HPAE Statement on Gov. Murphy’s 2021 State-of-the-State Address

The following statement can be attributed to HPAE President Debbie White, RN.

I want to applaud Gov. Murphy for his clear-eyed vision for our state and for charting a course that opens New Jersey to a future filled with innovation, prosperity and good health for our people. The vision the governor laid out today in his state-of-the-state address is a continuation of his steadfast leadership of New Jersey in a time of global pandemic that has hit New Jersey particularly hard.

At HPAE, New Jersey’s largest union of healthcare workers, we urge Governor Murphy to ensure New Jersey continue its long-held leadership role in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical and medical supplies. We especially need to be at the forefront of ensuring that NJ has an adequate stockpile of personal protective equipment for essential front line workers. NJ and the nation continue to battle COVID-19 yet many workers continue to do their work without the protections they need to reduce their risk of exposure to the virus. We must increase our stockpile for 2021 while preparing for any future pandemic outbreak or hazardous calamities that our state may face. Our state also faced shortages of healthcare workers because of the severity of the pandemic and because workers got sick–including some who died from the disease.

Finally, the coronavirus pandemic exposed vast disparity gap in healthcare outcomes for people of color and the poor. The governor’s healthcare proposals aim to correct some of this disparity to improve access to quality care by improving access to healthcare coverage. We look to working with the governor on these critical issues.

Fore more information, contact: Michael Allen, (646) 436-7556