[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 52 (Wednesday, April 14, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E545]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              RECOGNIZING THE EMERGENCY NURSES ASSOCIATION

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                            HON. LOIS CAPPS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 14, 2010

  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Emergency 
Nurses Association and to congratulate them on their 40th anniversary.
  The Emergency Nurses Association, or ENA, is the only professional 
nursing association dedicated to defining the future of emergency 
nursing and emergency care through advocacy, expertise, innovation and 
leadership. It boasts more than 37,000 members worldwide.
  Founded in 1970 as the Emergency Department Nurses Association and 
led by Anita M. Dorr, RN and Judith C. Kelleher, RN, it was originally 
established to set standards for best practices in emergency nursing 
care. It also provided continuing education programs for emergency 
nurses and a united voice for nurses involved in emergency care. In 
1985, the Association name was changed to Emergency Nurses Association, 
ENA.
  Among its many accomplishments, ENA published its first Roadway 
Safety Scorecard in 2006, providing an overview of the kinds of roadway 
laws that prevent injuries and save lives, and a listing of the States 
that have enacted those laws. The initial report and the follow-up 
report in 2008 have provided the impetus for more States to pass 
roadway laws that protect lives and prevent injuries.
  ENA is also working to make emergency departments safer by pressing 
for Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards that would 
help prevent violence in emergency departments. A recent ENA report on 
workplace violence found that more than half of emergency nurses have 
been physically assaulted on the job in the past 3 years and scores 
more endure verbal abuse regularly. Violence in the emergency 
department adversely affects patient care and also puts patients 
themselves at risk of assault or worse.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking the 
Emergency Nurses Association and its more than 37,000 members for their 
commitment to establishing public policies that reduce the need for 
emergency care and for working to improve the quality of that care when 
it is needed. I also ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating 
ENA on the occasion of its 40th anniversary.

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