[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 60 (Thursday, April 23, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H4721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL SCHOOL OF NURSING ON THE 125TH 
                      ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FOUNDING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DENT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize St. Luke's 
Hospital School of Nursing on the auspicious occasion of the 125th 
anniversary of its founding. For well over a century, St. Luke's has 
provided hands-on, quality training to professionals entering the world 
of medicine.
  On October 17, 1884, St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing opened its 
doors to its first class of individuals eager and dedicated to caring 
for the wellness of others. At the time when the school was founded, 
only a handful of similar institutions existed in the United States, 
placing St. Luke's at the cutting edge of health care training. As the 
country's oldest hospital-based school of nursing in continuous 
operation, St. Luke's continues a well-established tradition of 
excellence that began 125 years ago.
  The impact that St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing has had on 
American life is pronounced. During America's greatest time of need, 
the school provided education and training for the U.S. Cadet Nurse 
Corps, giving brave young women the skills they needed to provide 
medical assistance to American and Allied troops in World War II. When 
the United States suffered a national shortage of nurses in the late 
1960s, again St. Luke's answered its Nation's call by hiring a 
recruitment director to actively work towards attracting qualified 
individuals to the nursing profession.
  St. Luke's has consistently promoted the virtues of selflessness and 
caring for others. Year after year the School of Nursing provides 
training to nearly 100 nurses, a profession that is widely needed yet 
often underappreciated. The hard work, dedication, and caring of nurses 
trained by St. Luke's are a great asset to the high quality of care 
enjoyed by patients in America's hospitals.
  Madam Speaker, in closing, I would like to extend my congratulations 
and heartfelt thanks to St. Luke's as well as its tremendous faculty, 
staff, students, and alumni that have carried on the school's proud 
legacy. May St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing's next 125 years be 
as benevolent and inspiring as the last.

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