May 10, 2017

Florida Department of Health Recognizes Florida Nurses During National Nurse Week and School Nurse Day

Contact:
Communications Office
NewsMedia@flhealth.gov
(850) 245-4111

Tallahassee, Fla.—The Florida Department of Health wishes to celebrate and thank Florida nurses during National Nurses Week. Florida’s more than 600,000 nursing professionals work every day to provide high quality care in a variety of settings from hospitals to doctors’ offices to county health departments and schools. The department also recognizes today as School Nurse Day, a day set aside to thank school nurses for the important work they do on behalf of students. School nurses around Florida serve 2.8 million students and supervise 26.2 million services to keep Florida’s students safe and healthy while at school.

“Florida’s nurses are an integral part of caring for patients, but they also play a critical role in protecting public health throughout our state. Nurses are often on the front lines of patient care and their commitment to the health and well-being of every patient is honored by the Governor’s proclamation,” said State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. Celeste Philip. “My parents are retired nurses and I know how hard they worked to care for their patients. I encourage all Floridians to join me in extending our sincerest thanks and appreciation to each and every nurse in Florida.”

Nursing is a huge part of the public health workforce and the training nurses receive in school gives them the skills needed to successfully improve public health. Public health nurses work with individuals, families and communities as a whole to prevent disease and promote the overall health of the area. They work in clinics to provide immunizations, conduct testing for diseases and infections, help people manage chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma and help people achieve a healthy lifestyle. Public health nurses also help communities prepare for natural disasters and assist in disaster relief efforts. Public health nurses are on the front lines every day in their communities and they are the backbone of public health.

Nursing continues to be a high-demand occupation in Florida. As of 2016, the Florida Center for Nursing estimated there were nearly 12,500 vacant Registered Nurse (RN) positions and an estimated 9,947 new RN positions to be created in 2016. Overall, there is an increase of nearly 30 percent in vacant RN positions since 2013. Last year, the Division of Medical Quality Assurance (MQA) received more than 30,000 initial licensure applications from registered nurses and issued 25,087 licenses.

For information on obtaining a license as a nurse, please visit www.flhealthsource.gov.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health, please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.