HCR13: urging Congress to create an Office of the National Nurse.

HCR 13 – AS INTRODUCED

2008 SESSION

08-2248

01/04

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 13

A RESOLUTION urging Congress to create an Office of the National Nurse.

SPONSORS: Rep. Moody, Rock 12; Rep. Emerson, Ches 7; Rep. French, Merr 5; Rep. T. Russell, Rock 13; Rep. Millham, Belk 5; Sen. Hassan, Dist 23; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 24

COMMITTEE: State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs

ANALYSIS

This house concurrent resolution urges Congress to create an Office of the National Nurse.

08-2248

01/04

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight

A RESOLUTION urging Congress to create an Office of the National Nurse.

Whereas, nurses are crucial to the promotion of preventive care and the caring of the whole person, and nurses are the largest group of health care workers in the United States; and

Whereas, nurses are highly valued and trusted by the public, and are often in a position to deliver educational messages to the public regarding ways to improve health and prevent disease, and because the nurse workforce is licensed, skilled, experienced, and rich in cultural diversity; and

Whereas, there is an effort to create an Office of the National Nurse that could provide structure, guidance, and leadership; and

Whereas, the National Nurse would raise awareness of health issues and promote good health through education and community outreach, and would be in a position to include and seek input from all nursing organizations; and

Whereas, the National Nurse would serve as an effective complement to the existing Office of the Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services; and the position of Chief Nurse of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) is uniquely qualified to become the first National Nurse, and would be a visible symbol of nursing, and would be able to deliver a philosophy and concept to promote disease prevention and health promotion; and

Whereas, the Office of the National Nurse would also provide public policy input on a number of valuable initiatives, such as: providing information for the media and the Internet to promote health; increasing the number of nurse educators; facilitating the deployment of nurses to under-served areas; creating a National Nurse Corps to deliver nursing assistance and education to communities, particularly communities in crisis; and offering guidance based on authoritative resources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the New Hampshire general court hereby urges Congress to create an Office of the National Nurse as embodied in H.R. 4903 introduced in the United States House of Representatives in the 109th Congress by nurse Congresswoman Lois Capps of the 23rd District of California and as submitted to Congresswoman Capps by nurse educator Terri Mills; and

That similar legislation be introduced in the 110th Congress; and

That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each member of the New Hampshire congressional delegation.