As we continue to transition into a wellness model for health care and leave the sick model behind, we have to change our focus. In doing so we prioritize prevention and proactive measures to improve our health status and that of our patients.
Our job as nurses will continue to include more and more patient education and holistic care. Not only will we continue to educate patients about their current health status and diseases, but we will focus heavily on preventing disease and complications in order to improve outcomes and general health status.
A National Nurse for Public Health will help to set the tone and lead the charge to improve how we do this with better tools, shared information and as an example to all. The National Nurse will be the visible leader for the profession and help to elevate nurses in the eyes of patients who already trust us more than any other profession.
Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) recently signed on as co-sponsor of HR485, The National Nurse Act of 2013. Congresswoman Roybal-Allard said, “I was happy to sign on as co-sponsor to HR485 The National Nurse Act of 2013. Nurses are the heart and soul of our health care system and bring a holistic, preventative and compassionate lens to the system that has been stuck in a conventional sick care model for too many years. Imagine what the health care system would look like if nurses had been represented at leadership levels all along.”
As of today there are now 75 co-sponsors for HR 485. You can find the list of co-sponsors and sort it to discover which Representatives from your state have signed on. The National Nursing Network Organization helps make it easy for you to call or email your Congressional Rep. There’s a suggested script for you phone call, and a suggested email or snail mail message for you to copy or tweak with your own words. Please consider a donation to the cause as well.
When I left a voice mail message and sent an email for my own representative, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26), she graciously called me back and left me an amazing message saying she had just signed on to co-sponsor and said, “we need more of you and we need to fill the pipeline with nurses. I look forward to working with the nurses of California.”
Thank you to all who have supported this effort!!
Follow The National Nurse on Facebook and Twitter @ANationalNurse.
