MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2011 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Hewes, Collins, Blount, Burton, Butler (38th), Carmichael, Davis, Dearing, Frazier, Hopson, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), McDaniel, Montgomery, Watson
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND CONGRATULATING THE MISSISSIPPI NURSES' ASSOCIATION ON THE CELEBRATION OF ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY.
WHEREAS, on June 7, 1911, a group of ten nurses met at the Natchez Charity Hospital to establish a State Organization of Graduate Nurses whose purpose was defined as follows: "The object of this association shall be the advancement and regulation of the educational standards of nursing; the furtherance of the efficient care of the sick; the maintenance of the honor and character of the nursing profession; the promotion of cordial relations between the graduate nurses of Mississippi and nurses of other states and countries; also to secure legal enactments regulating professional nursing"; and
WHEREAS, one of the first major initiatives by the new professional association came in 1912, when members of the association went to Vicksburg to speak out against a bill introduced by a legislator from Warren County that would prohibit white nurses from caring for African-American patients in Mississippi hospitals. The bill passed the House and these nurses kept the bill from going to the Senate, thereby giving nurses the right to treat all patients; and
WHEREAS, in April 1914, membership in the national organization, the American Nurses' Association, was granted to the Mississippi Nurses' Association; and
WHEREAS, the new association recognized the importance of regulation of the profession and began working toward legislation to establish a Board of Nurse Examiners. The bill passed the House of Representatives 73-13 and went to the Senate where it passed on March 11, 1914, thus, establishing the initial Mississippi State Board of Nursing; and
WHEREAS, the 1917 Mississippi Nurses' Association Convention found the United States at war with Germany and Mississippi nurses were encouraged to enroll in the American Red Cross which constituted the Army Nurse Corps. Mississippi nurses took to heart Florence Nightingale's admonishment that "to stand still is to have gone back." They forged ahead with clinical training to better their skills, tackled leading health problems like tuberculosis, treatment of syphilis and midwifery. Many of those early Mississippi Nurses Association members served as pioneers in public health nursing and were significant health care providers during the devastating Flood of 1927 on the Mississippi River; and
WHEREAS, October 1929 brought the crash of the stock market and the start of the Great Depression which made bad conditions in Mississippi only worse. By 1930 more than 61% of all farms were mortgaged and the per capita income was $132. Tuberculosis, malaria, influenza and heart disease were endemic as the health department noted the increase of chronic disease. Hospitals had their economic woes and patients could not pay bills and the institutions struggled to provide care. Amidst debates of how to provide health care in these circumstances, physicians, hospital superintendents and nurses formed the Mississippi Hospital Association in 1931; and
WHEREAS, in 1939, Mississippi State Nurses' Association became the official name of the association, now 28 years old. At the 1939 Annual Convention, there was a motion that Mississippi State Nurses' Association go on record in favor of accepting African-American nurses as members of the association, possibly one of the first professional associations to do so. Eight years later, the first African-American nurse became a member; and
WHEREAS, World War II increased the need for Registered Nurses for military and civilian populations, and Mississippi nurses answered that call as they did during the Korean conflict, Vietnam, and the Gulf Wars. The Mississippi Nurses' Association continues to have members who are serving their country, here and in foreign countries; and
WHEREAS, during the period from 1946 to 1970, the Mississippi Nurses' Association saw major changes in the health care system with the passage of federal legislation authorizing Medicare and Medicaid and stepped to the forefront in promoting higher education for nurses who would see an increase in patients due to these new programs that expanded the provision of health care and hence the need for facilities and personnel. Since physicians were unable to provide required services to the increased number of patients, the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare allocated funds to support programs for training nurse practitioners. The first Nurse Practice program in Mississippi was at the Mississippi University for Women. Thereafter, programs in pediatrics, family planning and midwifery were established at the University of Mississippi. In 1970, the Mississippi Legislature passed a law amending the Nurse Practice Act to recognize the role of the nurse-practitioner granting them the right to assess, diagnose and prescribe; and
WHEREAS, an early sign of postwar growth of nursing and its professional association was seen in the purchase of its first headquarters in December 1948, at 703 North State Street, followed by a move in 1966, to a larger and more modern facility at 135 Bounds Street and today, the Mississippi Center for Nursing sits on four acres of land in Madison, Mississippi. Owned by the Mississippi Nurses Foundation, the Mississippi Center for Nursing is the home for the Mississippi Nurses' Association and the Mississippi Nurses' Association-Political Action Committee which was formed in 1984. At the 2010 Convention in Biloxi, Mississippi, the association held a "mortgage burning" signifying that the building was now debt-free; and
WHEREAS, the Mississippi Nurses' Association was a leader in providing continuing education to nurses and achieved accreditation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a division of the American Nurses Association. Today the Mississippi Nurses' Association is accredited as a provider of continuing education by American Nurses Credentialing Center, and the Mississippi Nurses Foundation is accredited as an approver of continuing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Thousands of hours of continuing education are provided yearly through the association; and
WHEREAS, the Mississippi Nurses' Association has continued through its 100 years to be active in the political arena, has maintained a strong lobbying contingent involving hundreds of nurses and has worked closely with the Mississippi Legislature. Working together, the Mississippi Legislature in recent years created the Mississippi Office of Nursing Workforce, established scholarship funding for nursing education, including a stipend to encourage nurses to become nurse educators, provided funding to increase enrollment in the Nurse-Practitioner programs at the University of Mississippi School of Nursing, University of Southern Mississippi School of Nursing, and Mississippi University for Women School of Nursing and adding two new programs at Alcorn State University School of Nursing and Delta State University School of Nursing. Additionally, the Mississippi Legislature provided funding for an unprecedented $12,000 pay raise for nursing faculty over a two-year period that was a major factor in stabilizing that workforce deficit in the state; and
WHEREAS, in 1993, the Mississippi Legislature created the specialty nursing car tag that created a stream of funding for the Mississippi Nurses Foundation with proceeds going for nursing scholarships; and
WHEREAS, after that fateful day on August 29, 2005, the Mississippi Nurses' Association and Foundation were instrumental in stepping to the front in the Hurricane Katrina disaster on the Gulf Coast to assist nurses in their time of need. Nurses from across this country converged on the Gulf Coast providing health care to thousands who were in desperate need. Additionally, the American Nurses Foundation and other nursing organizations provided funding through the Mississippi Nurses' Association to help. Mississippi Nurses' Association staff and nursing volunteers made numerous trips to the Gulf Coast with supplies for nurses and the Mississippi Nurses' Association was the first to document the accounts of nurses who endured the ordeals of the storm. Money from the Mississippi Nurses' Association Relief Fund was used to pay licensure fees for those nurses affected, and convention registration where their stories were told. Johnson and Johnson, along with the Mississippi Nurses' Association, hosted its "Promise of Nursing" in Biloxi, Mississippi, raising money for mental health workshops for nurses; and
WHEREAS, throughout its 100 years, the Mississippi Nurses' Association has helped shape nursing education and nursing practice and has a proud legacy both locally and nationally as a leader; and
WHEREAS, the Mississippi Nurses' Association is recognized as a mirror to the issues of this state and nation. As the spokesperson for the 39,000-plus registered nurses and the 2,300 nurse-practitioners, the Mississippi Nurses' Association promotes continued education for Registered Nurses, supports strong nursing education programs, recognizes the nurses of this state every year during the Nightingale Awards Dinner, meets yearly at the Annual Convention where there are discussions about providing adequate health care to their fellow citizens; and
WHEREAS, today there are thousands of registered nurses in this state providing health care in various settings including schools, hospitals, home health, clinics, public health, businesses, and every year a special week in May is proclaimed National Nurses Week. Many of the Mississippi Nurses' Association members have been recognized nationally for their leadership roles in the profession; and
WHEREAS, on June 10-11, 2011, nurses will convene in Natchez, Mississippi, the original organizational site, to celebrate 100 years of service to this state, and we join in saluting the many accomplishments of this great association and in honor of that service:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and congratulate the Mississippi Nurses' Association on the occasion of its 100th Anniversary Celebration, and extend our best wishes to the membership on this auspicious occasion.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the Mississippi Nurses' Association, forwarded to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.