79R8199 KO-F

By:  McReynolds                                                   H.R. No. 549



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The Texas House of Representatives is pleased to 
welcome the registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses who 
are visiting the State Capitol as part of Nurse Day at the Capitol 
2005; and
	WHEREAS, Nursing is known as a caring profession, and the 
140,000 registered nurses and 60,000 licensed vocational nurses 
tending to the needs of Texans every day in hospitals, nursing 
homes, and home health agencies throughout the state are critical 
to the quality of health care that patients receive; and
	WHEREAS, Despite the fact that hospitals and other employers 
need and would hire significantly more nurses, Texas nursing 
schools have been forced to turn away thousands of qualified 
applicants because of lack of adequate faculty positions; and
	WHEREAS, This legislature is faced with the challenge of 
finding effective ways to address this critical shortage of nurses 
and to enable Texas nursing schools to admit and adequately train 
the nurses that our state needs; and
	WHEREAS, Nurses are held in high esteem by citizens across 
the state and nation as evidenced by the national polls recognizing 
nursing as one of the country's most trusted professions; and
	WHEREAS, The benefits of the care and support that nurses 
provide their patients are immeasurable, and these dedicated 
professionals are indeed deserving of our utmost respect and 
admiration; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature hereby recognize March 1, 2005, as Nurse Day at the 
State Capitol and extend a warm welcome to those nurses visiting the 
Capitol today.