An Intern’s-Eye View of the Policy and Issues Forum
By NACHC Public Policy Interns
Each year NACHC’s class of spring interns gets a chance to be a part of the Policy and Issues Forum, where over 2,000 health center advocates come to Washington, DC to meet, eat, and advocate on the Hill. This year’s 2010 class included George Washington University MPH Candidates, Betsy Stoller, Christina Miller, Susan Baade, and Trong Le, along with Ielnaz Kashefipour, a 2008 graduate of UCLA’s Masters of Public Policy Program. When NACHC offered us a chance to share our unique perspective of our internship and P&I experiences, we decided to share our favorite moments from this year’s Policy and Issues Forum:
Trong
One of many great experiences that I had at the P&I was attending delegation meetings with health centers from Massachusetts and Louisiana the night before Hill visits. Advocates from each state gathered to discuss tactics and talking points that they would use in their visits to their Members of Congress the next day. Since a push for additional funding for health centers in the next fiscal year is a priority, getting Members to sign the Health Center Appropriations Dear Colleague Letters was a main focus at these meetings. Attendees also used these meeting to catch up and discuss how the current economic and political landscape would affect their health centers. They shared their views of and appreciation for some of their Members of Congress. I felt a strong sense of community at these meetings, where discussions were so focused on how to do more good for more people. I also appreciated the democratic nature of this process, that allows individuals representing their centers and communities to voice their opinions to their leaders, who in turn present these opinions to Members of Congress.
Betsy
Meeting the leaders of health centers from around the country and listening to them share their stories between meetings and educational sessions was not only interesting but motivating. Often as an intern you don’t get the chance to meet the people you work for or get a hands-on explanation of why health centers are so needed and effective. So, when I heard that Jack Geiger, John Dittmer, and John Hatch were going to be speaking at the closing General Session, I was incredibly excited. These men are the founders of the Health Center movement and listening to them speak was like a civil rights history text book come to life. The way they spoke so passionately about the role of community and progress and their belief, even in a time of civil unrest, that all Americans were entitled to quality healthcare was extremely moving. They reaffirmed that the work NACHC is doing today echoes what the founding fathers of the movement believed. Having the opportunity to meet these men as well as all the health center leaders and NACHC staff, made me a firm believer and a forever supporter of the Health Center movement.
Ielnaz
P&I was a great experience. I thought that the state delegations did a great job, and it was wonderful to watch. I attended the California state delegation meeting Wednesday evening, where I had the opportunity to meet several fantastic leaders: Elia Gallardo, Director of Government Affairs at the California Primary Care Association (CPCA); Bill Hobson, President and CEO of Watts Healthcare (whom I’d actually met Tuesday morning at the Congressional briefing about health centers’ experiences with ARRA funding); and others. Being from California myself, it was a great opportunity to see what folks are doing for health centers in the state I know well. I also had the opportunity to meet David Quackenbush, Chief Executive Officer at Central Valley Health Network. I look forward to visiting them on my next trip to California. It was also wonderful to be able to attend Hill visits with advocates from Missouri, Maryland and Delaware. These are all passionate, talented, wonderful people who are truly dedicated to the populations they care for. It was very inspiring to see them talking to their representatives in Congress. I love them all and I love health centers. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this work.
Christina
I do not think I ever really appreciated the grand scope of the national health center network until I saw its advocates in action on Thursday’s “Hill Day.” Our advocates from around the country spent long hours trekking around Capitol Hill, thanking and educating their congressional leadership on all that has been made possible thanks to congressional support. I was fortunate enough to sit in on a few meetings between our advocates and congressional leaders and staff, and was particularly struck by the passion with which health center representatives sought to make a difference. They were ready, willing, and able to do more, in spite of their already tireless efforts, if only they were granted the resources that would enable them to do so. As someone young in the field, it was a great opportunity to witness the work of these professionals united by the great cause of providing affordable and accessible health care to all.
Susan
As an intern it was an honor to participate in this year’s Policy and Issues Forum. The highlight of the conference for me was the day spent on the Hill with people from several Primary Care Associations as they met with their respective Senators and staff to discuss the impact and future of the Community Health Center program. Each PCA brought a unique perspective to their Senator, as they discussed the support for Community Health Centers provided by the ARRA Stimulus funding and their continued ability to provide comprehensive health care services to members of their community. Even though each PCA discussed specific issues regarding their state, it was interesting to note recurring themes of the capabilities of Community Health Centers to reach members of their communities and the acknowledgment from the Senators and their staff of the fantastic work happening in health centers. It was a privilege to spend the day with individuals committed to the health care and well being of their communities.
Congratulations and Thank You to Our 2010 Grassroots Awards Recipients
Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means. – Albert Einstein
All of these outstanding Health Center Advocates were recognized at NACHC’s recent Policy & Issues Forum. If you know these folks or happen to see them, please say thanks. Their efforts have helped every health center!
The following were inducted into the NACHC Grassroots Hall of Fame for their lasting contributions to insuring the creation, survival and strength of Health Centers and the Health Center movement through their dedicated and tireless efforts over many years:
Scott S. Graff – Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas, Inc., Sioux Falls, SD
Barbra E. Minch – William F. Ryan Community Health Center, New York, NY
Sip Mouden – Community Health Centers of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR
Miguel (Mike) Trevino, Jr. – Gateway Community Health Center, Inc., Laredo, TX
Alfreda Turner – Charter Oak Health Center, Inc., Hartford, CT
The NACHC Grassroots MVP Award is named in honor of the late Elizabeth K. (Betsey) Cooke whose constant effort and unflagging persistence as an advocate for America’s health centers and health center patients set an example for all health center advocates to follow.
The 2010 honorees all went above and beyond in their efforts to insure that their Members of Congress actively supported Health Centers or to establish and expand grassroots advocacy efforts at their health center or in their state last year. They are
Ellen Adlam – Peninsula Community Health Services of Alaska, Soldotna, AK
Tary L. Brown – Albany Area Primary Health Care, Albany, GA
Rev. Robert T. Carlson - Penobscot Community Health Center, Bangor, ME
Suzanne Cohen – Health Federation of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
J. Lorraine Estradas – Arroyo Vista Family Health Center, Los Angeles, CA
Jane Garcia - La Clinica De La Raza, Oakland, CA
Blake Hall – Community Health of South Florida, Inc, Miami, FL
Dana Hughes – Michigan Primary Care Association, Lansing, MI
Dennis Kruse – Family Care Health Centers, Saint Louis, MO
E. Benjamin Money, Jr. – North Carolina Community Health Center Assoc., Morrisville, NC
Sarah K, Noonan -Westside Health, Inc, Wilmington, DE
Kim Schwartz – Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center, Ahoskie, NC
Steve Shattls – Valley Health Systems, Inc., Huntington, WV
Soren Tjernell – Community Clinic Consortium, Richmond, CA
Beth Wrobel – HealthLinc, Inc., Valparaiso, IN
You Can’t Always Get What You Want
“You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You get what you need”
- The Rolling Stones
I know that health reform hasn’t passed – yet. I know that health center advocates will continue to make the case why comprehensive reform is essential to the patients and communities we serve and to urge policymakers not to quit. However, this is not a blog post about health reform. Whether reform happens and no matter what form it eventually takes, Health Centers must still be committed to getting what we need to serve those who need access to health care most.
Nearly two years ago, Health Centers outlined in our ACCESS for All America plan what we need to provide a health care home to all 60 million people that today have no regular source of care. That was our plan before the health reform debate began and we are still ready to deliver on that promise. Even as we continue to advocate for comprehensive reform, we have to remain focused on securing the resources necessary to meet the comprehensive health care needs of 30 million patients by 2015 – by whatever path is available.
We know what we want, but we still have to try to get what we need now. That process begins in earnest as over 2000 health center advocates come to Washington next week for the NACHC Policy & Issues Forum. On February 25, the same day that President Obama holds his Health Reform Summit; these advocates will be on Capitol Hill urging action on health reform and asking for the resources to make the ACCESS for All America Plan a reality.
Our task will not be easy. It never is. But in the current environment of economic turmoil, ballooning federal deficits and toxic partisan rhetoric, our ability to deliver our message and have it heard will be tested as it seldom has. We will certainly meet some resistance when we ask for more resources – resistance from some who think health centers have gotten plenty already and resistance from others who just don’t want to spend any more money in the face of the federal deficit. Health centers, however, have some advantages that many other programs don’t:
1) A history of broad bipartisan support. In this environment we offer every Member of Congress a chance to support a program that highlights in clear terms what bipartisanship can accomplish
2) A real reason to say “thank you” for their past and most recent support
3) A record of efficient and effective use of federal dollars. The Bush Administration ranked the Health Center Program as the most effective in the Department of Health and Human Services and a report just released validates the value that taxpayers have already received for the stimulus dollars invested in health centers
4) 21 million patients who can speak to the reasons health centers need to be available to millions of additional people who need a health care home.
In the end, we are not advocating for resources for health centers, but for patients – those we serve and those we could serve. To paraphrase James Carville, “It’s the patients, stupid” and that’s why we CAN get what we need, even if it’s not everything we want.
Don’t Count Your Chickens
“Grassroots Advocacy is a Competitive Sport” – Marc Wetherhorn
President Obama has included a $290 million increase in funding for the Health Centers Program in his proposed Fiscal Year 2011 budget. Its a tremendous testament to the work of community health centers to have the President propose a substantial increase at the same he is outlining cuts or freezes for many other programs. However, if we have learned anything from the past few years, it’s that there’s a long way to go from the President’s budget to the check arriving at your health center. In the current fiscal and political environment, we need to take to heart the advice of a great politician, Abraham Lincoln, “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. “
Congress will now create its own budget and determine how much funding health centers will actually receive. As they develop this budget, Congress will be asserting their own priorities, including restoring cuts the President made, or increasing programs he froze. As always, Congress will have difficult decisions to make over how to spend the limited funding available for increases. That’s where, as always, our grassroots advocacy will determine the final health centers number.
Health center advocates will soon be asking Members of Congress to support an increase in funding for health centers by signing our annual Dear Colleague letters. This annual effort is not some feel good, symbolic advocacy effort. The number of Members who sign these letters has a direct impact on the likelihood of our success. However, even with a significant number of co-signers, these letters are just the first step in what is certain to be a months-long effort.
Health Centers have never had more to be proud of because of the services we provide to our patients and communities and because of the effective and efficient use we have made of the funding increases and stimulus dollars we have received in the past few years. You may even have those funding increases cited as a reason why Members of Congress won’t support an increase this year. The simple, and I believe, most effective response to any question like that is simply: “Thanks to those funding increases, health centers like mine now provide a health care home to 20 million people, including (insert your health center’s number here) at my center but there remain nearly 60 million people, including (insert your community’s number here) who DON’T have access to a regular source of care and we want to care for them as well. That’s what this increase will help us do and we are asking for your support to make that a reality. Come visit our center and see for yourself!”
It’s great having someone offer you eggs, but in the end you’ll determine whether you end up with live chicks or an omelet!
Get The Job Done
“The person who really wants to do something finds a way; the other person finds an excuse.” ~Author Unknown
Following the Massachusetts Senate election, Members of Congress and the Obama administration pronounced that passing health reform just became very difficult and they weren’t sure how to proceed. So, the question for the 47 million currently uninsured Americans, the millions more who – like it or not – will soon be uninsured and all the rest of us who pay in one way or another for the current system is “What now?”.
Well, as those who know me will attest, I’m a pretty low-key, easy going kind of guy normally, but I have to say that after a year of thrashing about, tea partying and generally acting as if reforming the health care system should somehow be as painless as a massage, the American people need to “man (or woman)-up”! Notice I did not say the Congress or the President or Dr. Sanjay Gupta or Oprah. I said the American people – and especially anyone who is an advocate for health centers and the people or communities they serve or could serve.
A few thousand raucous, impolite protesters and a few hundred thousand voters in Massachusetts have somehow blinded too many to the fact that there are millions of people in this country who will continue to suffer if nothing is done. I know that public opinion polls show that a majority of Americans oppose the bills in Congress. (Polls also show that a majority of Americans thought the Vikings would win the Super Bowl.) The result is that lawmakers are now thinking about “taking a step back” or “starting over”. I could be wrong, but in real world-speak that means, “we’re done”. This is exactly the time that people who come face –to-face with the problems of America’s health care system every day need to make it clear that doing nothing is no more of an acceptable option now than it was a year ago.
I am not telling you that you have to support a specific plan or way forward, but you need to make it clear that giving up is not an acceptable option. Yes, getting health reform done is hard. If it weren’t, we would have done it already. (I think someone in Washington said that.) But, if it only takes a few hundred thousand people to make Washington think about giving up, then a few million need to say “Keep Going – find a way.”
So take minute and let your Members of Congress know that you DO NOT WANT them to abandon the effort to provide access to health care to millions of Americans and that their work is not over until the job is done. (You can send a message here if you like).
Thank You from the NACHC Advocacy Team
All of us at NACHC want to take this opportunity to wish you Happy Holidays and extend a tremendous thank you for all of your advocacy efforts during a year that by any measure has been an amazing year for health centers. 2009 proved to be among the busiest and most successful years in the history of the Health Center Program. Achievements like the historic investment of over $2 billion in the Health Center Program as part of the stimulus package, reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program including critical payment protections for health centers, a massively successful National Health Center Week, and the inclusion of health centers as a key element in health reform would never have been possible without the commitment and active engagement of health center advocates like you! (For a complete review of 2009 highlights visit the NACHC web site).
Yet, as we look forward to 2010, we know that much more work lies ahead as national health reform nears reality and the demands on health centers will only grow. The price of success is the opportunity to do more and we believe that health center advocates like you have proven that you are ready to respond to whatever challenges and opportunities may come. One thing remains more certain than ever before – the future success and strength of the health center movement depends on your continued commitment to active advocacy and willingness to bring others into the advocacy effort.
As always, our goal at NACHC is to explore any and all ways to make being a health center advocate as accessible and easy as possible for as many people as possible. To that end, we will continue to offer a variety of options to stay informed and to advocate on critical health center issues. However, we need to continue to ask for your help in order to be successful.
So as a “Holiday Wish” we are asking that you do the following:
1. Join the NACHC Team on January 7th at 1:00PM EST for our next Health Reform Tele-Town Hall Meeting – FREE – led by Dan Hawkins, NACHC’s Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Research,you’ll hear the latest updates on health care reform and can ask Dan and the NACHC Federal Affairs team questions during the call. We’ll call you, just enter your direct telephone line into your NACHC Advocate Profile to be included.
2. Please forward this message to anyone that you believe should be a health center advocate and ask them to sign up at this link: “Become a Health Center Advocate”. Once they are registered, they will receive the weekly NACHC Washington Update and any action requests. *Remember to include health center affiliation to be counted toward this year’s NACHC Advocate Recruiting Contest.
3. Complete a SHORT survey to help us gather your input on some new ideas we are considering to increase the effectiveness of our advocacy communications. Simply log into the NACHC Grassroots Action Center, this survey will take less than 3 minutes, please take a moment to respond.
4. If you have not already done so, make plans to attend the Policy & Issues Forum, February, 24-29 in Washington. The P&I will provide you with the latest information on health reform and other critical health center issues so that you can be the most effective advocate you can be. We also need you to help make a real, visible impact on your Members of Congress as they move forward.
5. Mark August 8-14 on your calendar to observe National Health Center Week 2010.
Once again, we want to wish you Happy Holidays and to thank you for your all your hard work and your continued commitment to Health Center Advocacy.
Opinions Are Not Facts
The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” There is no doubt that inflammatory rhetoric from all sides and the relentless parade of TV talking heads has created an environment in which opinions are passing for facts and information is passing for knowledge. Advocacy is NOT about sharing your opinion. To be an effective advocate you actually need to know what you are talking about. You don’t have to be an expert, but you do have to get your facts right.
In response to NACHC’s recent call to our advocates to support the Senate health reform bill, we received a number of responses that highlight what Senator Moynihan was talking about. Let me say that I have not personally read every word in the Senate bill or the House bill, but as an advocate I don’t need to. I just need to feel confident that the information I depend on in my advocacy is as accurate and unbiased as possible. That means I have to base my advocacy on personal experience and/or the analysis of people I trust. I know that the NACHC Federal Affairs staff with whom I work has read and analyzed these bills and understands their impacts on health centers AND the patients and communities we serve. Taken with the fact that NACHC leadership, made up of experienced health center executives, clinicians and patients, supports these bills and my own observations and experience, I feel confident and comfortable being a relentless advocate for it and urging others to do so as well.
So my message is this: no matter what side of the health reform, or any other debate you are on, to be an effective advocate, not just a cocktail party debater, you need to know that you have good, reliable, unbiased information. Of course, people may also have different opinions on what constitutes unbiased, but with that in mind, I’d like to highlight some of what we have heard and my reactions:
- “I do not agree with the Health Care Reform Bill as it is written… my objection to this ill-thought, poorly written, bribery decided, dangerous bill that will affect millions of TAXPAYING citizens in the WORST POSSIBLE way.”
There are no facts in this comment, only opinion, to which the writer is certainly entitled. But there is nothing in this statement that would sway my position based on what I know to be fact. However, I guess I’m glad I did not bother to read the bill if it’s poorly written.
- “I will not [advocate for it] since it is not good for small businesses like 330s.”
Aside from being surprised that anyone associated with a health center believes that NACHC would support a bill that was not good for Federally Qualified Health Centers (330s). The facts are that while we are working to improve the bill when it goes to conference, the net effect of this bill on health centers and the patients they serve (and will serve) is overwhelmingly positive. The NACHC Health Reform Hub has numerous documents that outline the benefits of the bill for health centers and their patients (many of whom by the way are in fact TAXPAYERS).
- “The Senate bill is bad for the working poor since anyone who is offered insurance at work must take it, pay 1/3 of the premiums and 30-40% of their medical expenses as “cost sharing”.
This writer is simply wrong on the facts as they relates to what the bill does for the working poor: anyone earning up to 133% of poverty ($24,350 for a family of 3) will be covered by Medicaid and pay no premium and pay only $1/per doctor visit and $1 per prescription. Only employers with more than 200 employees will be required to automatically enroll employees into health insurance plans offered by the employer and employees may opt out of coverage. The bill provides premium credits if the employee share of the premium exceeds 9.8% of income and provides cost sharing subsidies on a sliding scale so that anyone making up to 200% of the federal poverty level would pay NO MORE than 20% of their total benefit costs. (Another good source of facts is the Kaiser Family Foundation website.)
My purpose here is not to debate the merits of the Senate (or House) health reform bills. Nor is it to tell anyone what to think about them. It is simply to make the point that opinions are not facts. I want EVERYONE to have an opinion on an issue as important as health reform, but an opinion based on facts, not just someone else’s opinion. It is impossible to debate opinions, you can only debate facts. Effective advocates will always use passion, personal anecdotes and stories to make their case, but advocacy based only on passion unsupported by facts can easily be dismissed as uninformed opinion and will ultimately fail.
Two Thumbs Up for Health Center Online Videos
By Lindsey (Reynolds) Ruivivar
I have noticed a lot of health centers are now using video to promote their services, introduce staff to the community (and the whole world!), advertise upcoming events, and much more. NACHC has also posted videos on its YouTube channel (NACHCmedia) National Health Center Week events. I wanted to highlight some recent videos that have caught my eye.
First on my list has to be President Obama himself announcing nearly $600 million in grants to Community Health Centers. This video, which shows the President praising Community Health Centers, has been circulating on the web and as of this writing has been viewed over 11,000 times. While this is, of course, a professional video from the event, it is a great example of the power of online video and great exposure for health centers. However, you can use the power of online video from the comfort of your own health center.
This video posted by Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (GLFHC) in Lawrence, Massachusetts is a perfect example. The entire video is almost 10 minutes. The attention span of the typical YouTube viewer is really only 2-3 minutes, but in this video Dr. Lilia Cardenas shares her very moving story of becoming a physician to honor her Latina heritage and her discovery of Community Health Centers and the joy of serving patients as a primary care physician. GLFHC produced the video in-house and can now use this physician testimonial for workforce recruitment. What better spokesperson for your health center’s recruitment efforts than a happy doctor willing to share her story!
Here are some other health center videos I recommend:
NACHC Field Representative Lynn Williams thanks U.S. Representative Jim Cooper for his support of health centers in this 52 second video and captures him voicing his support for Community Health Centers!
Care Alliance health center in Cleveland, Ohio, used this marketing video YouTube and Facebook to share the health center’s mission and give an overview of its services. It includes interviews with health center staff, the Board president, and patients.
Hudson River Healthcare, Inc. in New York has launched a great video series featuring testimonials from their staff and patients; check out their YouTube channel here or visit them on Facebook here.
Erie Family Health Services in Chicago, Illinois, has been innovative in using videos and is utilizing Vimeo, the latest trend in online video sharing. Check out the videos they have been posting here. You may have seen Erie’s President and CEO, Dr. Lee Francis, in this recent video circulated by NACHC. The video was captured in less than 30 minutes with a FlipCam, proving you don’t need to be high-tech or spend hours to create meaningful video messages for your health center.
From advocacy, to workforce recruitment, to patient testimonials, to fundraising, sharing video online is a potentially very powerful form of communication. Has your health center been using video? Does your health center have a YouTube account? How and where have you been sharing video online? Please comment to let us, and all our readers, know how you are using online video!
Advocacy in Action at Health Centers in Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Chicago
By Lindsey (Reynolds) Ruivivar
I recently had the opportunity to visit four health centers in Wisconsin and Illinois. At each one, I spoke with committed health center staff, viewed great facilities, learned about plans for the future, and discussed advocacy efforts.
At 16th Street Community Health Center in Milwaukee, which celebrated its 40th Anniversary this month, I met John Bartkowski the President and CEO. John began as a Board member of the health center then moved on to become the CEO. During a tour of the health center, John described its maternity program, which has had a dramatic impact on infant mortality and health outcomes. I was pleased to learn that 16th Street, like many health centers, has a full time staff member who does both marketing and government affairs. Government affairs and advocacy are natural pieces of public relations and communication efforts. The role of a health center advocate is to connect with elected officials in a meaningful way, building relationships to communicate the health centers’ goals and needs. 16th Street Community Health Center is a great example of a health center committed effective advocacy.
I also met with Sarah Andritsch, Marketing and Outreach Coordinator for Westside Healthcare Association in Milwaukee. Sarah has been with the health center about a year and a half and has hit the ground running. Like many health centers (and NACHC!), Westside is anxiously waiting to hear about their FIP grant so they can move forward building a much needed new health center. I visited their main site, where they have run out of room and are planning to build a new three-story building. This would also allow them to consolidate their administrative offices at the health center to increase staff productivity. I saw the health records staff, which had recently moved into the unfinished basement because they have simply run out of space. Sarah also took me to the health center’s second site, located in a public housing complex, which is also incredibly crowded. Several of the providers are National Health Service Corps (NHSC) scholars, so I mentioned the provisions in the U.S. House passed health reform bill, which would fund $2 billion for the NHSC program. Sarah’s passion and enthusiasm was contagious; she is serving as a great resource, providing all of the health center staff with regular advocacy updates.
Following my “double-dip” of health centers in Milwaukee, I drove into the heart of Chicago to visit Erie Family Health Center. I have been connected with Erie via both Twitter (you can follow the health center @ErieFHC1701) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/eriefamilyhealth ), so this was a great opportunity to meet their staff in person. Steph Willding and Jaclyn Sharratt-Smith coordinated a meeting for me with the health center’s President and CEO, Dr. Lee Francis. Dr. Francis’ took the time to allow me to video record him describing the importance of health reform for health centers. Dr. Francis has made it a point to advocate to his Members of Congress in support of the health center-specific priorities in health reform – something that every health center advocate needs to do now.
My final visit was with Jack Waters, Executive Director of Kenosha Community Health Center in Kenosha. Never before had I been in a health center that felt so much like a home. The health center has been decorated with care and purpose, using warm colors, furniture, and home décor to help patients feel comfortable. The health center has utilized stimulus funding to update the building and create additional exam space. Jack described their goal as truly meeting the needs of their community, and that will require creating 45 dental exam operatories. Dental access is a huge need for the community, along with mental health services, so Kenosha Community Health Center has risen to the challenge. They hope to use more stimulus dollars to utilize the second floor of the building at their dental site to create additional dental exam space. The health center has also received funding through an earmark by their Congressman, who has visited the site to see how the federal dollars were used.
Kenosha is a great example of the value of your health center’s relationship with your Members of Congress. Beyond funding projects, a good relationship can also impact your Member’s vote on legislation impacting the entire health centers program, like national health care reform. The health center has also taken the next step by staying in touch with their Congressman and having him visit the health center.
As a health center advocate, it is only by staying in touch with your Members of Congress and their staff that you can maintain the relationship you need. Then you will be able to pick up the phone and speak with the Member or their Health Legislative Assistant, Legislative Director, or Chief of Staff, who will know what “FQHC” means (because you have already educated them), and ask them to support your center and the health center program.
Your “Thank You” Is As Important As Your “Ask”
There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude. ~Robert Brault
Now that the House of Representatives has passed its version of Health Reform (they will have to vote at least one more time!), it is critically important that advocates remember one of the most important rules of grassroots advocacy: Your “Thank You” is as important as Your “Ask.
After weeks of asking Members of the House of Representatives to support health centers by voting for H.R. 3962, health center advocates now need to thank those who did (See who voted YES here). You can do that by doing any or all of the following:
- Use this link to send an email using the NACHC Advocacy system
- Write a letter to the editor (sample)
- Invite them to your health center for a ‘thank you’ event during the Veterans Day or Thanksgiving recess
This was the first, but certainly not the last vote that we will ask Members of Congress to cast in the next few weeks on issues and bills that are critical to the future of health centers and the people we serve. A thank you now is not just the polite thing to do, but in this heated and contentious environment, it is an essential element of our ultimate success.