USAToday: Nurses offer aid to (Michael Moore's ) 'Sicko'

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2007-06-14-sicko_N.htm?csp=34

Nurses offer aid to 'Sicko'

By Anthony Breznican, USA TODAY
Is there a doctor in the house? Maybe, but when Michael Moore's health care docu-satire Sicko opens June 29, there almost certainly will be nurses at the theater.

The California Nurses Association and National Nurses Organizing Committee are planning a "Scrubs for Sicko" campaign to place a handful of caregivers in every cineplex showing the film.


Nurse's helper: Michael Moore leads march in Sacramento.


The nurses, who will be in their uniforms, want to greet filmgoers after the film to answer questions, offer corroboration for the movie's stories and hand out guides for contacting lawmakers about supporting universal medical care.

"That moment when the audience walks out of Sicko in tears is a historic opportunity to push health care reform and guaranteed health care," says Shum Preston, spokesman for the nurse organizations.

More than 1,000 nurses rallied at California's state Capitol this week as Moore briefed legislators about the stories in his film.

Joining him were physician Linda Peeno, who spoke about doctors being pressured to deny care to prevent insurance payouts, and Dawnelle Keys, whose 18-month-old daughter died from a treatable infection after her HMO would not allow diagnostic tests at a non-system hospital.

FULL story at link.

[MADem]

1. Now THAT's marketing!! Brilliant! nt

[Cha]

2. That's so brilliant! I love

Democracy in Action!!

[silverweb]

3. Beautiful.

Great article, fantastic idea to have nurses at each showing to answer questions.

It's way past time we pushed hard to join the rest of the civilized world!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. K & R

brilliant.

:bounce:

[whistle]

5. The 1st item on the agenda should be how to scrub every HMO

...insurance provider and give both the patients and the doctors an even break and then regulate profits. Then pass legislation requiring every HMO insurance provider to offer every citizen and legal resident in America equal coverage. If HMOs don't comply immediately, take away their business licenses, confiscate their assets and assign their customers to the HMO companies who will work with the program.

Enough is enough! It is time that affordable heath care is available to everyone. It is also time that everyone who is fit and healthy get a job and that real job creation be a top priority in America.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Agreed

and the insurance industry has to be taken out of the prescribing business. I was talking to my doctor today (we live in a basement apartment of her house) and she was telling us horror stories about insurance companies not paying for prescriptions that she recommended, even though the MD felt they were better for the patient. She went on to say how certain treatments, though known to be effective because of clinical trials (written up in JAMA, etc-not fly by night studies here), are not allowed by HMOs and the like-something to do with costs.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. I was going to buy the DVD

but if there will be nurses telling us what we can do to get socialized medicine in the US, I'll find a theater around here that is showing it! We need to have a concerted MASSIVE effort to change things in Washington. SICKO might be the way to do it.