"Who's caring for your mom?"
That is the question posed on the billboard just beyond exit 25 on I-84 East in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Next to those words is a young topless man wearing a stethoscope.
“This was really about grabbing attention," said Victoria Walker, Director of Community Awareness for Traditions Senior Management.
The company created the billboard as an advertisement for a new all-female wing at Cheshire Regional Rehab Center. No male patients and no male nurses would be involved with that wing of the facility.
“The billboard has nothing to do with the caliber of the work that male nurses do," said Walker.
Others see the billboard differently than Walker suggests.
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There have been many people posting, sharing and commenting on photos of the billboard, which are quickly spreading online.
In an email to NBC Connecticut, a man from Waterbury, who said he works as a registered nurse in New Britain, called the display, "disgusting", "degrading" and "demoralizing" to men in the profession.
Walker said that most of the rehab center is and will remain mixed-gender. The billboard and accompanying stock photo, she said, were not intended to offend anyone.
“This is really about our residents, our female residents and their choice in who does their care," she said. “We wanted to make sure people noticed it.”
The billboard went up last week and is slated to stay up until at least the end of the month.
