Op-ed by AONL CEO urges Americans to ‘think like health care workers’ and wear a mask

In an op-ed published in Fierce Healthcare today, Robyn Begley, AHA’s chief nursing officer and CEO of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, urged Americans to take steps to defeat COVID-19 by adopting the mindset employed in every hospital and health system nationwide.

Begley cites a new Gallup poll that shows nearly a third of Americans rarely, sometimes or never wear masks, asking readers to imagine the consequences if the same usage was standard in hospitals. “To defeat the coronavirus, we need all Americans to think like health care workers and use those same principles and tools,” Begley wrote. “Today, that means wearing a mask.”

AHA recently joined with the American Medical Association and American Nurses Association to launch a Wear A Mask campaign, including public service announcements asking all Americans to think like a health care worker and let science shape decisions during this time: Wear a mask, keep your distance from others in public and wash your hands frequently.