New York, NY November 5, 2007 -- The National League for Nursing has announced the creation of a new membership category for agencies, organizations, and companies who are committed to helping meet the needs of the ever-changing health care environment. Ranging from nursing organizations to hospitals, from staffing agencies to boards of nursing, from foundations to corporations, these entities may now join the NLN as associate members, thus entitling their staffs to enjoy many of the same benefits and privileges individual nurse faculty and schools of nursing members enjoy.

Asserted NLN CEO Dr. Beverly Malone, who conceived of the new category, "NLN Associates are recognized as dedicated supporters of the organization that is a leader in the work to create a community of nurse educators from around the world that can address and influence issues related to excellence in nursing. And as the only one that represents all types of academic and lifelong learning programs in nursing education, the NLN strives to be inclusive in forging collaborative and supportive relationships with others whose work impacts the profession."

"The early response to this new membership option is testament to the myriad organizations that are committed to stand with the NLN as the voice to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce," said NLN president, Dr. Elaine Tagliareni. "Some of the new NLN Associates already include the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, the American Public Health Association, Laerdal Medical Corporation, Sigma Theta Tau, the Alabama Board of Nursing, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Center, and the College Network."

NLN Associate membership entitles two persons on staff to receive full individual membership; other personnel may pay a discounted rate for full individual membership. All can take advantage of networking opportunities; discounted rates on annual Education Summit registration, NLN testing and assessment products, titles published by the NLN, and professional development workshops, courses, seminars, and conferences; and gain access to funds supporting scholarly research and an online career service.

In addition, associate members gain exposure on the NLN website through a listing in the Associate Directory and may use the specially designed NLN Associate logo in their marketing and correspondence (according to NLN guidelines).

Associate Membership in the NLN costs $500 per year; organizations that join by November 30, 2007, will pay only $400 for their first year of membership. For more information about NLN Associates, go to www.nln.org/membership/index.htm.

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education offering faculty development, networking opportunities, testing and assessment, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 24,000 individual and 1,100 institutional members.