,,ii #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #adge ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,august #a1 #bjac ,mr4 ,merkley introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to establish the position of ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health1 to be filled by the same individual serving as the ,chief ,nurse ,officer of the ,public ,health ,service4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,national ,nurse ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health ,title ,,xvii of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cjju et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #agaa4 ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health 7a7 ,establishment 7#a7 ,in general ,an individual designated as the ,chief ,nurse ,officer of the ,public ,health ,service under section #bje shall be designated by the ,secretary as the ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health4 ,such ,chief ,nurse ,office shall serve full-time within the ,office of the ,surgeon ,general4 7#b7 ,designation ,not later than #cj days after the date of enactment of this section1 the ,secretary shall designate the individual serving as the ,chief ,nurse ,officer of the ,public ,health ,service on such date as the first ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health4 ,subsequent designations shall occur in accordance with ,commissioned ,corps ,instruction ,,cc#bc4d4f 7relating to ,chief ,professional ,officer ,nominations71 as in effect on ,february #ac1 #bjjh4 7b7 ,rank and grade ,the ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health shall have the same rank and grade as the ,deputy ,surgeon ,general of the ,public ,health ,service4 7c7 ,duties ,the ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health shall carry out the following3 7#a7 ,provide leadership and coordination of ,public ,health ,service nursing professional affairs for the ,office of the ,surgeon ,general and other agencies of the ,public ,health ,service1 including providing representation for the ,government of the ,united ,states at the ,global ,forum for ,government ,chief ,nursing and ,midwifery ,officers and serving as a member of the ,federal ,nursing ,service ,council4 7#b7 ,represent the ,surgeon ,general and the agencies of ,public ,health ,service in communications with groups and societies concerned with nursing issues at the local1 ,state1 national1 and international levels4 7#c7 ,provide guidance and advice to the ,surgeon ,general and the ,nurse ,professional ,advisory ,committee on matters such as standards1 recruitment1 retention1 readiness1 and career development of nurses employed by and contracted with agencies of the ,public ,health ,service4 7#d7 ,conduct outreach and education for purposes of paragraphs 7#e7 through 7#g74 7#e7 ,provide guidance and leadership for activities to promote the public health1 including encouraging nurses and other health professionals to be volunteers and developing projects that educate the public about and engage the public in prevention practices to achieve better health4 7#f7 ,provide guidance and leadership to encourage nurses to engage in furthering their education in order to conduct nursing research1 increase the awareness of evidence-based practice1 and educate future nurses4 7#g7 ,provide guidance and leadership for activities that will increase public safety and emergency preparedness4 7d7 ,national health priorities--,healthy ,people #bjbj 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health1 in cooperation with the ,surgeon ,general of the ,public ,health ,service1 heads of the agencies of the ,public ,health ,service1 ,states1 and organizations that represent health professionals1 shall participate in the identification of national health priorities4 7#b7 ,addressing national health priorities ,the ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health1 in addressing national health priorities1 shall encourage volunteerism of nurses and other individuals1 and strengthen the relationship between ,government agencies and health-related national organizations4 7#c7 ,community-based projects 7,a7 ,implementation ,in addressing national health priorities1 the ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health shall-- 7i7 provide guidance and coordination on recommended activities to organizations2 7ii7 acknowledge successful programs and encourage their replication2 7iii7 promote the dissemination of evidence-based practice in educating the public on health promotion and disease prevention activities2 7iv7 encourage practicing nurses and other health professionals1 including retired health professionals and students enrolled in health professional programs1 to participate in health promotion activities and replicate successful health promotion activities2 and 7v7 monitor activities being conducted through the collection and evaluation of data to determine if national health priorities are being addressed4 7,b7 ,outreach and education ,the ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health shall ensure that outreach and education conducted under subsection 7c77#d7 include diverse approaches1 including social media campaigns1 to address national health priorities4 7,c7 ,evaluations ,the ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health shall participate in evaluating the national1 regional1 and community-based activities encouraged by the ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health and conducted by community- based1 nonprofit organizations to determine the extent to which such activities have succeeded in carrying out national health priorities4 7,d7 ,dissemination of information ,the ,national ,nurse for ,public ,health shall disseminate information to governmental agencies1 schools1 and community-based1 nonprofit organizations interested in health promotion and improving public health through community action4 4