Washington (CNN) About 1,700 decks of cards have been delivered to the office of a Washington state senator who said nurses "probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day," the senator said in a statement Wednesday.

Republican state Sen. Maureen Walsh apologized on Monday after facing a backlash for comments she made debating a bill, HB 1155, that would provide uninterrupted meal and rest breaks and mandatory overtime for nurses and certain health care employees.

Walsh said last Tuesday on the senate floor , "By putting these types of mandates on a critical access hospital that literally serves a handful of individuals, I would submit to you those nurses probably do get breaks. They probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day."

An open letter posted by Facebook user Shy Braaten called for people to send a deck of cards to the senator, and included her PO Box.

The letter reads, "I don't know any nurses who play cards, Senator Walsh. I know nurses who care for babies who were born with their spines on the outside of their bodies and brains that won't stop bleeding. I know nurses who hold infants that can't stop crying because they were born addicted to heroin and methamphetamines."

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