Long present as President Bush signs act investing in the future of nursing

Kathleen Ann Long, Ph.D., R.N.C.S., F.A.A.N., was one of two representatives from national nursing organizations who accompanied President George W. Bush last week as he signed the Nurse Reinvestment Act.

Long, president of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and dean of the University of Florida College of Nursing, was invited to the White House as a national representative of nursing education.

Adopted by the U.S. House and the Senate in late July, the act addresses the nursing shortage by providing scholarships to nursing students, encouraging careers as nursing faculty, assisting nurses in furthering their education and supporting career ladder partnerships between nursing schools and practice settings.

It also authorizes grants for nursing schools to provide geriatric care training and grants to hospitals to improve work environments in order to retain nurses and improve patient care.

If current trends continue, the nation will face a shortage of half a million nurses by 2020, severely affecting the state of U.S. health care.

“It’s called the Nurse Reinvestment Act, but it really is the patient reinvestment act,” Long said at a White House news conference following the signing.

Also attending the private ceremony were representatives from the American Nurses Association, the American Hospital Association, and the Federation of American Hospitals, as well as several key members of congress, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.; Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-Louis.; and Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif. Capps, a registered nurse, was one of two members of Congress along with Rep. Michael Bilirakis, R-Fla., who sponsored the act.

The act now will be forwarded to Congress for appropriations, with national nursing organizations lobbying for funding in the 2003 fiscal year.