NASHVILLE – Dozens of frustrated hospital chief medical and chief nursing officers have issued a public plea to Tennesseans, warning their emergency rooms and intensive care units face becoming overwhelmed in the latest COVID-19 surge.
In a letter, the executives are urging residents “to protect your family, your health care team and your community by getting vaccinated and wearing a mask in public spaces.”
The letter, released Friday, comes amid soaring COVID-19 infection rates in Tennessee and a day after Gov. Bill Lee doubled down to stand by his recent executive order allowing parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates.
Six top hospital executives from three hospital systems in Chattanooga, whose beleaguered staffs are on the front lines, signed the measure as state hospital emergency rooms and intensive care units risk being overwhelmed by the state’s soaring new cases.
“We, the chief medical officers and chief nursing officers of hospitals across the state of Tennessee, are banding together in one unified voice to say that vaccination is safe and the most effective way to reduce hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19,” said the letter, which was signed by 105 chief medical and nursing officers.