[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 149 (Friday, October 9, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1460-E1461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO'S NURSE PRACTITIONER PROGRAM'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

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                           HON. DIANA DeGETTE

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 9, 2015

  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the 50th anniversary of the 
University of Colorado's Nurse Practitioner program. In 1965, CU 
College of Nursing professor Loretta Ford and CU School of Medicine 
professor Henry Silver came together to create the nation's first nurse 
practitioner training program. Motivated by a desire to increase access 
to pediatric care in underserved rural and urban communities, they 
sought to expand and empower the role of nurses on the front lines of 
health care. Their efforts led to the establishment of the nation's 
modern advanced practice nursing workforce.
   Their idea caught fire in 1966 when Time Magazine profiled one of 
the programs first graduates, Sue Stearly, who was successfully 
practicing in the small town of Trinidad, Colorado. Time called CU 
students ``a new breed of nurse.'' By 1973, sixty-five nurse 
practitioner training programs existed across the country. Today there 
are more than 205,000 nurse practitioners in the United States making 
more than 916 million patient visits per year according to the American 
Association of Nurse Practitioners. Today's nurse practitioners 
diagnose and treat patients in a variety of primary, acute, and 
specialty care settings. They are essential to meeting this country's 
healthcare workforce needs. According to Colorado Health Careers, 
within the next decade, nurse practitioners and clinical nurse 
specialists will be among the nation's ten fastest-growing occupations. 
Nurse practitioners from the CU College of Nursing are at work across 
America. The College of Nursing's Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program 
continues to be one of the strongest in the country, and today the 
college leads the way with a variety of specialized nurse practitioner 
programs in fields such as psychiatric mental health and women's 
health.
   On October 2nd, the CU College of Nursing, along with the CU School 
of Medicine, celebrated the 50th Anniversary of their groundbreaking 
Nurse Practitioner Program. I invite you to join me in honoring the 
efforts of pioneering educators Loretta Ford and Henry

[[Page E1461]]

Silver, who helped to spark this remarkable change in American medical 
care.

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