To Governor Scott and the Vermont General Assembly:

Nurses and healthcare professionals have stepped up to serve our communities during the pandemic. Yet despite putting ourselves and our families at great risk, many of us are experiencing burnout due to unsafe staffing in our facilities.

As Vermont faces a growing crisis in our hospitals, clinics, and residential facilities, we call on you to:

1. Speak out in support of immediate raises to base salaries for all healthcare and home health workers.

2. Increase access to nursing degrees in Vermont by:
---a) Allocating state funding to raise faculty & clinical instructor salaries
---b) Providing free tuition for students enrolled in nursing and healthcare programs at VSC, CCV, and UVM
---c) Providing student loan repayment for nurses who move to and stay in Vermont

3. Immediately increase the number of inpatient psychiatric beds to relieve the crisis in our Emergency Departments.