The home health industry depends on the work of the skilled nurse. It is perhaps the most important of all the roles in our industry. Axxess loves our skilled nurse clients and is proud of the wonderful work of caregiving that they do. Nursing is consistently chosen as the most trusted profession. We like to think that we enable home health nurses to do their work more efficiently and effectively. Our software has grown rapidly because of the way nurses have embraced our user friendly platform.

Nursing is often described as an art and a science. It is a profession that embraces dedicated people with varied interests, strengths and passions because of the many opportunities the profession offers. National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6, also known as National Nurses Day, through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. The United States has been honoring the nursing profession since the 50’s. The influence of the nursing profession on the history of western civilization goes back to 1853, with Florence Nightingale’s mission to Crimea. She was a British nurse and is acknowledged as the actual founder of the nursing profession.

• It wasn’t until 1954, 100 years after Florence Nightingale’s mission, the first National Nurse Week was observed in October.
• For more information on Florence Nightingale and her influence on Nursing, go to this article about the facts about Nightingale that every nurse should know.
• In 1974, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) proclaimed Florence Nightingale’s May 12th birthday as “International Nurse Day”.
• Then in 1982 the American Nurses Association (ANA) Board of Directors formally acknowledged May 6, 1982 as National Nurses Day and was acknowledged by a joint resolution of the US Congress. President Ronald Reagan then signed a proclamation proclaiming “National Recognition Day for Nurses” to be May 6, 1982.
• It was in 1990 when the ANA expanded the recognition to a week starting on May 6th and ending on Florence Nightingale’s birthday, May 12th. Read ANA’s account of the history of the week.

To honor nurses this year, a statement from the ANA “calls attention to registered nurses (RNs) and their contributions to the health care system, both in the role they play as expert clinicians in diverse care settings and as leaders who can dramatically influence the quality of care and overall performance of the system into the future. The public wants leaders they can trust — and nurses consistently rank at the top of a respected annual poll as the most trusted profession.”

In short, nurses are awesome.

Every four years the US Health Resources and Services Administration conducts a National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses The most recent is 2008. See the ANA fact sheet.

• There are 3.1 million licensed RNs, of whom 2.6 million are actively employed in nursing.
• 62.2% of employed RNs work in hospital settings.
• The profession has grown by 5.3 percent since 2004, a net growth of more than 150,000 RNs.
• Nearly 450,000 RNs, 14.5 percent of the RN population, received their first U.S. license after 2003.
• Nursing as a profession, is a leader in the field of Health IT and through IT, the nursing industry supports one of the strongest tenets of nursing — educating the patient and family. The ANA has launched and participated in many Health IT initiatives.

It is no secret or accident that Axxess is highly favored by Skilled Nurses in the Home Health Industry.

In Honor of National Nurses Week Secretary of HHS, Kathleen Sebelius issued a message touting the excellence of nursing in providing for health care for Americans.

So, along with the Secretary, Axxess encourages you to Thank a Nurse This Week!

Citing: http://www.hitechanswers.net/national-nurses-week-2012/

Citing: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/05/20120504a.html

Citing: http://www.nursingschools.net/blog/2011/05/15-florence-nightingale-facts-every-nurse-should-know/