WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and a bipartisan group of her Congressional colleagues introduced a bipartisan, bicameral resolution recognizing National Nurses Week. The resolution – led by U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Roger Wicker, (R-Miss.), as well as U.S. Representatives Dave Joyce (R-Ohio-14), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.-01), Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.-14), and Jen Kiggans (R-Va.-02) – establishes National Nurses Week 2024 from May 6th through May 12th.
“I have longed worked to bolster our nursing workforce, secure resources for our nursing training programs, and help create programs at universities that didn’t have an established nursing school,” Senator Capito said. “That’s because our nurses play such a critical role in our state and provide important medical services to those who need it most. I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this resolution that recognizes the diligence, dedication, and hard work of our nurses in West Virginia and across our entire country.”
BACKGROUND:
As of 2024, there are more than 4.7 million registered nurses in the United States. However, despite this substantial number, our nursing sector faces pressing challenges including a continuing shortage of nurses, burnout, and other mental health struggles and the need for safer working conditions. According to a research project from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, about 100,000 registered nurses left the workforce in 2021 and 2022 due to stress, burnout, and retirement. This same research also outlined that by 2027, almost 900,000 registered nurses intend to leave the workforce.
This resolution is a timely acknowledgment of the indispensable role nurses play in delivering quality care, advancing medical research, tailoring services to diverse communities and individuals, addressing public health disparities, promoting healthy behaviors, and much more.
In addition to Senators Capito, Merkley and Wicker, this resolution is also cosponsored by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
Full text of the resolution can be found here.
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