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On May 6, 2014, elected officials in Minnesota kicked off Nurses Week (May 6 – 12) with proclamations and public statements celebrating Minnesota’s nurses.  In the coming days, throughout the state, nurses will continue to demonstrate how Nurses Care by sharing their stories, using their contract to advocate for their patients, conducting food and clothing drives and feeding those in need.

Statement made in the Minnesota Senate.

Senator Chris Eaton, RN

The State of Minnesota places the highest priority on quality health care for all of our citizens and counts 116,685 dedicated and professional licensed nurses in the state.  Nurses continue to meet the different and emerging health care needs of Minnesotans in a wide range of settings, including large medical centers, local hospitals, outpatient clinics, nursing homes, veterans homes, and community facilities.

Nurses continue to provide the cost-effective and high quality health care services that will be an even more important component of Minnesota’s health care delivery system.  We know that in the future professional nursing will continue to be an indispensable component in the safety and quality of care of hospitalized patients.

More qualified registered nurses will be needed in the future to meet the renewed emphasis on primary and preventive health care and increasingly complex needs of health care consumers in Minnesota.  The Minnesota Nurses Association has declared the week of May 6-12 as NURSES WEEK to coincide with the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale with the theme NURSES CARE to celebrate the many ways in which registered nurses strive to provide safe and high quality patient care and continue to serve to be an advocate for patients.

We honor nurses in Minnesota today. Some of them from the Minnesota Nurses Association are here with us in the gallery.   Some of our colleagues in the chamber are also proud to be licensed nurses in the state of Minnesota.   We salute you and all the ways you care for us, our families, and all patients in Minnesota.  Statements made in the Minnesota House of Representatives, honoring nurses and the profession of nursing.

House Majority Leader, Rep Erin Murphy, RN

I rise today to recognize the annual celebration of Nurses Week. We honor the contributions made by 116,401 nurses licensed in our state today, and the legacy of those remarkable professionals who have gone before them.  Nurses Week begins today and ends on May 12 – the birthday of modern nursing’s pioneer, Florence Nightingale.  Nurses Care.  Not only for individuals, but for whole communities as well, and I am proud to stand today in support and solidarity with my fellow nurses – the most trusted professionals in America, according to the Gallup Honest and Ethic poll for 14 of the last 15 years running.

Nurses care holistically.  Nurses assess and treat mind, body and spirit with a delicate balance of clinical skills and heartfelt compassion.  Nurses care with dedication, courage and hard work.  Nurses care under some of the most stress-filled circumstances one can imagine.  Nurses care for the most vulnerable among us, when no one is looking. But Nurses Week is the opportunity to shine a light on this noble profession.  With that in mind, I yield to my colleagues (who wish to go on record).

Rep. Patti Fritz:

We take a week to recognize nurses because so often the act of caring is done in the quiet shadows beyond the bright lights of the operating theater.  So often, the art of caring is taken for granted.  So often the skill of caring takes a back seat to the thrill of technology.   This Nurses Week, let us pause and reflect on the good work nurses do. Let us celebrate the impact they’ve had on our own lives and the lives of our loved ones.  Let us bear witness to the influence nurses have on the health of every Minnesotan.  Let us say “thank you” for careers that have touched countless lives.

Rep. Karen Clark

Nurses care for us when we take in our first breath and exhale our last. They care for us in myriad settings, including destination medical centers, local hospitals, outpatient clinics, nursing homes, Veterans Homes community facilities and even in our homes. Now and in the future, nursing will continue to be an indispensable component in the safety and quality of care Minnesotans receive.

Nurses are at the forefront of innovation for the delivery of care where ever it needs to be delivered.  Yet amidst the rapid and transformative changes occurring in health care, we can be assured nurses will always carry the ethical torch of advocacy to ease our worries and guide us toward healing.

Rep. Jerry Hertaus:

In Minnesota, we take pride in our high quality health care.  So too, let us honor this proud profession with its rigorous training and education. As the largest segment of care providers in the health care field, nurses are poised to be change agents, whose ideas and creativity will continue to improve patient outcomes.  With high touch and high tech, nurses are the real deal and the ideal asset for our emerging needs.

Rep. Erin Murphy:

We stand today to honor nurses in Minnesota. Some nurses are here in the Capitol with us today, and we salute you and all the ways you care for us, our families, our communities and everyone in Minnesota. Nurses Care.  And we care for Nurses.  Thank you.