CHICAGO -- The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) has named Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) as recipients of its Public Service Award for their longstanding commitment and support in advancing nursing in the United States. The award was presented to the senators by members of the ENA board of directors on July 15, .

“Senators Collins and Mikulski have worked tirelessly to secure funding for key nursing programs in the Senate,” said Mary Ellen (Mel) Wilson, RN, president of the ENA. “Their strong public advocacy on behalf of nursing has made a positive difference for the profession.”

 First elected to the Senate in , Mikulski has been a leading proponent of nursing and women’s health issues. She has worked to usher funding increases that have occurred in Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act as amended by the Nurse Reinvestment Act over the past two funding cycles. Mikulski also helped steer the Nursing Reinvestment Act through the Senate. She has advocated having women included in clinical trials and medical research at the National Institutes of Health, and helped double the NIH’s funding for important health research. In addition, she wrote the law requiring federal standards for mammograms. She is currently the third highest-ranking member of the Senate Democratic leadership and dean of the Senate women.

 Collins was first elected to the Senate in . Since then, she has been an advocate for nursing and increased health care access for U.S. citizens, particularly those living in rural areas. Along with Mikulski, she worked to move the Nursing Reinvestment Act through the Senate and help increase funding for nurse workforce development programs. Additionally, she has led efforts to restore Medicare funding for home healthcare for senior citizens, and, as the founder of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, she worked to double federal funding for diabetes research.

 ENA’s Public Service Award is bestowed annually to congressional leaders who have contributed to the advancement of nursing in the United States through active leadership in health care policy and strong public advocacy in support of nursing or injury prevention issues. The award was established in by the ENA Board of Directors.

Source: Emergency Nurses Association