Massachusetts Nurses Association Board Condemns Act of Hate and Violence at Pittsburgh Synagogue

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Nov 01, 2018, 12:08 ET

CANTON, Mass., Nov. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts Nurses Association Board of Directors – 25 front-line nurses and health care professionals elected by their colleagues – has issued the following statement in response to the shooting at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018.

"The Massachusetts Nurses Association Board of Directors expresses deep sympathy for those affected by the deadly shooting at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. The anguish felt by the family, friends and neighbors of the 11 people killed is hard to imagine, though as healthcare professionals we have seen the impact of grave illness and injury on families. We have comforted husbands as their wives passed away and have sat with mothers as their children fought for life. Our hearts are with the victims and survivors of this senseless tragedy.

"This shooting reminds us of our responsibility to foster love in our society, not hate. We live each day trusting in our own safety and the safety of our loved ones. When that trust is suddenly and violently shattered, it tests the bonds that hold us together. Yet no individual – no matter how hateful their words or actions – can destroy us when we stand together. From Birmingham, Alabama to Charleston, South Carolina to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, our communities have united against hate. It is why we have enacted federal hate crimes laws, and why we strive to open our society and embrace all people irrespective of race, religion, gender or disability.

"We fight malice with empathy. We meet bloodshed with healing."

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association