Controversial Shirtless Male Nurse Billboard Coming Down

CHESHIRE, CT — Following a public outcry, the shirtless man posing as a nurse on a controversial billboard has been told to cover up.

Well, not exactly… but the billboard is coming down, according to the New Haven Register.

Victoria Walker, director of community awareness for the Cheshire Regional Rehabilitation Center, told Luther Turmelle of the Register that they didn’t create the billboard to “offend anybody, but once it became clear that it did, we decided to make a change.”

A new billboard is expected to be up by next week.

The original billboard, which is located near Exit 25 on I-84 East in Waterbury, is for the Cheshire Regional Rehabilitation Center and poses the question, “Who’s Caring for Your Mom?”

The center’s “All Female Skilled Nursing Wing” is touted on the billboard, which also says “Women Caring for Women.”

Controversy erupted when a registered male nurse emailed NBC Connecticut complaining that the billboard is “disgusting”, “degrading” and “demoralizing” to men in the profession.

Numerous outlets picked up the story about the billboard, including Morning Express with Robin Meade. Morning Express is a morning TV show on HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News.

The Connecticut Nurses Association decried the billboard as offensive and posted the following message on Facebook on Tuesday:

“This billboard is offensive, especially to male nurses everywhere, is in bad taste and does not help families make informed decisions in choosing a rehab facility.

“Quality care is provided by competent nurses regardless of the nurse’s gender.”

Earlier in the week, Walker told NBC Connecticut that the billboard has “nothing to do with the caliber of the work that male nurses do.”

She also told NBC that the advertisement is really about “grabbing attention” and their female residents and “their choice in who does their care. We wanted to make sure people noticed it.”

They certainly did.