Back in the spring, Zachary Pritchett made a trip to Capitol Hill to speak to his representatives in Congress against a bill that would cut Medicaid and other public services.
An emergency room nurse at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles, Pritchett warned that the bill — which has since become law — would undermine health care for all Americans.
On an unusually warm day, he was outside the U.S. Capitol building when he saw an elderly man lean against a column as if he were feeling ill. The man was wearing a suit and was accompanied by two people. A few moments later, the man was on the ground, his arms around his stomach and chest.
Pritchett saw him and rushed to help. A few police officers nearby responded as well.
“I talked to the officers and informed them I was an emergency room nurse,” Pritchett recalls. “I told them that I could assess his vital signs. He was an elderly gentleman who had recently had a pacemaker placed and was feeling very weak. He was wearing a jacket and long sleeves and it was really hot outside, so I got his jacket off and got ice packs to try to cool him down. His vital signs were OK. Then I stayed with him until an ambulance arrived.”
Pritchett has served as a nurse for 14 years. His quick thinking and action on that day were the result of his professional training and experience. But his willingness to help — no matter who, when or where — that comes from his devotion to public service.
For his service to his community, Pritchett, a member of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), an AFSCME affiliate, is a winner of our union’s Never Quit Service Award. The award recognizes public service workers who go above and beyond their duty to make our communities better.
“I love being there for people when they need help,” Pritchett says. “I love being a nurse. Nursing is such a fusion of art and science. You get to practice science, and then you also get to take into account the humanity aspect and the art of caring. It’s a great profession.”
In addition to his service to his community, Pritchett is active in his union, where he serves as vice president of his local, contract specialist and on the bargaining team. He sees his union role as building on top of his public service.
“It’s important to help people when they don’t have a voice and can’t take care of themselves,” he says. “I heard a comment by one of our union officers that I truly identify with. He said, ‘I became a nurse to help people, and I became a union officer to help nurses.’”
Pritchett’s commitment to public service is why despite the attacks against public service workers from the new administration and the disastrous bill that just became law, he is determined to continue fighting like never before.
“Always use your voice, even if it shakes,” Pritchett likes to say, quoting the social activist Maggie Kuhn. “This is our opportunity. If you ever wonder where you would land in history, this is our time. You can know what side of history you will be on. This is our chance to stand up on the right side of history. So let your voice be heard because this is our moment to choose. Silence is complacency.”