BILL NUMBER: ACR 161 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal APRIL 19, 2010 Relative to California Nurses Week 2010. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 161, as introduced, Bonnie Lowenthal. California Nurses Week 2010. This measure would proclaim May 9 through 15 as California Nurses Week 2010. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, The registered nurses of the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United are committed advocates for each and every patient; and WHEREAS, The California Nurses Association was founded in 1903, as the first organization to represent nurses in California; and WHEREAS, Over the 107 years of its proud history, the California Nurses Association has achieved lifesaving gains in patient care and patient safety conditions for all Californians through sponsored legislation, public regulation, and collective action in patient care settings; and WHEREAS, The California Nurses Association has played an instrumental role in the creation of National Nurses United in 2009, bringing together 150,000 nurses from every state to promote patient advocacy across the nation; and WHEREAS, The California Nurses Association, National Nurses United, and its affiliate the Registered Nurse Response Network, have displayed great humanitarian spirit with their efforts to help care for the patients and nurses of Haiti in the aftermath of that nation' s devastating earthquake; and WHEREAS, The California Nurses Association's registered nurses worked for many years to achieve the nation's first safe registered nurse-to-patient ratio law that studies have documented to reduce patient mortality in California hospitals and help mitigate the nursing shortage; and WHEREAS, The California Nurses Association provides a powerful and effective collective voice for registered nurses; and WHEREAS, The safe, high-quality health care services provided by registered nurses somehow touch the lives of every single person in California; and WHEREAS, Registered nurses are often the last line of defense for patient safety in a medical industry that increasingly places corporate profits ahead of patient needs; and WHEREAS, Nationally, May 6 through 12 is recognized as National Nurses Week 2010, and nurses working in all areas of health care in California will commemorate May 9 through 15 as California Nurses Week 2010, in celebration of the many ways the California Nurses Association and its members and all nurses working throughout California's health care system provide safe, high-quality patient care and patient services; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims May 9 through 15 as California Nurses Week 2010, in recognition of the many contributions that the California Nurses Association and its members have made to improve the health and safety of all Californians and to express deep appreciation to all of the state's nurses during that week and throughout the years to come; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature asks all Californians to join in honoring the registered nurses of the California Nurses Association and all registered nurses who provide the highest quality health care services to the public; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.