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President Barack Obama as a guest speaker June 16 the biennial American Nurses Association House of Delegates. He spoke to an ANA estimated crowd of more than 1,000 nurses and guests during the opening session.
"Nurses are the beating heart of our healthcare system," the president commented, according to an ANA press release. "It is because you know the system so well that you have become such fierce advocates for reform," he noted as he thanked the nurses and the ANA for their staunch support during the healthcare debate, according to the release.
Watch the speech.
President Obama also remarked on ANA's long commitment to healthcare reform, singling out Jo Eleanor Elliott of Colorado for her strong leadership; she was president of ANA when it became the first healthcare organization to support the creation of Medicare in the 1960s.
The president recognized the need for more nurses, according to ANA, and cited his administration for making "the largest investment in nursing and healthcare workforce in history."
The president also revealed a series of investments in the healthcare workforce, just announced by the Department of Health and Human Services. This new funding will serve to encourage registered nurses to attend school full time to become nurse practitioners. Additionally, the funds establish nurse-managed health clinics to increase access to care and assist in the training of nurse practitioners as primary care providers.
As he finished his remarks, the president reiterated the remarkable dedication of nurses and expressed his administration's goal to "elevate and value the work that you do," adding "our mission must be to live up to the values that you uphold every day."
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