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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michelle Gordon, 912.961.3173

Back (left to right): James Dean, Susan Sammons, Jack Kingston, Francis Jeffers, Sarah Ridgeway, Kim Wilson.
Front: Heather Hipchen, Betty Canfield, and Angela Long

Graduate Nursing Students on the Move
to Washington, D.C.

Savannah, GA—April 21, 2004—Sixteen graduate nursing students attended a Nurse in Washington Internship with the help and support of Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU). The internship was an intensive four-day trip to the nation's capitol to learn how nurses can be heard in the political arena.

An array of political activists came to help some 130 nurses from across the nation to speak to state legislators about issues concerning nursing and the patient population. Example of issues discussed included the Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act of 2003, end of life issues, prescriptive authority for advanced practice nurses, and the
Nurse Reimbursement Act.

Senator Zell Miller, Congressman Jack Kingston, Senator Saxby Chambliss, and Congressman Max Burns greeted the participants and listened to their concerns. Although they received no promises, they were at least able to educate the representatives on what issues nurses are concerned about and let them know that nurses are being politically active.

The attendees were Sarah Rideway, Betty Canfield, James Dean, Francis Jeffers, Kim Wilson, Heather Hipchen, Rosalind Singleton, Susan Sammons, Angela Long, Sherrie Sharpe, Deborah Kemp, Patty Bergo, Ana Sexton, Kessa Englert, Debbie DeAbate, and Judy Loon.