FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/May 6, 1998 CONTACT: Michelle Slattery [202/651-7027];http://www.nursingworld.org President Clinton Appoints ANA President Beverly Malone to Attend World Health AssemblyWashington, D.C. -- President Clinton recently appointed American Nurses Association (ANA) President Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, to attend the 51st World Health Assembly, May 11-16, in Geneva, Switzerland, as a member of the U.S. delegation. "I am truly honored to have been selected to represent my nursing colleagues to our health care comrades around the world," Malone said. "Our participation in this international forum will only serve to advance the nursing profession worldwide." Sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Health Assembly provides an annual opportunity for health care professionals from around the globe to come together to develop solutions for health care concerns common to all nations. The nursing profession has enjoyed a growing prominence at the meeting each year, called in a 1993 resolution on occupational health "the bulk and backbone of health services in developing and developed countries alike." "During the International Council of Nurses meeting last summer, I truly came to appreciate how much other countries have to offer us in our own healing and problem-solving," Malone said. "Participation in the international community will not only move us into the next century but could prove beneficial in dealing with problems that nurses are facing today." Held in May of each year, the World Health Assembly is attended by delegations from member states of WHO. ANA Immediate Past President Virginia Trotter Betts, JD, MSN, RN, FAAN, represented nursing's interests on the U.S. delegation in 1993 and 1996. In addition to budget approval and discussion of key policy issues, celebration will be a predominant theme of this year's World Health Assembly as WHO turns 50. During its existence, WHO-led coalitions succeeded in eradicating smallpox as well as other deadly diseases, developed standards for health care worldwide, and raised international awareness of environmental health. Malone was recently recognized in the May 1998 issue of Ebony magazine as one of the "100+ Most Influential Black Americans and Organization Leaders 1998." Besides Malone, the list includes basketball star Michael Jordan, Kraft Foods executive Ann Fudge, Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater and talk show host Oprah Winfrey. The list was compiled by Ebony editors in consultation with power brokers and opinion leaders. The American Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.6 million Registered Nurses through its 53 constituent associations. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the work place, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
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