Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti lost his life. We must chart a different path.
On Jan. 24, Alex Pretti — a 37-year-old ICU nurse — lost his life during an incident involving federal agents in Minneapolis.
Alex was widely respected as a dedicated professional who cared for veterans at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System.
We join the larger nursing and health care communities in offering our deepest condolences to Alex’s family, friends and colleagues.
As a nurse who has also served veterans, I grieve the loss of a fellow nurse. I also grieve the deeper truth this tragedy reveals: This incident is a growing public health crisis in which fear and chaos can all too swiftly lead to violence and fatalities.
This moment calls on all of us to embody radical compassion — the very qualities nurses exhibit every day.
Three ways to move forward at this time
Our profession is devoted to saving lives and improving the human condition, and we should be able to do so without risking our own lives.
We can hold firm in our convictions while rejecting violence, recognizing the devastating cost of escalation.
And we must see the humanity in one another, understanding that when people feel heard and understood, the spiral of mistrust begins to lose its power.
With these truths in mind, we must chart a different way forward:
- Be informed. Seek credible information and resist partisan narratives.
- Engage your elected leaders. Support leadership and policies that safeguard freedom and safety.
- Look inward. Lead with empathy, humanity and moral clarity.
To the nursing community, I know Alex’s death may weigh heavily on your hearts. Let us support one another and seek the help we need to care for ourselves as we care for our patients and communities.
To the broader public, Alex’s death is a painful reminder that the well-being of our society relies on our collective commitment to meaningful dialogue, compassion and structural changes that ensure public safety.
May we work together to make that vision a reality.
Lisa Muirhead is interim dean of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University.
