The Oklahoma House of Representatives has recently passed House Resolution 1028, officially designating May 6 through May 12 as National Nurses Week. This move serves to shine a spotlight on the immense dedication and service provided by nurses across the state and throughout the country. In a statement to the Oklahoma House website, Rep. Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay, a nurse with over 40 years of experience, expressed her pride in paying tribute to the nursing profession on the House floor.
Roe, who chairs the House Public Health Committee, remarked, “As a veteran nurse and nurse practitioner with more than 40 years of experience, I’m thrilled to celebrate our nurses this week and to honor them on the House floor,” as reported by the Oklahoma House. Her sentiment acknowledges the critical role that the nursing community plays in the healthcare system—a system that currently includes nearly 5.2 million registered nurses nationwide, with more than 77,000 in Oklahoma alone.
Co-author of the resolution and fellow lawmaker with a nursing background, Rep. Marilyn Stark, R-Bethany, also shared her respect and gratitude for the nursing profession. Stark, the vice chair of the House Public Health Committee, recalled her own experiences, stating, “Before I served in the Legislature, I worked in health care, directly supporting patients and families," as noted by the Oklahoma House. She emphasized the crucial position nurses hold in patient care, being the first to detect issues and often the last to leave a patient's side during their most trying moments.
Both representatives underscored the often unnoticed yet vital presence of nurses in various sectors of society. "Their work is often quiet, but their impact is immeasurable," Roe told the Oklahoma House website. The resolution not only serves to thank nurses but also to urge Oklahomans to join in recognizing the life-saving contributions of this essential workforce within every community.
