Nurses, hospital staff want free parking at Harborview during coronavirus pandemic

UPDATE Thursday, March 26 -- 

Healthcare workers will get access to free parking in Seattle as part of a new permit program the City of Seattle plans to launch. Read more here...

SEATTLE - Hospital workers at Harborview Medical Center say they want free parking while they work the coronavirus pandemic.

Union officials say parking at Harborview is a big issue for employees right now.

“For those of us who have to come here every day, it’s a big deal,” said Brittney Campbell.

Campbell is a registered nurse at Harborview. She’s worked there for three years and uses the bus to commute to work. However, due to social distancing she stopped taking the bus.

“I started to feel very uncomfortable, and it’s not just for me,” she said.

However, driving to work now means she has to pay to park. Parking for more than 8 hours costs $20 at the lots around the Harborview campus. Campbell says employees can get discounts, but over time the cost adds up.

She says another big issues is employees are risking their health working on the front lines of the coronavirus and they have to pay out of pocket to do this work.

“It definitely feels like a lack of appreciation; it feels disheartening,” she said.

She says she and other employees have requested a temporary change to the parking policy during the pandemic, but have not gotten an answer.

Officials with Harborview provided this statement:

"We appreciate the hard work our front line staff are doing to take care of our patients during this COVID-19 outbreak. We continue to assess the parking situation."