On the recordMay 12, 2011
as we mark the end of National Nurses Week, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to the nurses who serve on the front lines of our health care system. Nurses are heroes, not just to their patients, but to the families and loved ones who rely on their compassion and care. While we celebrate nurses this week, we must also acknowledge that too many nurses are overworked because of staffing levels that are simply inadequate. For decades nurses have been telling us that we need more of them to provide quality care to our loved ones, especially in hospitals. Study after study has been done, we know there is a nationwide nursing shortage. By 2020, it is estimated that the demand for full time nurses will exceed supply by 1 million nurses. That is why I am introducing the National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act, which will not only help address the nationwide shortage of skilled nurses, it will improve the quality of health care for all Americans. The National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act champions nursing rights, nursing ratios, and nursing reform. This bill protects the rights of nurses to speak out for their patients and to speak out for themselves, without the fear of discrimination or retaliation, because if there is a problem in a hospital nurses should be able to talk about it.…
