REUNION ISSUE A Publication of The Frances Payne Bolton School ...

DEAN’S
MESSAGE
Dear Alumni and Friends,
In all the news we have been hearing for months about
President Obama’s goal to reform the American healthcare
system, one thing is very clear: nurses will play a major role
in the final outcome. As the clinicians and practitioners at
the frontlines of care in their communities, the scientists
who build upon a research foundation for evidencebased
practice, the administrators who establish policy
and protocols, and the teachers and mentors who impart
knowledge and direction to a new generation, nurses are
absolutely vital to this national debate, and their influence
will be felt for many years to come.
Of course, this is not the first time that nurses have played
such a critical role in a national movement that will shape
the lives of millions. Nor will it be the last. Frances Payne
Bolton, along with influential nurses supporting her, helped
bring about the passage of the Bolton Act of 1943, which
established the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps and addressed
the critical nursing shortage during World War II. More
than twenty years later, she and nurse leaders pushed for
the passage of the landmark Nurse Training Act of 1964,
which provided $300 million in federal support to nursing
education in order to enable more talented individuals
to enter our proud profession. The theme behind these
significant acts was this: The more nurses there are, the
better the overall health of our nation.
Needless to say, times have changed. Today, millions of
Americans suffer from inadequate health care. Because of
the state of our national economy, millions more are only
beginning to experience the effects of unemployment in their
efforts to secure quality care. However, nurses are still at the
forefront in advocating for quality health care and health
promotion services that are available, accessible, caring,
affordable, competent, continuous, and integrated.
Nurses believe that all human beings are entitled to be
treated with respect and dignity. All of us who work in the
healthcare system have an important part to play in the
ongoing debate about whether health care is a basic human
right or a privilege. As members of the nursing profession,
it is difficult for us to deny that without something as
fundamental as health care, it is virtually impossible to truly
excel as an advanced society.
Nurses will always be beacons of leadership and compassion
in the pursuit of quality health care. As a profession,
regardless of our political or philosophical stance, we can
agree that we have a unique opportunity to help ensure that
the national conversation remains civil, respectful, and, most
of all, beneficial to our patients.
Let us continue our involvement and vigilance,
May L. Wykle, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA
Dean & Marvin E. and Ruth Durr Denekas Professor of Nursing
The Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing Case Western Reserve University 1