My experience as a school nurse taught me that we need to make a concerted effort, all of us, to increase physical fitness activity among our children and to encourage all Americans to adopt a healthier diet that includes fruits and vegetables, but there is more.

I want to thank the efforts of the American Public Health Association and its 200-plus partners who have organized events around the Nation that serve to raise everyone's awareness of the need to improve public health.

Studies have indicated there is a strong correlation between the shortages of nurses and morbidity and mortality rates in our hospitals.

That makes climate change a bigger public health problem than AIDS, than malaria, than pandemic flu.

In addition, for almost a year now I have been urging the President, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate suspicious gas price spikes.

Nurses serve their patients in the most important capacities. We know that they serve as our first lines of communication when something goes wrong or when we are concerned about health.

Unfortunately, we are still in an age where individuals may be discriminated against because of health conditions.