A nurse’s daughter

Chrissi Fabro and her father Guillermo, who works at Presbyterian Hospital’s MICU department: ‘Thank you for fighting for us.’

Chrissi Fabro and her father Guillermo, a nurse who works at Presbyterian Hospital’s MICU department: ‘Thank you for fighting for us.’

April 16 was a typical day for Guillermo Fabro.

He was at work at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan where he is a registered nurse at the Medical Intensive Care Unit. Toward noon, Guillermo stepped out for his lunch break and there he saw his daughter Chrissi, the chairperson of Anakbayan New York, about to take on the bullhorn to speak out about “standing in solidarity” with the nurses in New York City.

Chrissi shared their interesting father-daughter chance encounter on Facebook.

“At the picket outside of NY Presby, I was given a spot to speak. I didn’t tell my dad — who works there — that I was gonna be at the picket, but told him I was around the area. During his break, he walked out and was surprised to see me the picket. He caught me right in time for my speech.

“I spoke about Anakbayan and that we were here in solidarity with the nurses. I told the picket that I was the daughter of a nurse at this hospital, with my dad somewhere in the crowd. I continued to talk about the exploitation of nurses and connected them to the reasons why my parents are nurses here in the first place.

“I’m really happy that my dad got to see me and be part of the picket for a little bit. After the picket, he had to go back to work, but before leaving, he said, ‘Thank you for fighting for us.’

“(We are organizing) city-wide nurses picket for safe staffing at hospitals. At many hospitals across NYC, the ratio of nurses to patients is 1:9. As a result, nurses are unable to provide quality care for their patients because they are spread out to thin. Hospitals claim they are abundantly staffed, especially when celebrities are hospitalized.

“The reality is that hospitals are understaffed and as a result, nurses are forced to take on extra work. Nurses genuinely care about their patients and would love to provide adequate care, but when ratios are 1:10, it is impossible to provide quality care.

“Interestingly enough, I have friends who are still looking for jobs as nurses after graduating as RNs from competitive programs everywhere.”

Chrissi would later tell The FilAm, how she and her father, a nurse since the 1980s, were both caught by surprise.

“It just happened coincidentally, but he listened to the whole speech,” she said, adding “he was not alone” as there were other co-worker nurses who came out to check out what the rally was about.

He went back to work after that, but not before giving his middle daughter a quick hug and saying, “Good job.” He even agreed to be photographed carrying a placard that says Patients Over Profits.

Chrissi said she is proud of her father and his work as a nurse.

Many of them are severely overworked, she said, “having to care for about 10 patients at a time.”

“This is a drain on their physical and mental health. This not only hurts nurses, but also puts the lives of their patients at risk. Their patients are not able to get the quality treatment they need to recover, which has led to the increase in the mortality rate of patients in understaffed facilities,” she continued.

She should know. She’s a nurse’s daughter. – Cristina DC Pastor

Chrissi speaking at the picketline

Chrissi speaking at the picketline

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