent her community, and nurses and patients across the state, in Olympia. Ingrid has been a fierce advocate at the bedside, in her hospital, before the legislature — and now’s she’s ready to go to work as the only nurse in the State Senate.
Ingrid is endorsed by all three nursing and health care worker unions, by teachers and educators, by grocers and many more. She’s earned these endorsements because they know that Ingrid will put working families first — something that is now more important than ever.
UFCW21 member: Suzanne Woodard
Running for House of Representatives, Position 1
10th Legislative District - Issaquah, Snoqualmie, North Bend
SuzanneWoodard.com
Suzanne Woodard has spent her career caring for the most vulnerable. For 38 years, Suzanne served as a nurse — first spending a decade treating patients in the ICU and then as a neonatal nurse, delivering babies and supporting families. Today, Suzanne is an educator and one of a few people in Washington state trained to teach neonatal resuscitation.
Suzanne grew up in Snohomish County, and her husband grew up on Whidbey Island. They are parents to six children. Suzanne knows the importance of quality public schools so that her grandkids and children all across Washington state have equal opportunity to access a world-class education.
In Olympia, Suzanne will focus on safe staffing, patient safety, and access to health care in small, rural communities. Suzanne was recently endorsed by Rep. June Robinson, a public health professional, who said, “Now, more than ever, we need her experience as a nurse and a health care professional in the Legislature.”
With endorsements from nurses, grocers, child care workers, home health workers and women’s organizations, Suzanne is well-positioned going into August’s Primary Election. It is critical that we help more nurses move into positions of power, including in our state legislature. We know Suzanne will be a strong advocate for nurses, patients and families.