FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/July 11, 1996 CONTACT: Joan Meehan [202-651-7020] "Every Patient Deserves a Nurse" Earns National RecognitionsWASHINGTON, D.C. -- The American Nurses Association's (ANA) public education campaign, "Every Patient Deserves a Nurse" has garnered two national recognitions recently, including a Silver Anvil Award, considered the "Oscar" of the public relations profession. The Silver Anvil Awards are presented annually by the Public Relations Society of America. Over the past two years, ANA has mounted a highly successful public education campaign to increase awareness of the growing trend of reduced registered nurse staffing in hospitals and its impact on the safety and quality of care. The campaign has resulted in sustained, high-profile coverage by print, wire and broadcast media, and stimulated support and grass-roots initiatives by state nurses associations and consumer coalitions. Federal and state legislation have been introduced to call for consumer access to information about nurse staffing and patient outcomes as well as to provide "whistle blower" protections for nurses who speak out publicly about patient care issues. In addition, ANA has spearheaded the development of nursing "report card" efforts to identify and promote the use of nursing quality indicators to measure and monitor the quality of health care. ANA was one of 42 winners chosen from among 605 entries which were judged for strategy, performance and results by members of PRSA. Other winners this year include large corporations such as IBM, Mobil, Southwestern Bell and Microsoft. In addition, ANA was elected to the American Society of Association Executives "Associations Advance America Honor Roll" for the " Every Patient Deserves a Nurse" campaign. "The collective efforts of ANA and the SNAs have produced a synergy that is clearly influencing public opinion about the value of registered nurses," said ANA Director of Media Relations and Public Affairs Joan Meehan. "The results of ANA's recent consumer survey, "Nursing and the Quality of Patient Care," demonstrate that we have made an impact on public opinion over the last two years." The survey, which probed consumers' concerns about the changes taking place in health care, specifically seven strategies to cut costs, revealed that consumers' top two concerns are related to changes in nursing staff. "Now, we must continue our efforts to move the public from awareness that care by an RN equals quality care to a clear call for action,"said Meehan.
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