Nurses Rally For Single-Payer Healthcare With Car Caravan In Downtown San Diego

By Debbie L. Sklar, Times of San Diego

January 8, 2022

Nurses and volunteers with the California Nurses Association conducted a car caravan through downtown San Diego Saturday to draw attention to the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act, which is set to be voted on Tuesday in the state Assembly’s health care committee.

The caravan was part of a “day of action” in 14 cities across the state, according to Sara Braun of Fenton, the Social Change Agency in Washington, D.C.

“With 3.2 million Californians lacking health insurance and nearly 12 million unable to afford to use their insurance because of costly copays or deductibles, the only way to guarantee care for all is via a single-payer system,” Braun said.

About 32 cars participated in Saturday morning’s event, traveling from the San Diego Zoo, taking a couple of laps through downtown San Diego and ending up in Balboa Park, said Rachelle Compton, a nurse for 37 years who participated in the caravan.

“We had a good turnout, with honking and shouting, getting a lot of attention and we got a lot of thumbs up,” she said. “We visited some very public areas and hopefully that energy will keep going forward.”

The Assembly health committee is scheduled to vote on AB1400 on Tuesday.

“Within the hospital system, nurses have been pushed to the brink, having to re-use PPE and take on more patients to maximize profit during a global health crisis,” Braun said.

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