CREATING THE OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL NURSE

WHEREAS, nurses are crucial to the promotion of preventive care and the caring of the whole person; and

WHEREAS, nurses are highly valued and trusted by the public and are often in a position to deliver educational messages to the public about ways to improve their health and prevent disease; and

WHEREAS, there is a serious effort to create an Office of the National Nurse; and

WHEREAS, the National Nurse would act to raise awareness of health issues and promote good health through education and community outreach; and

WHEREAS, the National Nurse would serve as an effective complement to the existing U.S. Office of the Surgeon General; and

WHEREAS, the Office of the National Nurse would provide input at the public policy table on a number of valuable initiatives, such as:

·providing weekly broadcasts for the media and the Internet to promote health;

·increasing the number of nurse educators;

·facilitating the deployment of nurses to underserved areas;

·creating a National Nurse Corps to deliver nursing assistance and education to communities, particularly communities in crisis; and

WHEREAS, the American Federation of Teachers represents many thousands of nurses and nurse educators across the United States; and

WHEREAS, this effort to create the Office of the National Nurse was initiated by nursing faculty who are members of AFT Local 2277, the Portland Community College Faculty Federation; and

WHEREAS, this effort is generating widespread support across the nation, with legislation to be introduced in Congress:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers encourage the effort to create an Office of the National Nurse embodied in legislation such as H.R. 4903 and work to promote passage of legislation such as H.R. 4903; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT help to spread awareness of the effort to create an Office of the National Nurse among its members and partners.