Tom's Iowa Journal
Wednesday August 9, 2006
Senator Harkin received the Emergency Nurses Association's 2006 Public Service Award on Wednesday. Harkin was honored for his longstanding support for the nursing profession as the top Democrat on the Senate panel that funds health care initiatives. The ENA is the world's largest professional organization devoted to the advancement of emergency nursing.
Today, I was honored to receive the Emergency Nurses Association's (ENA) 2006 Public Service Award. My friend and colleague Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) also received the award this year. Arlen and I have worked together for many years to secure funding for important health initiatives. This year, we successfully offered an amendment to put $7 billion back into the FY 2007 budget to support health, education, and training programs whose funding was severally cut. ENA and several other organizations have told us that these programs are crucial to ensuring that our emergency personnel have the tools they need to care for our families in times of crisis.
 I was touched when the President of the Iowa ENA State Council Joni Thornton thanked Arlen and me for our efforts to improve our nation's emergency care infrastructure: "The fact you and Specter stuck your necks out to support this issue meant a great deal to the emergency nurses around the country. We paid attention and appreciated your effort," Joni said.
As I talked with Joni and her peers, we all agreed that we need to do more to bolster our nation's public health infrastructure. Emergency nurses and doctors, as well as our state and local health departments, are our first line of defense when we face a natural disaster, epidemic, or terrorist attack. We simply must ensure that these health care providers have the resources they need.
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