2000

2000 Virginia Nursing Pioneers Recognized
The VNA honored its 51 charter members with a Centennial Celebration Dinner on May 3, 2000 when 51 nurses were presented as recipients of the Virginia Pioneer Nurse Awards. These recipients have made original contributions to nursing in Virginia or the nation by being “the first”, trail blazers, or by making cutting-edge contributions to nursing practice, education, and/or health care.

2000 Nurse Practitioner Authority Expanded
Individual nurse practitioners, other nurses and physicians secured amendments to Virginia law to expand the prescriptive authority for licensed nurse practitioners. By 2003 nurse practitioners will have the authority to prescribe all drugs except those with the highest potential for abuse.

2001 Board of Nursing Appoints Chairman for Centennial Planning Committee
The Virginia Board of Nursing appointed Corinne F. Dorsye to chair a Committee to plan for appropriate observances of the 100th anniversary of the Virginia Nurse Practice Act and Board. The theme for the Centennial year was “Virginia Board of Nursing, 1903-2003- Regulating Nursing- Protecting the Public.”

2002 VLN Hosts Board of Nursing Centennial Conference
The VLN hosted an educational conference at the Jefferson hotel in Richmond on March 22, 2002 to begin a yearlong observance of the Centennial of the Virginia Nurse Practice Act and the Virginia Board of Nursing.

2003 Board of Nursing Centennial Observances
The Virginia General Assembly adopted a resolution commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Virginia Nurse Practice Act and Governor Mark Warner issued a resolution to mark the occasion. The VNA hosted a Gala Dinner in Richmond on May 14, 2003 exactly 100 years from the date when the original nurse practice act was signed. This Gala paid tribute to the 100 members who have served on the Board in Nursing in its first 100 years and to those who have served on the Board in Nursing in its first 100 years and to those who have served as members of the staff to the Board.

2003 ANA Changes Structure
The ANA House of Delegates amended the bylaws to create new categories to facilitate alternative membership routes for organizations and individuals at its Convention in 2003. The traditional path of membership through the ANA’s 54 constituent member associations remains in place. New categories included associate organizational members (AOMs), individual members and individual affiliates.

2003 First Associate Organizational Members of the ANA
The United American Nurses (UAN) and the Commission on Workplace Advocacy (renamed the Center for American Nurses) became the first AOMs of the ANA under its new structure effective on July 1, 2003. The continued connection between the ANA and both the UAN and CAN provides for the representation of the interests of the nurses of the United States. The ANA will focus on the basic issues of the profession while the independent UAN (an affiliate of both the ANA and the AFL-CIO) and CAN will provide workplace services for individual nurses by enabling the collective bargaining as well as the workplace advocacy aims of the ANA.

2003 VNA Becomes Member of the Center for American Nurses
The Delegate Assembly of the VNA, at its convention in October 2003 adopted a resolution to affirm the decision of the Board of Directors to be a member of the CAN.

2003 Nurse Licensure Compact Adopted
The Virginia General Assembly in 2003 enacted legislation to provide for a nurse licensure compact that will become effective on January 1, 2005.Virginia was the 19th state to pass such legislation. As a result, nurses will be licensed only in their home state, but will be allowed to practice on a multi-state privilege in any other state that has adopted the legislation.

2003 VPN Finalizes Educational Mobility Plan
The Virginia Partnership for Nurses (VPN, formerly the Virginia Partnership for Strategic Planning in Nursing in Virginia) finalized the Virginia Educational mobility Plan for LPN/RN and RN/BS. Under the aegis of the VPN, a LPN to RN Articulation Model was approved by all but one of the associate degree programs and by a majority of the diploma and baccalaureate programs in Virginia. LPNs enrolled in the RN programs will receive advanced standing based on 12 to 20 credits for courses taken in their PN education program. The RN to BS model has been approved by almost all of the baccalaureate programs and the requirements vary by school.

2005 Virginia Joins the Nurse Licensure Compact
Virginia joined the Nurse Licensure Compact on January 1, 2005. The Compact authorized licensed Practical Nurses and Registered Nurses licensed in and residing in a compact state (home state) to practice in other compact (remote) states without the necessity of obtaining additional licensure.

2006 VPN and LCVN collaborate to establish a Nursing Workforce Data Center
The Virginia Partnership for Nurses (VPN) and the Legislative Coalition of Virginia Nurses (LCVN) worked collaboratively to design and create a Nursing Workforce Data Center.

2006 Virginia’s Attorney General Names VNA President to Regulatory Reform Task Force
Attorney General Robert “Bob” McDonald named VNA President Teresa Haller to the Regulatory Reform Taskforce. Its goal was to evaluate current healthcare regulations in terms of statutory authority, costs, and monitoring. The taskforce was made of members from 15 health care organizations, the business sector, and state senators. The ultimate goal was to remoce or modify unnecessary or burdensome regulations that often unintentionally created barriers for patients to access care.

2007 The Virginia General Assembly Approves $1.6 Million to Bolster Nursing Programs
The House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committee within the Virginia General Assembly approved amendments focusing on the nurse faculty shortages. $1.6 million was approved for the FY2008 state budget to bolster nursing programs at Virginia’s colleges and universities. $1.4 million of the appropriations were devoted to a 10% nursing faculty pay increase at institutions of higher learning across the state. $1.5 million was designated for the expansion of a Visiting Faculty Program at the New College Institute in Martinsville, where nursing would be designated as a focus area.

2008 VNA Initiates Safe Staffing Program in Virginia
As part of the ANA’s Safe Staffing Saves Lives Campaign, the VNA organized a Safe Staffing Advisory Council under the direction of Teresa Haller, former VNA President. Its primary purpose was to explore the staffing situations in Virginia and to determine if any of those situations compromised patient care.