SHORT TITLE AS INTRODUCED: National Nurse Act of 2011
OFFICIAL TITLE AS INTRODUCED: To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish the position of National Nurse for Public Health.
Sponsor: Rep Weiner, Anthony D.
The National Nurse Act of 2011 amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the position of National Nurse for Public Health within the Office of the Surgeon General. If enacted the Secretary will appoint the individual serving as the Chief Nurse Officer of the Public Health Service as the first National Nurse for Public Health. The National Nurse for Public Health will have the same rank and grade as the Deputy Surgeon General of the Public Health Service.
With the increasing disparity between the number of individuals lacking health care access to the number of primary care providers in America, the role of the nurse is growing and becoming more important than ever before. The National Nurse will be apparent to the public eye due to media campaigns and personal appearances to provide guidance and leadership to other nurses and healthcare providers, encouraging them to engage the public.
A nationally recognized position, such as the National Nurse for Public Health, would be one more step towards increasing the representation of nurses by promoting standards, recruitment, retention, readiness, and career development of nurses employed by and contracted with agencies of the Public Health Service. Having a nurse in a position of leadership would allow for the presentation of healthcare concerns and initiatives by nurses nationwide.
Requires the National Nurse for Public Health to: (1) participate in identification of national health priorities, (2) encourage volunteerism of nurses and strengthen the relationship between government agencies and health-related national organizations, and (3) promote the dissemination of evidence-based practice in educating the public on health promotion and disease prevention activities.
H.R.1119 CRS Summary
Cosponsors:
Rep Berkley, Shelley [NV-1] - 4/14/2011
Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] - 3/16/2011
Rep Connolly, Gerald E. "Gerry" [VA-11] - 3/16/2011
Rep DeFazio, Peter A. [OR-4] - 5/31/2011
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 5/5/2011
Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] - 3/16/2011
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] - 3/16/2011
Rep Jackson Lee, Sheila [TX-18] - 3/17/2011
Rep Johnson, Eddie Bernice [TX-30] - 3/16/2011
Rep King, Peter T. [NY-3] - 4/1/2011
Rep Larsen, Rick [WA-2] - 5/5/2011
Rep Lujan, Ben Ray [NM-3] - 5/23/2011
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] - 3/16/2011
Rep Olver, John W. [MA-1] - 3/16/2011
Rep Sanchez, Loretta [CA-47] - 5/26/2011
Rep Speier, Jackie [CA-12] - 3/31/2011
Rep Welch, Peter [VT] - 4/14/2011
Rep Wu, David [OR-1] - 3/30/2011
1 comments:
We believe this bill, if put into place as a law, would serve a valuable purpose. As we have learned in several courses, representation of nurses by nurses to the government is a main way to enact change. Having this national nurse position would serve as an incredible venue to accomplish many tasks that may have been thrown by the wayside in the past, for the simple reason that the individuals supporting them did not have a full understanding of their purpose. It also may be beneficial to have a nurse at the national level because nurses in local or state government might feel more compelled to communicate with another nurse as opposed to a senator or representative. What level of education would be required in order for a nurse to fill this position? We are interested to hear of the progress of this bill and what changes, if any, it will endure in order to be made into a law.
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