[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7870]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE TO RUTH VAN GERPEN AND THE ONCOLOGY NURSING SOCIETY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JEFF FORTENBERRY

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 26, 2005

  Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Oncology 
Nursing Society (ONS) and Oncology Nurse Ruth Van Gerpen. Oncology 
nurses play an important and essential role in providing quality cancer 
care. These nurses are principally involved in the administration and 
monitoring of chemotherapy and the associated side-effects patients 
experience. As anyone ever treated for cancer will tell you, oncology 
nurses are intelligent, well-trained, highly skilled, kind-hearted 
angels who provide quality clinical, psychosocial and supportive care 
to patients and their families. In short, they are integral to our 
nation's cancer care delivery system. ONS has five chapters that serve 
the oncology nurses of Nebraska and help them continue to provide the 
best possible cancer care to patients and their families in our state.
  On behalf of the people with cancer and their families in Nebraska's 
First Congressional District, I would like to specifically acknowledge 
Ruth Van Gerpen for her leadership within the Oncology Nursing Society 
as a member of the ONS Board of Directors. Ruth is a clinical nurse 
specialist (CNS) for oncology at BryanLGH Medical Center in Lincoln, 
Nebraska. She has been an RN for 28 years and has devoted 20 of those 
years to oncology nursing. Ruth works to improve patient outcomes, 
enhance professional and consumer awareness, and educate and support 
newly diagnosed individuals and their families. Through Ruth's and ONS' 
leadership, our nation is charting a course that will help us win the 
war on cancer.
  Cancer is a complex, multifaceted and chronic disease, and people 
with cancer are best served by a multidisciplinary health care team 
specialized in oncology care, including nurses who are certified in 
that specialty. According to the American Cancer Society, one in three 
women and one in two men will receive a diagnosis of cancer at some 
point in their lives, and one out of every four deaths in the United 
States results from cancer. This year approximately 1.37 million people 
will be diagnosed with cancer and another 570,000 will lose their 
battles with this terrible disease. Every day, oncology nurses such as 
Ruth see the pain and suffering caused by cancer and understand the 
physical, emotional, and financial challenges that people with cancer 
face throughout their diagnosis and treatment.
  Today, more than two-thirds of cancer cases strike people over the 
age of 65, and the number of cancer cases diagnosed among senior 
citizens is projected to double by 2030. At the same time, many of the 
community-based cancer centers are facing significant barriers in 
hiring the specialized oncology nurses they need to treat cancer. 
patients. We are on the verge of a major national nursing shortage, and 
it is estimated that there will be a shortage of 1.1 million nurses in 
the year 2015.
  The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) is the largest organization of 
oncology health professionals in the world, with more than 31,000 
registered nurses and other health care professionals. Since 1975, the 
Oncology Nursing Society has been dedicated to excellence in patient 
care, teaching, research, administration and education in the field of 
oncology. The Society's mission is to promote excellence in oncology 
nursing and quality cancer care. To that end, ONS honors and maintains 
nursing's historical and essential commitment to advocacy for the 
public good by providing nurses and healthcare professionals with 
access to the highest quality educational programs, cancer-care 
resources, research opportunities and networks for peer support.
  I commend Ruth Van Gerpen for her leadership and ongoing commitment 
to improving and assuring access to quality cancer care for cancer 
patients and their families, and I urge my colleagues to support 
oncology nurses in their important endeavors.

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