“This Veterans Day, we remember and honor the invaluable contributions of our nation’s veterans, including the nurse practitioners (NPs) who have served or who are currently serving in the armed forces,” said April N. Kapu, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FCCM, FAAN, president of AANP.
“We believe veterans deserve high-quality, accessible health care from the provider of their choice,” Kapu said. “NPs are proud to treat veterans in all settings and to ensure those who fought on the front lines don’t wait in line for health care. Nearly 6,000 NPs practice across the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). NPs are committed to improving veterans’ health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the decades to come.”
To date, NPs and other health care professionals within the VHA have diagnosed 359,180 people with COVID-19, administered more than 5.2 million COVID-19 tests to veterans and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees and treated more than 58,941 veterans with COVID-19. Nearly 4 million veterans are now vaccinated.
AANP has played a key role in expanding veterans’ access to high-quality health care, including efforts to secure legislation that improved choice and expanded access to health care providers within the VHA. By supporting the Joining Forces initiative, AANP helped bolster care to veterans and their families in communities nationwide. AANP also led efforts to increase care for service-related injuries as well as service-related mental health and emotional trauma.
This Veterans Day and throughout the year, veterans and their families deserve access to high-quality health care from the provider of their choice, and the nation’s NPs remain steadfast in their dedication to providing that care.
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of the more than 325,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. AANP provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice, education and research; and establishing standards that best serve NPs’ patients and other health care consumers. To locate an NP in your community, visit npfinder.com. For more information about NPs, visit aanp.org.
SOURCE American Association of Nurse Practitioners
