(CNN) -- In a span of three days, nearly 650,000 nurses signed a petition to get Washington state Sen. Maureen Walsh to walk in their shoes for a day. And she's accepted the challenge.
The Republican lawmakercame under fire after saying last week that nurses in smaller hospitals "probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day" during a debate about legislation that would provide nurses with uninterrupted meal and rest periods.
Outraged by Walsh's comments, Chicago nurse Juliana Bindas created an online petition Saturday that calls on Walsh to shadow a nurse for a 12-hour shift.
"We put our heart and soul into our careers, and (Walsh's) comments are incredibly far-fetched as to what actually happens," Bindas told CNN.
Bindas currently works as a pediatric nurse and previously was an oncology nurse for two years. She said her daily responsibilities include placing medical product orders, studying patients' care plans, administering medication, providing emotional care and ensuring patients are comfortable.
"We join this career because we want to help patients and help people," Bindas said. "We deserve a safe work environment that is healthy for us."
The lawmaker told CNN affiliate KOMO the comment was made in the "heat of the moment," and in the "exhaustion of the session," and she regrets it.
She told the affiliate her office has received thousands of calls and emails and she's been called some "pretty horrible things." Angry nurses have also flooded Walsh's Facebook page with comments, many with the hashtag, #dontmesswithnurses.
And as for the petition, Walsh said she'd be happy to see how the job is done.
"I love my nurses," she told KOMO."I'd be happy to come and work in a hospital with them for a while and shadow them and see their job."
Walsh was arguing in support of an amendment that would exempt rural and smaller hospitals from a bill that would guarantee uninterrupted breaks for nurses. She had also introduced another amendment to the bill that would prohibit nurses from working more than eight hours in a 24-hour period.
The Senate passed the bill on Tuesday with both amendments included. Walsh voted against the bill.
Bindas said she felt "incredibly happy" about the response to the petition because nurses have spoken up about issues they care about, such as safe staffing, workplace violence and mandatory breaks. She added that she is considering planning a rally for nurses nationwide to attend.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
