Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman NANCY F. MUNOZ

District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)

Assemblywoman ALISON LITTELL MCHOSE

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER

District 28 (Essex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Gove

SYNOPSIS

Designates July 1, 2015 as "U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps Day."

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As reported by the Assembly Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee on December 11, 2014, with amendments.

An Assembly Resolution designating July 1, ¹[2014] 2015¹ as "U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps Day."

Whereas, In 1943, the federal government established the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, a temporary program to address the shortage of nurses at the time, due to the needs of the military during World War II; and

Whereas, Between the years 1943 to 1948, over 124,000 women graduated from the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, and by 1945, U.S. Cadet Nurses were providing over 80 percent of the nursing care in U.S. hospitals; and

Whereas, Without the service of the U.S. Cadet Nurses, U.S. hospitals would have been critically understaffed and unable to adequately treat patients; and

Whereas, Training programs sponsored by the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps included public health nursing, nursing education and supervision, psychiatric nursing, tuberculosis nursing, midwifery, surgery, pediatrics, anesthesiology and orthopedics; and

Whereas, The U.S. Cadet Nurses treated epidemics of infantile paralysis (polio) and tuberculosis and faced exposure to many communicable diseases; and

Whereas, Many U.S. Cadet Nurses continued to work in the field of nursing after the Corps was discontinued, thereby continuing to contribute to healthcare services long after World War II had ended; and

Whereas, Each U.S. Cadet Nurse swore an oath to the country for her "service in essential nursing for the duration of the war"; and

Whereas, The U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps provided considerable funds to nursing schools, which led to improvements in educational standards and libraries for nursing schools, as well as fostered a more academic approach to nursing rather than apprenticeship training; and

Whereas, Young women who otherwise may not have been able to afford higher education were provided career opportunities through the scholarships and stipends offered by the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps; and

Whereas, The U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps was required by law to accept African-Americans and helped to integrate nursing schools that previously only accepted white students by recruiting 3,000 African-American women; and

Whereas, The U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps had the enduring effect of innovating and reshaping the field of nursing; and

Whereas, It is altogether fitting and proper for this House to designate July 1,¹[2014] 2015¹ as "U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps Day";

now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This House designates July 1, ¹[2014] 2015¹ as "U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps Day" to recognize and commend the women who dedicated themselves to essential nursing services during World War II.

2. The Governor is respectfully requested to issue a proclamation designating July 1, ¹[2014] 2015¹ as "U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps Day" and call upon public officials and the citizens of New Jersey to observe the day with appropriate activities and programs.