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Top Home Care & Hospice Nurses in the Nation
Caring Magazine Features Stories Highlighting Home Health Nurses

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To coincide with National Nurses Week, which will be celebrated on May 6-12, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) has launched a search asking its 33,000 members, affiliated state associations and the American public to help identify the top hospice and home care nurses in the nation.

"It is most appropriate that we make the effort to identify and celebrate the best among us, the nurses who distinguish themselves by the size of their hearts, by their professionalism, and by their work ethic. These angels of mercy personify the highest standards of our profession. They deserve our great respect and admiration," said Andrea Devoti, RN, chairman of the NAHC Board of Directors.

Ms. Devoti thanked Elaine Stephens, RN, the chairman of NAHC's affiliated Home Healthcare Nurses Association and Sherl Brand, RN, the chairman of NAHC's Forum of State Associations for leading this national search for excellence in nursing.

"Our organization, which represents the nationís home care and hospice nurses, was pleased to lead this effort to help identify the top nurses in our profession, those who honor us all through the quality of their lives. They are our heroes and our role models. They inspire us all to be our best and to remember that each of us can make a profound difference in the lives of those who are so sick that they cannot leave home without assistance," said Ms. Stephens.

"We loved being a part of this campaign," said Ms. Brand, president and CEO of the Home Care Association of New Jersey and chairman of the entity that represents the 50 state home care and hospice organizations. "Our Forum members were pleased to encourage nominations from each of their states. This has been a sacred effort which could not be more timely. A nation is what it honors, and it is time we celebrated the silent band of heroes who give their all to care for Americaís sick and dying as if they were extended family."

The nominations that were received to date were evaluated by a committee of experts who chose the Top 50 Home Care and Hospice Nurses. The American public and the NAHC membership, including home health care nurses themselves, will have the opportunity to vote on NAHC's website to select the Home Care and Hospice Nurse of the Year. Readers are encouraged to log on to www.nahc.org in order to vote for the nurse of their choice. Additional nominations are always welcome and should be sent c/o lisa@nahc.org.

All 50 of the nurses whose photo and story appears in this month's CARING will be invited to the NAHC Annual Meeting & Exposition, which will be held at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, on October 21-25, 2012. Their registration fees will be waived, and they will be honored at a reception. The one who is chosen Home Care and Hospice Nurse of the Year, according to the balloting, will have their travel and hotel expenses paid, and receive the gift of a new Apple iPad.

By honoring these heroic nurses as they serve their infirm or dying patients, the editors of CARING hope to encourage young people to select a career in home care and hospice nursing. The need will be great. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nurses will be in high demand to meet the needs of the aging 78 million Baby Boom generation. According to BLS, there are some 2.6 million registered nurses in the U.S. today, and that number will need to grow 22 percent by 2018. The growth in the need for nurses working in hospice and home health care is even greater; it is expected to increase by 33 percent over this same period of time.