National Nurse Act of 2019
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to designate the Chief Nurse Officer of the Public Health Service as the National Nurse for Public Health.
The position includes the authority to (1) provide leadership and coordination of Public Health Service nursing professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General and other agencies of the Public Health Service, (2) conduct outreach and education, and (3) provide guidance and leadership for activities that will increase public safety and emergency preparedness.
The National Nurse for Public Health must (1) participate in identification of national health priorities, (2) encourage volunteerism of nurses and strengthen the relationship between government agencies and health-related national organizations, and (3) promote the dissemination of evidence-based practice in educating the public on health promotion and disease prevention activities.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1597 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1597
To designate the same individual serving as the Chief Nurse Officer of
the Public Health Service as the National Nurse for Public Health.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 7, 2019
Ms. Johnson of Texas (for herself, Mr. King of New York, Mr.
Blumenauer, Ms. Bonamici, Mrs. Brooks of Indiana, Mr. Cardenas, Mr.
Carter of Georgia, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Connolly,
Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. DeGette, Ms. DelBene,
Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Engel, Mr.
Fitzpatrick, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Griffith, Mr.
Grijalva, Ms. Herrera Beutler, Mr. Hurd of Texas, Mr. Johnson of Ohio,
Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Kinzinger, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Ms.
Lee of California, Ms. Matsui, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Mooney of West
Virginia, Mr. Neguse, Mr. Peters, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Rush, Ms.
Schakowsky, Mr. Schrader, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Ms. Stefanik, Mr.
Tonko, Mr. Welch, Ms. Wild, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Young, Mr.
Kilmer, Ms. Speier, Mr. Foster, Mr. Costa, Ms. Norton, Ms. Meng, and
Mr. Cohen) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To designate the same individual serving as the Chief Nurse Officer of
the Public Health Service as the National Nurse for Public Health.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Nurse Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL NURSE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH.
Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 1712. NATIONAL NURSE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH.
``(a) Establishment.--The same individual designated as the Chief
Nurse Officer of the Public Health Service under section 205 shall also
be designated by the Secretary as the National Nurse for Public Health.
``(b) Authority.--The National Nurse for Public Health shall have
the authority and flexibility to carry out the following:
``(1) Provide leadership and coordination of Public Health
Service nursing professional affairs for the Office of the
Surgeon General and other agencies of the Public Health
Service, including providing representation for the Government
of the United States at the Global Forum for Government Chief
Nursing and Midwifery Officers and serving as a member of the
Federal Nursing Service Council.
``(2) Represent the Surgeon General and the agencies of
Public Health Service in communications with groups and
societies concerned with nursing issues at the local, State,
national, and international levels.
``(3) Provide guidance and advice to the Surgeon General
and the Nurse Professional Advisory Committee on matters such
as standards, recruitment, retention, readiness, and career
development of nurses employed by and contracted with agencies
of the Public Health Service.
``(4) Conduct outreach and education for purposes of
paragraphs (5) through (7).
``(5) Provide guidance and leadership for activities to
promote the public health, including encouraging nurses and
other health professionals to be volunteers and developing
projects that educate the public about and engage the public in
prevention practices to achieve better health.
``(6) Provide guidance and leadership to encourage nurses
to engage in furthering their education in order to conduct
nursing research, increase the awareness of evidence-based
practice, and educate future nurses.
``(7) Provide guidance and leadership for activities that
will increase public safety and emergency preparedness.
``(8) Prepare and publish a biennial report on the state of
the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service Nurse
Category.
``(c) National Health Priorities--National Prevention Strategy.--
``(1) In general.--The National Nurse for Public Health, in
cooperation with the Surgeon General of the Public Health
Service, heads of the agencies of the Public Health Service,
States, and organizations that represent health professionals,
shall continue to participate in the identification of national
health priorities.
``(2) Addressing national health priorities.--The National
Nurse for Public Health, in addressing national health
priorities, shall encourage volunteerism of nurses and other
individuals, and strengthen the relationship between Government
agencies and health-related national organizations.
``(3) Community-based projects.--
``(A) Implementation.--In addressing national
health priorities, the National Nurse for Public Health
shall--
``(i) provide guidance and coordination on
recommended activities to organizations;
``(ii) acknowledge successful programs and
encourage their replication;
``(iii) promote the dissemination of
evidence-based practice in educating the public
on health promotion and disease prevention
activities;
``(iv) encourage practicing nurses and
other health professionals, including retired
health professionals and students enrolled in
health professional programs, to participate in
health promotion activities and replicate
successful health promotion activities in their
local communities; and
``(v) collaborate with Federal agencies to
monitor activities being conducted through the
collection and evaluation of data to determine
if national health priorities are being
addressed.
``(B) Outreach and education.--In conducting
outreach and education under subsection (b)(4), the
National Nurse for Public Health shall give priority to
the inclusion of diverse approaches, including social
media campaigns, to address national health priorities.
``(C) Dissemination of information.--The National
Nurse for Public Health shall disseminate information
to governmental agencies, schools, and community-based,
nonprofit organizations interested in health promotion
and improving public health through community
action.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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