Downers Grove, Ill. – Nurses from Advocate Sherman Hospital descended on the State Capitol in Springfield today to engage legislators on issues affecting health care and the nursing profession. More than 80 direct care nurses from across the Advocate system – including 6 from Advocate Sherman Hospital– met with dozens of state legislators, including Senate President John Cullerton, Senator Cristina Castro, Senator Karen McConnaughay, Rep. Steven Andersson, Rep. Fred Crespo, Rep. Mike Fortner, Rep. Anna Moeller, Rep. Allen Skillicorn, and Rep. Keith Wheeler, as part of Advocate’s annual Nurse Advocacy Day.
Participating nurses rallied support to maintain Medicaid funding levels, raise the legal age of purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21, and pass the Nurse Licensure Compact—legislation that would allow nurses licensed in Illinois to practice in other compact states, including Wisconsin.
“Nurses have a unique opportunity and role to influence health policy,” commented Cheri Goll, Chief Nurse Executive at Advocate Sherman Hospital, “The Advocate Nurse is an effective advocate; whether championing the public’s health, or the nursing profession and the essential role that nurses play in promoting extraordinary care.”
Nurse Advocacy Day is hosted by Advocate’s Nurse Advocacy Council (NAC), a self-governed council composed of frontline nurses that works to educate and empower the largest nursing audience in Illinois: Advocate's more than 11,000 professional nurses. Advocate is the only known health care provider in the state to provide frontline nurses with this opportunity, thus giving them a stronger voice on legislative issues in Springfield and Washington D.C.
This is the group’s 13th year Advocate Health Care has had nurses visiting Springfield for advocacy.
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Advocate Sherman Hospital is a non-profit, acute care hospital with highly skilled physicians and clinical professionals, who have provided comprehensive, quality proven, and compassionate health care to the patients and communities of Chicago’s northwest suburbs for more than 125 years. Recognized programs include cardiology, oncology, neurosciences, orthopedics, and women’s health. The hospital also features a Level II Trauma center, plus an emergency department approved for pediatrics; backed by the resources of Advocate Children’s Hospital. Over the past five years, Sherman has invested more than $75 million in new medical technology and facilities to offer the most advanced, cutting edge care close to home, including the latest advancements in minimally-invasive, robotic assisted surgery. Sherman Hospital is part of Advocate Health Care, the largest health system in Illinois and one of the largest health care providers in the Midwest and was recently highlighted in Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals in the country with Everest Distinction.