[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 54 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 54


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 6, 2003

Received and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                                Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Congress that there should be established 
          an annual National Visiting Nurse Association Week.

Whereas visiting nurse associations (VNAs) are nonprofit home health agencies 
        that, for over 120 years, have been united in their mission to provide 
        cost-effective and compassionate home and community-based health care to 
        individuals, regardless of the individuals' condition or ability to pay 
        for services;
Whereas there are more than 500 visiting nurse associations, which employ more 
        than 90,000 clinicians, provide health care to more than 4,000,000 
        people each year, and provide a critical safety net in communities by 
        developing a network of community support services that enable 
        individuals to live independently at home;
Whereas visiting nurse associations have historically served as primary public 
        health care providers in their communities, and are today one of the 
        largest providers of mass immunizations in the medicare program 
        (delivering over 2,500,000 influenza immunizations annually);
Whereas visiting nurse associations are often the home health providers of last 
        resort, serving the most chronic of conditions (such as congestive heart 
        failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, AIDS, and quadriplegia) 
        and individuals with the least ability to pay for services (more than 50 
        percent of all medicaid home health admissions are by visiting nurse 
        associations);
Whereas any visiting nurse association budget surplus is reinvested in 
        supporting the association's mission through services, including charity 
        care, adult day care centers, wellness clinics, Meals-on-Wheels, and 
        immunization programs;
Whereas visiting nurse associations and other nonprofit home health agencies 
        care for the highest percentage of terminally ill and bedridden 
        patients;
Whereas thousands of visiting nurse association volunteers across the Nation 
        devote time serving as individual agency board members, raising funds, 
        visiting patients in their homes, assisting in wellness clinics, and 
        delivering meals to patients;
Whereas the establishment of an annual National Visiting Nurse Association Week 
        would increase public awareness of the charity-based missions of 
        visiting nurse associations and of their ability to meet the needs of 
        chronically ill and disabled individuals who prefer to live at home 
        rather than in a nursing home, and would spotlight preventive health 
        clinics, adult day care programs, and other customized wellness programs 
        that meet local community need; and
Whereas the second week in May is an appropriate week to establish as National 
        Visiting Nurse Association Week: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that there should be established 
an annual National Visiting Nurse Association Week.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 4, 2003.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.