[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12054-12055]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN CELEBRATION OF NATIONAL NURSING WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 7, 2009

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Madam Speaker, in honor and in celebration of 
National Nursing Week, I'd like to recognize the achievements of 
Francis Payne Bolton and the impact of the Bolton Act on the field of 
nursing.
  Madam Speaker, the Bolton Act of 1943, introduced by Congresswoman 
Frances Payne Bolton, created the Cadet Nurse Corps. The Corps provided 
Federal funds to nearly 125,000 nurses during World War II to 
facilitate their training and greatly increase the wartime supply of 
nurses and care for American citizens on both the home and war fronts. 
It also significantly improved post-World War II nursing education, 
replacing the apprenticeship-type training approach in nursing schools 
with an academic approach and encouraging nurses to study related areas 
of public health, pediatrics, psychiatric care, and convalescent care. 
It further benefitted the nursing field by prompting attention and 
Federal financial aid to graduate nursing degrees, and contributed to 
the integration of African-Americans into the nursing field.
  Madam Speaker, Francis Payne Bolton was the first woman in Ohio 
elected to the House of Representatives. She served fourteen 
consecutive terms and later served as trustee of Lakeside Hospital 
(Cleveland, OH), Lake Erie College (Painesville, OH), and the Central 
School of Practical Nursing (Cleveland). Trustees at Case Western 
Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, named their School of Nursing in 
her honor. She died in Lyndhurst, OH, on March 9, 1977.
  Madam Speaker, last year, I introduced legislation with the late-
Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) recognizing the 65th anniversary of the 
Bolton Act. Frances Payne Bolton single-handedly made sure we had 
enough nurses at home and overseas during World War II, and helped 
elevate nursing as an important and critical profession. I am honored 
to recognize her and her contributions during National Nursing Week, 
and I yield back.

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