A resolution designating February 14, 2014, as National Solidarity Day for Compassionate Patient Care.

Whereas National Solidarity Day for Compassionate Patient Care promotes national awareness of the importance of compassionate and respectful relationships between health care professionals and their patients as reflected in attitudes that are sensitive to the values, autonomy, and cultural and ethnic backgrounds of patients and their families;

Whereas on February 14 of each year, medical professionals and students stand in solidarity to support compassion in health care as expressed by Dr. Randall Friese, triage physician at the University of Arizona Medical Center, who stated that the most important treatment he provided to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot on January 8, 2011, was to hold her hand and reassure her that she was in the hospital and would be cared for;

Whereas physicians, nurses, and all other health care professionals are charged with practicing medicine as both an art and a science;

Whereas an awareness of the importance of compassion in health care encourages health care professionals to be mindful of the need to treat the patient rather than the disease;

Whereas scientific research reveals that when health care professionals practice humanistically and demonstrate the qualities of integrity, compassion, altruism, respect, empathy, and service, their patients have better medical outcomes; and

Whereas February 14th would be an appropriate day to designate as National Solidarity Day for Compassionate Patient Care and for health care students and professionals to celebrate by performing humanistic acts of compassion and kindness toward patients, families of patients, and health care colleagues: Now, therefore, be it