AANP Statement on Administration Meeting Supporting Nursing Community Coronavirus Response

AUSTIN, Texas, March 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- David Hebert, JD, Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners^® (AANP), issued the following statement today following a meeting with President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and members of the Coronavirus Task Force to discuss strategies for strengthening our nation's response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic:

"We thank the Administration for its efforts to coordinate with AANP and other national nursing organizations, as we combat this crisis together. It was critical for us to convey the priorities of the nation's 290,000 nurse practitioners [NPs] serving on the frontlines of our national response to the pandemic. First and foremost, NPs and all health care providers urgently need personal protection equipment, such as masks and gowns to ensure their safety and that of all health care providers treating patients with COVID-19.  Supplies are also necessary to implement testing as well as respirators for treating patients. We asked the Administration to support this priority to the fullest extent of its authority.

Second, we respectfully requested that the Administration work expeditiously to lift all federal barriers that today prevent NPs from practicing to the top of their profession. Further, we call on the nation's governors to immediately suspend all legislative and regulatory barriers that prevent NPs from providing patients with full and direct access to all the health care services NPs are clinically educated and prepared to provide.  We must give NPs the tools and authority now to protect the health and safety of patients.

We request a continued dialogue with the Administration as we navigate this challenging landscape."

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of the more than 290,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. AANP provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice, education and research; and establishing standards that best serve NPs' patients and other health care consumers. As The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner^®, AANP represents the interests of NPs as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered health care. For more information about NPs, visit aanp.org. For COVID-19 information from AANP, visit http://bit.ly/2QsuRGr.

SOURCE American Association of Nurse Practitioners