Congress Backs National Hospital Week 2025: A Look at the Scale of U.S. Healthcare

If you’re the friend who always ends up explaining what a bill actually does, here’s a quick one for you: This isn't a bill about funding or policy changes. It’s a resolution officially supporting the goals and ideals of National Hospital Week, set for May 11 through May 17, 2025. Think of it as a formal nod of appreciation from Congress to the entire hospital system and the people who keep it running.

The Official Thank You Note

This resolution is essentially Congress saying, “Hey, we see you.” It formally recognizes National Hospital Week, an observance that dates back to 1921 when it was started on May 12th to honor Florence Nightingale and help rebuild public trust after the 1918 flu pandemic. The core purpose here is to encourage everyone—from state and local governments to the public—to hold events and programs to recognize the critical work hospitals do for patients and communities.

The Real-World Scale of Care

While this resolution doesn't change policy, it does lay out some eye-opening facts about the sheer scale of the U.S. hospital system, which is worth paying attention to. The text notes there are about 6,093 hospitals operating today. That number includes 1,377 Critical Access Hospitals, which are absolutely vital for folks living in remote areas who would otherwise have to drive hours for basic care. It also includes nearly 1,700 teaching hospitals that are training the next generation of doctors and nurses—the people who will be taking care of us in the decades to come.

To put the volume in perspective, U.S. hospitals treated over 34 million admitted patients in 2023 and delivered over 3.6 million babies in 2024. That’s a massive operation. Furthermore, as of April 2025, the system employs over 5.7 million people. That figure includes not just the doctors and nurses, but also the support staff—the folks in maintenance, food service, and administration who ensure the lights stay on and the facilities are clean 24/7. Whether you’re a coder in the city or a construction worker in a rural town, these are the facilities and people you rely on in an emergency.

Why Resolutions Matter

For most people, a Congressional resolution is just noise. But for the millions of people working in healthcare—from the ER doctor pulling a triple shift to the person cleaning the operating room—this resolution provides a public, official acknowledgment of their essential, round-the-clock work. It’s a symbolic gesture, sure, but sometimes recognition is the easiest way to give a morale boost to a workforce that has been under immense pressure for years. By highlighting the system's reliance on everything from urban trauma centers to rural critical access spots, the resolution underscores that high-quality healthcare is a nationwide team effort.