July 29, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 134 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Page H3889]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING UTAH HEALTHCARE WORKERS

  (Mr. McADAMS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McADAMS. Mr. Speaker, in March, I was infected with COVID-19 and 
spent 8 days in the hospital struggling to breathe and too exhausted to 
get out of bed. The dedicated doctors, nurses, and hospital staff were 
my allies in the fight against the virus, putting their own health at 
risk to care for me. It gave me an up-close and personal perspective of 
what our healthcare workers have been up against since the start of 
this pandemic.
  So dedicated are Utah's healthcare heroes that, when the call went 
out from New York for help, 100 volunteers responded, giving the 
exhausted doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists much-needed 
backup. They spent 14 days assisting New York area hospitals, working 
day and night to care for desperately sick people, people who were not 
even allowed to have family members at their bedside.
  Utah healthcare heroes are not just found at hospitals; they are in 
our long-term care facilities, our veterans' homes, and in parking 
lots, standing in the heat to collect test samples for hours at a time. 
They are found in blood banks and laboratories, searching for the 
treatments and working on drug trials to offer relief and hope to 
patients now and in the future.
  No summer vacations or even holiday weekends for these extraordinary 
caregivers, their own families must take a backseat. The fight against 
the virus and the demand on their skill continues for the months ahead.
  They gave me my health back and returned me safely to loved ones. Mr. 
Speaker, I thank them for their help.

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