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Writer's pictureHawaiʻi State Senate
Mar 16, 2017

SENATE RECOGNIZES 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF STATE BOARD OF NURSING


Members of the Senate today recognized the Hawai‘i State Board of Nursing for the significant role it has played in defining the scope of practice while continually promoting improvements for the nursing profession for the past 100 years.

Former Governor Lucius E. Pinkham of the Territory of Hawai‘i signed Act 163 of 1917 entitled “To Provide for the Registration of Nurses” which served to standardize and enforce nursing requirements.

Over the past 100 years, the Board of Nursing, which is housed under Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and consists of 7 nursing professionals and 2 public members, has ensured that Hawai‘i nursing requirements have evolved to keep pace with the ever-changing landscape of health care. Its top priority has always been to ensure that the people of Hawai‘i receive the best care possible by regulating the practice of nursing in a consistent, comprehensive and quality manner.

“One hundred years ago the Board of Nursing was founded by the mission to ‘safeguard life and health in the practice of nursing’,” said Sen. Rosalyn Baker, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health. “Today we honor them as they continue to fulfill that mission and bring personal and quality healthcare to their patients in a variety of healthcare settings. I, along with my colleagues, would like to extend a truly heartfelt mahalo to the Board of Nursing and the dedicated members who volunteer their time to maintain the high quality of nurses who serve our state.”

Honored on the floor of the Senate were Lee Ann Teshima, Executive Officer of the Hawai‘i State Board of Nursing, and Loraine Fleming, Chair of the Board.

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