Robbinsdale Nurse Named to Biden Task Force on COVID-19

Mary Turner, an intensive care nurse at North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale, will serve on a new Biden administration task force on COVID-19.

Turner, who is also the president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, will focus on health inequities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. She will be the only registered nurse to serve on the task force. 

“I’m both honored and humbled to serve the country,” Turner said in a statement to CCX News. “The voices of the nation’s registered nurses needs to be part of the conversation on how we end the effects of this vicious virus.”

Mary Turner, selected to Biden-Harris COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force.

Turner was part of a press conference roundtable on COVID-19 held by Biden in November. According to Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, who will chair the task force, Turner’s testimony that day left a lasting impression on the Biden advisory team.

“I’ve seen how this pandemic has disproportionately hurt people in our community,” Turner said. “At my hospital, we have a diverse patient population, and, as nurses, we can see what the data is telling us. More patients in our communities of color. More effects of the virus. We have to end this by fairly distributing our resources to everyone.”

Robbinsdale