WHEREAS, nurse practitioners (NPs) play a critical role as trusted providers of health care for patients in our state, working to expand health care access in underserved communities and promote health equity in care; and

WHEREAS, patients depend on the 3,147 licensed NPs in Maine to diagnose, manage, and treat their chronic and acute health care conditions; and

WHEREAS, NPs provide high-quality primary, acute and specialty health care services while emphasizing health promotion, disease prevention, health education, and counseling, guiding patients to make smarter health and lifestyle choices every day; and

WHEREAS, more than six decades of research demonstrates the high quality of care provided by NPs, and the confidence that patients have in NP-delivered health care is evidenced by the more than 1 billion visits made annually to NPs across the country; and

WHEREAS, better utilization of NPs through modernized state laws and improved policies creates better health through a more accessible, efficient, cost-effective, and higher-quality health care system; and

WHEREAS, leading governmental and policy entities including the National Academy of Medicine, National Council of State Boards of Nursing, National Governors Association and Federal Trade Commission have taken notice of the benefits of providing patients full and direct access to NP-delivered care; and

WHEREAS, Maine, celebrating 28 years of NP Full Practice Authority, is proud to recognize and honor the service of NPs and the pivotal role they play in the health and welfare of our state;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim the week of November 12th through 18th, 2023 as

National Nurse Practitioner Week

throughout the State of Maine, and I urge all citizens to recognize the countless contributions NPs have made and will continue to make on behalf of the health and well-being of the people of our state.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this fourteenth day of November Two Thousand Twenty Three