[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5836-5837]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO CINDY COOKE, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF 
                          NURSE PRACTITIONERS

                                  _____
                                 

                             HON. MO BROOKS

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 20, 2017

  Mr. BROOKS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I 
recognize a constituent of mine, Cindy Cooke, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, of 
Huntsville, Alabama, for her service over the last two years as 
President of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).
  Dr. Cooke has an exemplary career of service with 42 years as an 
experienced nurse and nurse practitioner. As a nationally board 
certified family nurse practitioner, Dr. Cooke has provided care to 
patients for 18 years and for over 12 years exclusively to active duty 
and retired military members and their families
  Dr. Cooke has been involved in local, state, and national nurse 
practitioner organizations. Prior to her term as AANP President, Dr. 
Cooke was past President of North Alabama Nurse Practitioner 
Association (NANPA), the founding President of the Nurse Practitioner 
Alliance of Alabama (NPAA), past American Academy of Nurse 
Practitioners (AANP) State Representative for Alabama, and past AANP 
Regional Director. Dr. Cooke has been active in speaking locally and 
nationally on various clinical and health policy topics. She was 
elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 
2009.
  The American Association of Nurse Practitioners is a national 
professional membership organization representing over 225,000 nurse 
practitioners nationally. Under Dr. Cooke's tenure, AANP membership has 
grown to more

[[Page 5837]]

than 75,000 members, making AANP the largest nurse practitioner 
organization in the world. Dr. Cooke has helped lead nurse 
practitioners in transforming patient-centered health care and has made 
tremendous strides in ensuring that policy makers and the public 
understand the care that nurse practitioners provide to millions of 
Americans each year.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating Dr. Cooke on a 
successful term as President of the American Association of Nurse 
Practitioners and in thanking her for the excellent care she has 
provided to her patients, the nurse practitioner profession, and the 
constituents in the Fifth District of Alabama.

                          ____________________