[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 56 (Thursday, May 7, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E795-E796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL NURSES WEEK, MAY 6-12

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CAROLYN McCARTHY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 7, 1998

  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my 
colleagues in recognition of National Nurses Week. The 2.6 million 
registered nurses in the United States make up our nation's largest 
health care profession. Throughout our country's history, nurses have 
been the backbone of our health care system. The nursing profession 
plays a vital role in meeting the different and emerging health care 
needs of the American population in a wide range of settings. Moreover, 
nurses are the human face of our health care system. As the primary 
care givers, nurses have the most contact with patients and play a 
direct role in a patient's recovery. As a nurse, I know from firsthand 
experience that when it comes to patient recovery, good nursing care 
makes a difference.
  Nurses are also the future of our health care system. As our country 
places renewed emphasis on primary and preventive health care, we will 
require better utilization of all our nation's nursing resources. The 
cost-effective, safe and quality health care services provided by 
registered nurses will be an ever more important component of our 
health care delivery system in the future. Therefore, we must do 
everything we can to promote and advance the nursing profession.
  I am proud to be the cosponsor of a number of bills that advance the 
nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, 
promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace 
and projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing. Some of the 
bills I proudly sponsor include H.R. 1165, the Patient Safety Act of 
1997, legislation that provides whistle-blower protection for nurses

[[Page E796]]

who speak out about patient care issues, and H.R. 2754 the Health 
Worker Protection Act, which mandates the substitution of existing 
needlestick products with safer needle devices that would help prevent 
needlestick injuries. I urge all my colleagues to support these 
important pieces of legislation, support our nursing professionals and 
advance the cause of nursing nationwide.

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