Nurses honor the past, shape the future during ANA’s 130th year

As the American Nurses Association (ANA) marks its 130th anniversary, more than 500 nurses, nurse leaders, and advocates brought The Power of Nurses® to Washington, D.C., for ANA’s Hill Day on June 25 and for the annual meeting of the Membership Assembly June 26-27. Together these two events took place in The Year of the Power of Nurses, as proclaimed by Congress in honor of ANA’s 130th anniversary in 2026.

In a landmark decision, the voting members of the assembly approved an update to the association’s bylaws, expanding membership eligibility to include licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses (LPNs/LVNs). The change, which follows a multi-year effort, reflects ANA’s commitment to strengthening the nursing workforce and advancing professional advocacy, and it ensures more nurses can access professional resources, community, and representation through ANA.

“The Power of Nurses is in our unity, across specialties and settings,” said ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. “ANA is proud to welcome licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses into its membership community. LPNs and LVNs are essential to patient care and to the strength of our profession. By expanding eligibility, we’re building a more inclusive ANA that reflects the full nursing team, resulting in improved outcomes for nurses and the patients and communities we serve.”

The full effect of the bylaws change will take place over the coming months as the LPN/LVN membership model is operationalized by July 1, 2027. LPNs/LVNs are invited to share their interest in receiving information about ANA membership on the ANA website at americannurs.es/lpn-lvn-interest.

Key milestones and moments

In the final address of her second term, Dr. Mensik Kennedy welcomed the more than 400 nurse leaders from across the country to the assembly and reflected on real progress for the profession and opportunities that lie ahead.

Highlighting key milestones, Dr. Mensik Kennedy emphasized steady efforts by ANA to alleviate the nurse staffing crisis. Earlier decisions by the assembly affirmed the right of every nurse to advocate for the staffing approaches that make the most sense in their own setting—staffing committees, mandated disclosure of staffing levels, legislated minimum ratios. Through concrete solutions and steady progress, in collaboration with key partners, staffing is included for the first time in the Joint Commission’s Hospital National Performance Goals as of January this year.

Dr. Mensik Kennedy also spoke of the association’s continued, sincere commitment to equity, accountability, and change. This necessary, difficult, and at times painful work will never end, she stressed.

Following ANA’s Hill Day on June 25, she described the whirlwind year advocating for nursing as a professional degree for purposes of federal student loan limits, which remains an urgent issue that the nursing profession, along with partners in Congress, are actively working to address through legal and regulatory avenues.

“Nursing is a profession, and nurses are professionals—and we will say so in every statehouse, every hallway of Congress, and every courtroom until it is beyond dispute,” Dr. Mensik Kennedy emphasized.

She reminded the assembly of the importance of civic engagement and the imperative to participate fully in our democracy to ensure that public officials hear the voice “We were chosen to lead and serve at this moment for a reason—and we know what is at stake: the future of our profession, the strength of our healthcare system, and the well-being of every person we serve,” she said.

Dr. Mensik Kennedy also emphasized the need for sustained engagement by ANA members to keep the association strong and relevant for the next 130 years. “Wherever you serve today—as an observer, on a local committee, at the state level—there is a next step waiting for you. We welcome your participation,” she said.

Driving change

In his report, Chief Nursing Officer Brad Goettl, DNP, DHA, RN, FNP-C, FAAN, reviewed the association’s actions from Dialogue Forum recommendations voted on by the 2025 Membership Assembly and provided updates on new initiatives of the association, including the recent outcomes of the ANA AI in Nursing Practice Think Tank.

Another top concern for ANA is preventing workplace violence—including incivility, bullying, and lateral violence within our own profession, Goettl said. To accelerate action on this issue, ANA convened a national coalition of 10 non-nursing organizations, broadening collaboration across healthcare in April. “Together, we are taking a whole-of-healthcare approach to raise awareness, drive meaningful change, and build environments where every worker is protected and every patient is safe,” he said.

Input during the 2025 assembly helped shape the revised ANA position statement, Addressing Nurse Fatigue to Promote Health, Safety, and Well-Being for All, which was recently approved by the ANA Board of Directors.

Earlier this year, ANA formally recognized Men’s Health Nursing as a specialty and officially adopted the Men’s Health Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, which will be published this summer.

Dr. Goettl underscored that one of his highest priorities as CNO is “building stronger relationships across organizations, moving collaboration beyond conversation and into action, and creating the partnerships we need to address the complex challenges facing healthcare and the nursing workforce.”

Building a stronger future

In her report on the final day of the assembly, American Nurses Enterprise CEO Angela Beddoe pointed to the launch of the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan to guide the organization’s efforts around three priorities: Advocate, Elevate, and Engage.

Last year, Beddoe spoke about “Imagining into 2040” as a future-facing effort to ask bigger questions about what the organization needs to become. In her remarks she added, “Preparing for 2040 does not mean we only look ahead. We also have to manage the moments in front of us.”

Beddoe highlighted examples of forward momentum including national advocacy, strategic partnership, and engagement initiatives like ANA’s national campaign opposing the exclusion of nursing from the federal professional degree definition, which was recognized for its impact by the American Society of Association Executives with the Gold Circle award.

Beddoe updated the assembly on The Power of Nurses storytelling campaign, which has generated more than 54 million impressions and is sharing stories nationwide that illustrate how nurses transform lives, communities, and healthcare. The campaign video, “A Nurse Saved Our Family Ranch,” has been watched more than 7 million times in full and is airing on networks nationally, along with digital platforms and social media. Buses are carrying The Power of Nurses through 10 major cities, including one in Washington, D.C. during ANA Hill Day. Assembly attendees previewed the next video installment in the national campaign.

“These moments matter,” Beddoe said. “They remind nurses that we see them, not only in policy debates or membership reports, but in their workplaces, their communities, and their daily practice. They also create new entry points for nurses who may not yet know ANA well, but who can begin to see that this organization is present, relevant, and working on their behalf.”

Policy actions

In addition to the bylaws vote, assembly representatives approved the full Professional Policy Committee Report, including three Dialogue Forum proposals:

• Establishing a Framework for the Prevention, Reporting, and Accountability of Incivility Bullying Across Nursing Education and Practice Settings
• Nurses Leading Health Care Sustainability
• Integrating Cannabis Nursing Competencies Through Education and Policy to Advance Patient Safety and Compassionate Care in Practice

Celebrating 130 years

As part of ANA’s year-long observance of the 130th anniversary of its founding, Membership Assembly attendees shared their stories for The Power of Nurses Storytelling campaign and walked through 50 years of the Hall of Fame.

In a first, eight former ANA presidents joined Dr. Mensik Kennedy in the luncheon, Presidential Perspectives: Legacy, Leadership, and Shaping the Future of Nursing. This forum reflected on nursing’s past to inform its future and built continuity and leadership across the generations through the participation of ANA’s NextGen Ambassadors. Watch the program on ANA’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/nursesmatter.

Recognizing achievements

On the evening of June 25, ANA honored more than 20 recipients of the prestigious 2026 ANA National Awards and President’s Awards, which recognize outstanding nurses and nurse champions for their vital contributions to the nursing profession and within the healthcare landscape. The ceremony celebrated The Power of Nurses, their extraordinary achievements, and their meaningful contributions. Read the full list of recipients at nursingworld.org/ana/national-awards-program.

During the opening of ANA Membership Assembly, the New Jersey State Nurses Association was recognized for its 125th anniversary.

Giving back

Total philanthropy raised for the American Nurses Foundation—through its Text-to-Give and Foundation Donors Luncheon—amounted to more than $25,000. These funds support nurse-led initiatives involving nurse well-being, innovation, and reimagining nursing. Make a donation at nursingworld.org/donate.

Remembering fallen nurses

The assembly led its annual tribute to remember nurses who have passed away during the Nurses’ Legacy Memorial. Visit the memorial at nursingworld.org/ana/about-ana/nurses-legacy-memorial.

Hill Day 2026: Nurses take crucial issues to policymakers

On the day before the Membership Assembly, nurses carried out one of the most fundamental acts of democracy: engaging directly with elected representatives about the policies and regulations that shape nursing practice, affect patients, and impact the nation’s health.

For ANA Hill Day, more than 500 individuals from 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands educated members of Congress and their staff about priority legislative issues for the nursing profession.

“Bring your lived experience to our meetings. Bring your expertise. Bring your stories. Bring the full power of your voice,” urged ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN.

The passionate and energized group of nurses had 357 meetings with House and Senate offices, including 87 meetings directly with members of
Congress.

“Legislators need to understand the needs of our patients and the needs of the nurses,” said Lenore Sears-Gay, MSN, MBA, RN, vice president of the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association. “There’s nothing like giving our true story and our real, lived experiences to make an impression. If they don’t hear our true experience, then they’re not going to understand and fight for us.”

Before nurses left for their Hill Day visits, they welcomed Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14), who had a “fireside chat” with Dr. Mensik Kennedy. Underwood is a registered nurse and serves as a vice-chair of the Congressional Nursing Caucus.

Describing the current policy and regulatory environment as a “survival moment” for the profession, Underwood urged attendees to make the case for nursing issues not only during their Hill Day visits but also during town halls and other meetings in their representatives’ home districts. “When we fully realize and actualize our power, there will be no stopping us,” Underwood said.

A top priority for Hill Day attendees was to build support for the Nursing Is a Professional Degree Act (H.R. 8691/S. 4568).

Erica Mills, PhD, RN, NPD-BC, immediate past president of the Georgia Nurses Association, was among the attendees who voiced support. “I use federal aid. I want others coming behind me to also have the opportunity to get that federal aid,” she said. “We need more teachers; we need more master’s prepared nurses to be nurse practitioners to fill in the gaps, so this is a grave injustice if Congress doesn’t help us with this issue.”

Additionally, nurses advocated for support of the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 2531/S. 1232), funding for the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs and the National Institute of Nursing Research, and passage of Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 3593/S. 1874).

To remove arbitrary, outdated barriers to APRN practice in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, attendees advocated for the Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act (H. 1317/S. 575).

Amplifying the messages that were shared on Capitol Hill, more than 1,000 advocates voiced their opinion online through ANA’s Day of Action. Get involved at RNAction.org.

American Nurse Journal. 2026; 21(8). Doi: 10.51256/ANJ082628