Roy Blunt: “I want to talk about two topics today. One topic I was reminded of when I was in St. Joseph and Joplin, MO, over the…”

“I want to talk about two topics today. One topic I was reminded of when I was in St. Joseph and Joplin, MO, over the weekend, talking to healthcare providers and volunteers of all kinds who are trying to do what they can to help us emerge from this pandemic stronger than we were to start with. Certainly, what first comes to mind is the healthcare workers themselves--the medical workers, doctors, nurses, and support staff whom we have relied on from the very first moments that we began to realize that this virus was bigger than any health issue we have dealt with in a long time. We are still depending on them today. At some point someone can run out of some of the capacity and steam that you have to do the job that needs to be done, but we see these heroes continuing to step up, and some giving their lives. Billy Birmingham, in Kansas City, was an emergency medical technician. He was with the Kansas City Fire Department, and he died of coronavirus in April. His son described Billy as selfless. He said Billy had decided he wanted to find new ways to help people. So he reinvented himself as an EMT when he was in his 40s so he could help others. He was an EMT for about 22 years.…”