Celebrating the key role nurses have always played in caring for America, ANA saluted nurses across the country during National Nurses Week, May 6-12, with the theme "Nurses Care for America." This theme not only reflects the many ways in which nurses consistently deliver quality patient care and advocate for their patients but also draws attention to the important value society places on nurses, as evidenced, for example, in the nursing profession's consistently high rankings in the annual CNN/USA Today/Gallup "Honesty and Ethics" polls.

ANA joined several members of Congress as well as students from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing on May 7 to celebrate National Nurses Week and call for passage of the Nurse Reinvestment Act. Above, flanked by the students are (L to R): ANA President Mary Foley, Sen. Tim Hutchinson, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, and Rep. John Dingell.

ANA kicked off National Nurses Week by lending a statement of support to Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, LPN (R-NY), who on May 6 introduced patient quality-of-care legislation in the House of Representatives. American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Director of Magnet Services Kammie Monarch, JD, MS, RN, represented the ANA/ANCC at the press event at the Winthrop Hospital Conference Center in Long Island. If passed, the "Nurse Retention Quality of Care Act" (H.R. 4654) would provide grants to health care organizations to implement nursing administration practices, or forces of magnetism, that are characteristic of Magnet facilities.

"If new ways to attract nurses are not found, this country's nursing shortage will only grow worse," McCarthy said. "When I speak to health care professionals, I hear the same thing: 'I love my job, but the sacrifices are too great.' The Nurse Retention Quality of Care Act will help hospitals find the right formula for taking care of patients Ð and staff."

Similar legislation was introduced in the Senate in late 2001 and passed as part of the "Nurse Reinvestment Act" at the end of the year.

The "Nurse Reinvestment Act," which also passed the House in December 2001, was promoted during National Nurses Week on May 7, when ANA representatives joined members of Congress and students from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing at a press conference calling for congressional action on the legislation. Currently, the two versions of the legislation await conference before going back to the House and Senate for final passage. Speakers at the Capitol Hill event included ANA President Mary E. Foley, MS, RN, Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI).

"America needs you," Mikulski said. "And if America needs you, we need to make sure that America backs those who choose to be in nursing, those who stay in nursing, those who want to teach in nursing. Congress must not adjourn this year without enacting the Nurse Reinvestment Act." Mikulski called for passage of the legislation by the "4th of July so nurses are as independent as the rest of the country."

Sen. Tim Hutchinson greeted students at a May 7 press conference celebrating National Nurses Week.

Foley also was on-hand at a special live 90-minute telecast on May 8 to discuss the nursing shortage and the profession's comprehensive plan designed to address it: Nursing's Agenda for the Future. The free broadcast was offered by Primedia Workplace Learning in partnership with the ANA and aired at more than 100 hospitals nationwide via satellite. (Go to http://www.pwpl.com/healthcare/ for more information and to learn about upcoming programs.)

In addition to these National Nurses Week activities, ANA issued a statement on May 9 supporting a House measure that would boost staffing requirements in nursing homes. The "Nursing Home Staffing Improvement Act of 2002," sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL) and Brad Carson (D-OK) calls for nursing homes to meet the minimum staffing recommendations for RNs, LPNs, and nursing assistants outlined in a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report released earlier this year. The bill also calls for nursing facilities to maintain and submit to the HHS records on nurse staffing.

"Nursing home residents clearly represent one of the most vulnerable segments of our population and they deserve quality care," Foley said of the legislation, which was unveiled at a Capitol Hill press conference on May 9. "Studies Ð and common sense Ð tell us that to come even close to achieving quality care, you need to have sufficient, qualified staff on board."

Also during National Nurses Week, ANA renewed the push for passage of the "Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act" (S.1686 and H.R. 3238), companion legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in November 2001 that would strictly limit the use of mandatory overtime for nurses. The ANA is currently working to get co-signors for the legislation in the House and the Senate.

"Through these various activities, ANA sought to reinforce the value of and reinvigorate interest in nursing and to ensure a bright future for this most noble and caring of professions," Foley said.