[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 54 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 54
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 6, 2003
Received and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that there should be established
an annual National Visiting Nurse Association Week.
Whereas visiting nurse associations (VNAs) are nonprofit home health agencies
that, for over 120 years, have been united in their mission to provide
cost-effective and compassionate home and community-based health care to
individuals, regardless of the individuals' condition or ability to pay
for services;
Whereas there are more than 500 visiting nurse associations, which employ more
than 90,000 clinicians, provide health care to more than 4,000,000
people each year, and provide a critical safety net in communities by
developing a network of community support services that enable
individuals to live independently at home;
Whereas visiting nurse associations have historically served as primary public
health care providers in their communities, and are today one of the
largest providers of mass immunizations in the medicare program
(delivering over 2,500,000 influenza immunizations annually);
Whereas visiting nurse associations are often the home health providers of last
resort, serving the most chronic of conditions (such as congestive heart
failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, AIDS, and quadriplegia)
and individuals with the least ability to pay for services (more than 50
percent of all medicaid home health admissions are by visiting nurse
associations);
Whereas any visiting nurse association budget surplus is reinvested in
supporting the association's mission through services, including charity
care, adult day care centers, wellness clinics, Meals-on-Wheels, and
immunization programs;
Whereas visiting nurse associations and other nonprofit home health agencies
care for the highest percentage of terminally ill and bedridden
patients;
Whereas thousands of visiting nurse association volunteers across the Nation
devote time serving as individual agency board members, raising funds,
visiting patients in their homes, assisting in wellness clinics, and
delivering meals to patients;
Whereas the establishment of an annual National Visiting Nurse Association Week
would increase public awareness of the charity-based missions of
visiting nurse associations and of their ability to meet the needs of
chronically ill and disabled individuals who prefer to live at home
rather than in a nursing home, and would spotlight preventive health
clinics, adult day care programs, and other customized wellness programs
that meet local community need; and
Whereas the second week in May is an appropriate week to establish as National
Visiting Nurse Association Week: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of the Congress that there should be established
an annual National Visiting Nurse Association Week.
Passed the House of Representatives March 4, 2003.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.