New York City was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and nurses were on the frontlines. In the first months of the pandemic, nurses at the city’s public hospitals were hit particularly hard. They experienced a surge of patients and witnessed casualties on a scale they had never seen before. While struggling to learn how to treat this new, deadly infectious disease and to advocate for workplace protections for frontline healthcare workers, they managed to save hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.

We recently commemorated the five-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scientific community has learned more about the virus and developed vaccines and better treatments; and COVID-19 is now endemic, driving seasonal patient surges in our hospitals. In this keynote, Judith Cutchin will examine the major lessons learned on the frontlines from a workers’ rights and public health perspective; from proper infection control, to just workers compensation and sick leave policies, to hospital preparedness, to long-term health impacts, to public health infrastructure.

We will discuss what nurses, frontline healthcare workers, patients and the community at large still need to defend against COVID-19 and any other emerging public health threat in the current political environment.

Dr. Judith Cutchin has been a nurse for over 30 years and is currently working as Head Nurse in the Specialty Practice at NYC Health+Hospitals / Woodhull Hospital where she is also the LBU president. She is committed to patient education and ensuring that all New Yorkers receive high-quality healthcare, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status. She is NYSNA's first vice president and has served on the NYSNA board since 2018. Dr Cutchin is the chair of NYSNA’s Committee on Social Justice and Civil Rights and also a vice president of NNU. 

This keynote opens a wider Cornell-based conference (May 5-7) on The Biopolitics of Global Health After Covid-19.  For more information visit:
 https://www.biopoliticsofglobalhealth.com/

Or check the full conference program here.

Host: Department of Romance Studies
Cosponsors: The College of Arts and Sciences & Department of Anthropology