,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #fif  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #g1 #bjai,mr4
 ,merkley 7for himself and ,mrs4        
,capito7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,health1 ,education1     
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
designate the same individual serving as
 the ,chief ,nurse ,officer of the      
,public ,health ,service as the         
,national ,nurse for ,public ,health4   
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,national ,nurse ,act of #bjai4 
#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  #agab4 ,national ,nurse 
for ,public ,health  7a7 ,establishment 
,the same individual designated as the  
,chief ,nurse ,officer of the ,public   
,health ,service under section #bje     
shall also be designated by the         
,secretary as the ,national ,nurse for  

,public ,health4  7b7 ,authority ,the   
,national ,nurse for ,public ,health    
shall have the authority and flexibility
 to 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     
7#h7 ,prepare and publish a biennial    
report on the state of the ,commissioned
 ,corps of the ,public ,health ,service 

,nurse ,category4  7c7 ,national health 
priorities--,national ,prevention       
,strategy  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 continue to 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   
activities in their local communities2  
and  7v7 collaborate with ,federal      
agencies to 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
 ,in conducting outreach and education  
under subsection 7b77#d71 the ,national 
,nurse for ,public ,health shall give   
priority to the inclusion of diverse    
approaches1 including social media      

campaigns1 to address national health   
priorities4  7,c7 ,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