Student Indiana University Northwest School of Nursing
421 E 28th Ave
Lake Station, Indiana 46405
9/15/17
The Honorable Eric Holcomb
493 Russell Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Dear Senator Holcomb:
On behalf of the Indiana University Northwest-School of Nursing, we are writing this letter to request your support for the H.R. 1651: National Nurse Act of 2017. The bill was originally introduced as the National Nurse Act of 2015, by Senator Jeff Merkley (OR-D) and Shelly Moore Capito (WV-R) on May 7, 2015. The bill requests that the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services designate a Chief Nurse Officer of the Public Health Service as the National Nurse for Public Health. The duties of this position include providing leadership and coordination of Public Health Service nursing professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General and other agencies of the Public Health …show more content…
The profession of nursing has a notable history of being highly honored for its strong dedication to public health service. Nurses not only provide services for health promotion and management of chronic conditions, but also strive to provide health education related to prevention and public safety. This legislation is detrimental to support the demand for improving outcomes, guiding all levels of efforts in addressing the nation’s health, and increasing the likelihood of preventing these diseases while decreasing the mortality rates for people who are at risk. A designated Chief Nurse Officer position would reinforce and meet these demands. The National Nurse for Public Health will continue to be able to cooperate in identifying the priorities of the nation’s health, initiate an urge for nurse volunteerism while building a strong relationship between health-related national organizations and government