With June officially underway, that means one thing: 2021 Hill Day and ANA’s annual Membership Assembly – ANA’s highest decision-making body – has begun!
There are meetings, events, and dialogue forums all month long for ANA’s constituent/state nurse’s associations voting representatives, organizational affiliates and other select invitees to attend. And in the Policy and Government Affairs world –Hill Day and our main call to action is the capstone event where staff capitalized on the virtual environment this year and opened the event up to all ANA members (registration has officially closed since we hit our max capacity of 500 participants).
It kicks off on June 8 with the Hill Day briefing. For those registered participants, attendance to this briefing is required to receive Continuing Education credits and to attend Hill Day on June 10, so make sure it is on your calendar. During the briefing, you will hear from several speakers as they discuss the issues we will be advocating for, how to conduct a virtual meeting, checking in with your groups, and remarks by ANA President, Dr. Ernest Grant, and this year’s Congressional keynote speaker, Representative Rodney Davis from Illinois. You will receive a lot of information but there is also the chance to ask questions during the briefing, as well as during and after your breakout session.
This year’s Hill Day is on Thursday, June 10. As of the posting of this blog, there are 530 participants and all 50 states will be represented! There are over 300 meetings already scheduled in the House of Representatives and Senate and that number continues to climb.
In advance of the June 8 briefing and your meetings on June 10, ANA will provide the issue briefs regarding the three legislative issues you will be advocating on this year. You can also go to the Membership Assembly portal and download these and other important resources. In short, here are the three bills for this year’s Hill Day:
S. 308/H.R. 1436 – Protecting Providers Everywhere in America (PPE in America Act). This legislation will boost domestic PPE production and promote a more sustainable supply chain by ensuring more predictable, dedicated funding from the Strategic National Stockpile to American manufacturers of PPE.
S. xxx/H.R. 1195 – Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. This legislation will require the U.S. Department of Labor to establish needed protections from workplace violence in the health care and social services sectors.
S. 1512/H.R. 2903 – Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. This legislation will continue the expanded use of telehealth services to deliver cost effective and efficient care to patients.
Overall, we are excited for you to connect with your Members of Congress and their staff again this year – albeit virtually. Share your stories and what you have experienced over the last year – they certainly want to hear them!
Last, but not least, if you are unable to attend Hill Day or missed the cutoff, you still can communicate with your Member of Congress on the PPE in America Act. Please make your voice heard today and help get this important legislative priority passed!
We’ll see those attending this week and for those completing the call to action, make sure you share it on social using #ANAHillDay on Twitter or Facebook.