Actor Noah Wyle, who stars in and produces a popular TV show chronicling life in a fictional hospital’s emergency department, led a rally Thursday on Capitol Hill to pressure Congress to take legislative steps to protect healthcare workers.
“This isn’t about politics. Cancer is not partisan. Stroke is not partisan. The kid with a fever in the middle of the night is not partisan,” Wyle said outside the US Capitol building. “The healthcare professional who shows up for that patient should not have to beg for basic support from a system that they hold together.”
The television show “The Pitt,” which airs on HBO Max, has been lauded by healthcare workers for its, at times, hyperrealistic depictions of the pressures of the job.
Wyle met with bipartisan members of Congress this week to discuss proposals that offer workplace protections and specialized tax credits to healthcare workers.
One bill, Healthcare is Human Act, (H.R. 7884) would provide a tax credit of up to $6,000 per year to healthcare professionals who are serving in federally recognized staffing shortage areas. There’s also a push to appropriate $45 million in funding for FY2027 for the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection law, which helps to provide healthcare workers with mental health services, and around the Speak Free Act proposal, that would protect healthcare workers from workplace retaliation if they raise concerns about patient or workplace safety.
Wyle told reporters after the rally that this time around on his Hill visits, he’s seen even more progress on the legislative proposals he’s championing since he came to Congress last year, which he attributed to the increasing popularity of his show.
Wyle said members of Congress “were a lot more receptive to hearing what we’re talking about this year.”
The actor’s mother, Marty Wyle, is a longtime nurse who also spoke at the rally.
“When I began nursing, no one was rallying around for us,” she said. “We’ve been quiet for a long time—no longer.”
The healthcare rally was organized by FIGS, the healthcare medical uniforms and scrubs brand, which also advocates for rights for healthcare workers.
Wyle appeared alongside the other healthcare professionals and several members of Congress, including Sen.