| R 290 |
| 2022 -- H 8223 Enacted 05/10/2022 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| CELEBRATING THE WEEK OF MAY 6TH THROUGH MAY 12TH AS "NATIONAL NURSES WEEK" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND |
Introduced By: Representatives Bennett, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Casimiro, Baginski, Potter, Phillips, Fenton-Fung, Speakman, and Carson |
| Date Introduced: May 10, 2022 |
| WHEREAS, National Nurses Week is held May 6th through May 12th in order to |
| coincide with and celebrate Florence Nightingale's birthday on the 12th. She was a nurse who |
| became famous for treating wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, and for her efforts in |
| establishing nursing as a profession. She was affectionately known as "The Lady with the Lamp" |
| because during the war, she made a lot of her ward rounds at night whilst carrying a lamp; and |
| WHEREAS, This week is a time to acknowledge, honor, and express our heartfelt |
| gratitude to Rhode Island's brave, dedicated, and determined nurses who day after day and month |
| after month care for us and particularly their long days and months of work on the frontlines |
| throughout our struggles with the pandemic; and |
| WHEREAS, Registered nurses in the United States constitute this nation's largest |
| healthcare profession; and |
| WHEREAS, The depth and breadth of the registered nursing profession have met and |
| exceeded the different and emerging healthcare needs of the American population during this |
| pandemic and in a wide range of settings; and |
| WHEREAS, The American Nurses Association, as the voice for registered nurses across |
| this country, is working to chart a new course for a healthy nation that relies on increasing |
| delivery of primary and preventive healthcare and requiring better utilization of all our nation's |
| registered nursing resources; and |
| WHEREAS, Professional nursing has demonstrated itself to be an indispensable |
| component in providing safety and quality of care for hospitalized patients and for playing a |
| pivotal role in addressing the concerns and quelling community fears during the current |
| pandemic; and |
| WHEREAS, The demand for registered nursing services is greater than ever, due to the |
| aging of the American population, the continuing expansion of life-sustaining technologies, the |
| explosive growth of home healthcare services, and the need to develop coordinated networking to |
| prevent and contain new and emergent widespread infectious diseases; and |
| WHEREAS, More qualified registered nurses will be needed in the future to meet the |
| increasingly complex needs of healthcare consumers in this country and across the world; and |
| WHEREAS, The cost-effective, safe, and high-quality healthcare services provided by |
| registered nurses will be an increasingly important component of the United States healthcare |
| delivery system in the future; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby |
| joins the American Nurses Association in celebrating the week of May 6th through May 12th, |
| 2022, as "National Nurses Week"; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That this House moreover urges all the residents of the State to join in |
| honoring and thanking the registered nurses who have selflessly cared for us all, and to celebrate |
| their efforts and accomplishments in improving our healthcare system, not just during this week, |
| but at every opportunity throughout the year; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the American Nurses Association, the United |
| Nurses & Allied Professionals, and the Rhode Island State Nurses Association. |
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| LC005896 |
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