The Colony Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 24, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 3, 1989 Page: 33 of 48
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Working in North Dallas
Harte-Hanks Community Newspapers, Inc.
Week of April 30, 1989
HARTE
HANKS
Nurses role increases in patient health care
By MICHAEL MORRISON
Harte-Hanks News Service
They play a pivotal — yet unsung — role in
the nation’s health care delivery system. In
reality, the nation’s two million registered
nurses often serve as one of the few human
links between patients and a health care
system that at times seems distant and over-
ly complex.
Their key contribution and ability to
change patients' lives will be highlighted by
the Texas Nurses Association during Texas
Nurses Week, May 1-6. The week culmi-
nates with the celebration of National
Nurses’ Day, Saturday, May 6.
“Nurses Change Lives” is the theme set to
recognize the unique contributions of the
nation’s RNs, the largest group of health-
care providers in the United States.
During Texas Nurses Week, special activi-
ties will be held at various local hospitals. In
addition, a local meeting will be held on
Thusday, May 4 by District 4 of the TNA to
celebrate the week.
“What nurses bring to health care changes
millions of patients’ lives each day,” said
Anna Pearl Rains, M.S.N., R.N., and presi-
dent of the TNA, which represents the state’s
110,000 registered nurses. “Nurses educate
patients on how they can improve or main-
tain their health. They provide counseling
and ongoing care to the chronically ill in
highly technological environments.”
In many cases, a nurse may serve as a
bridge between a patient and an interdiscip-
linary team of professionals, consisting of a
physician, a social worker, a pharmacist, a
physical therapist and a counselor.
“The nurse is really the patient’s advocate
now,” said Donna Haynes, R.N., consultant
for nurse recruitment/retention at Baylor
University Medical Center in Dallas.
Nurses are with patients 24 hours a day,
Haynes said, helping them and their families
cope with any changes. “(Nurses) have to
really look at patients and support them in all
areas,” she said.
Analysts say it’s no longer enough just to
endure the hours, the pay, and the stress that
goes along with a nurse’s job. An increasing
array of career opportunities for women now
makes the choice of becoming a nurse even
more complex.
“When I think of a nurse, I think of a
commitment (which) comes from a wide
Nurses
nange
Lives
National Nurses’ Day
May 6, 1989 /
American Nurses’ Association
Cathy Markus/Staff artist
range of knowledge and skills and an appli-
cation of those skills,” said Pat Northam,
R.N., nurse manager of the adult chemical
dependency unit at Charter Hospital of
Dallas, located at 6800 Preston in Plano.
“The demand for nursing services has
never been greater,” said Rains. “Today
nurses are enhancing people’s comfort and
recovery, improving their health status, and
saving lives in settings that range from hospi-
tals, clinics, schools and corporations to
homes — even our nation’s streets.”
Several changes in the health care field
have recently forced the role of nurses to
also change. “Nursing is redefined depend-
ing on the dynamics of the community,” said
Northam.
Due to changes in the method of health
insurance reimbursements, many patients
are now being admitted to hospitals more ill
than they were in the past. “This places a big
emphasis on nursing care because nurses
are dealing with a higher level of illness,”
said Haynes.
Analysts say an aging population and
longer life spans are also requiring nurses to
deal with more elderly, and sometimes, more
ill patients.
in addition, technological advances are
requiring nurses to deal with more intricate
equipment, while a nursing shortage is forc-
ing them to work even harder, said Haynes.
The TNA, along with the American Nurses’
Association, have been actively identifying
solutions to resolve the nursing shortage.
Several solutions have been identified,
such as higher wages, improved working
conditions and providing a greater role for
nurses in patient care decision-making.
“Doctors are really more involved in listen-
ing to what nurses have to say in developing
the patient care,” said Haynes.
To recruit more nurses, many hositals
have initiated programs, which include flexi-
ble scheduling programs, competitive sala-
ries and excellent benefit packages, analysts
say.
“Health care institutions that use nursing’s
strategies are reporting marked improve-
ment in nurse recruitment and retention,”
said Rains. “Community involvement in
Texas Nurses Week activities will serve as
another demonstration of public support for
nursing in the profession’s efforts to resolve
the shortage of nurses.”
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Ball, Jeffrey. The Colony Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 24, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 3, 1989, newspaper, May 3, 1989; The Colony, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1666593/m1/33/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Colony Public Library.