Why are we out on the street today? Why are all of you nurses here, and not inside the hospital. You didn’t ask to be here. Your patients don’t want you to be here.

Tufts has asked you to stretch. And you’ve stretched. Stretching can be healthy. But if you stretch too much—something snaps. Today you’ve stretched beyond your limit you can’t stretch any more. You’ve stretched so far, you are willing to go on strike to protect your patients. And we don’t want you to snap.

In Jewish tradition, we say that angels of healing surround every hospital bed. You are those angels. Your purpose is to bring your whole self, minute by minute, hour by hour, day in and day out, to bring God’s healing presence, body and soul, to those in your care. You have surrounded your patients with healing care in ways that no one else in the entire system can.

You nurses are the backbone of the health care system.

You are also the hands, and the feet, the eyes and ears.

And the brain, and most important the heart.

But you can’t be the backbone and the hands and feet, eyes and ears, brain and heart for patients beyond your capacity.

When you are stretched beyond your limits, patients get snapped.

And you can’t give your backbone and hands and feet, eyes and ears, brain and heart with the worst compensation in the city.

When you are stretched, patients get snapped.

And you can’t give your backbone and hands and feet, eyes and ears, brain and heart when the staff you work with turn over so often that you are busy retraining them instead of attending to patients. When you are stretched, patients get snapped.

And charge nurses can’t give your backbone and hands and feet and brain and heart to assigning nurses at shift changes when you have your own patient assignments. 

When you are stretched, patients get snapped.

Today, we call on Tufts Medical Center to do what they’ve asked you to do. We call on them to stretch.

We call on them to stretch to give you adequate resources to do your job.

We call on them to stretch to change to safe staffing levels.

We call on them to stretch to assist charge nurses to pay attention to their work.

We call on them to stretch to give you a competitive wage so Tufts nurses want to stay at Tufts.

Jewish tradition says that, in addition to the angels surrounding the bed, the Divine Presence, God, or whatever name you give to what is holy, is always present at the head of the bed. We ask for that power that heals to help heal us today.

We ask the Source of Healing to give the Tufts management the courage to stretch!

We ask the Source of Healing to strengthen these nurses, who have stretched themselves for the sake of their patients. Support them and their families in this difficult time.

We ask the Source of Healing to be with this community as we pray for the health and well-being of the patients, the nurses and the city of Boston.

Heal us, O LORD, and let us be healed; Save us, and let us be saved. (Jeremiah 17:14) Amen.

Rabbi Barbara Penzner, July 12, 2017