NHPCO (Virtual) Hill Day 2011

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and it's sister organization the Hospice Action Network are hosting Hill Day in Washington DC on April 6th where they lead hospice advocates from all over the country in meeting with government representatives to talk about the role for hospice in the continuum of our nation's health care delivery system.  They bring the stories and the data to appeal to both sides of the political brain and are meeting with both major parties.

The events started today with strategy sessions to make sure the advocates were prepared with the facts and how to make the most effective use of their time.   I have never attended Hill Day but would invite anyone who is attending this year or the past to write a guest post for Pallimed to recount your experience.  Activities like this are so important as anyone who has heard Diane Meier speak recently about her experience in Washington DC.  Her discussion about optics and the view from the Hill centers around the revelation that comments and public input really do matter despite all the cynicism in the world about American politics.

But you may be thinking, 'But it is too late for me to attend Hill Day 2011, maybe I'll do that next year...'  That is a great start but I am telling you it is not enough to put this off.  You can actually act now and here are just a few ways you can help amplify the voices tomorrow for the future of hospice:

• Write your Congressional representative (using NHPCO's CapWiz system is easy)
• Donate to the Hospice Action Network (it takes staffing to make this all happen)
• Pledge with a friend or colleague at work to do some of the items in this list
• Follow @HospiceAction on Twitter and re-tweet and reply to posts with #HillDay11
• Friend Hospice Action Network on Facebook and engage/support/like their posts (Let's see if we can get them over 5,000! They are at 4,583)
• Make a meeting today with your local government representatives to make sure they know hospice matters
• Ask your company what they are doing to encourage staff to participate in advocacy
• Ask your hospice and palliative peers what you are all going to do for Hill Day 2012
• And you can watch the pep rally/kickoff for Hill Day 2011 on Ustream live at 9am ET to get in on the excitement of legislative advocacy!

And in the Pallimed spirit of asking you to do things I would do myself...

I already sent a letter to Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran (Senator from Kansas) and Kevin Yoder (Congressman from my District); Donated $30 to the Hospice Action Network; Told you about HAN; Have followed HAN on Twitter and RT a #HillDay11 post; Friended on Facebook and engaged; And pledging to you to talk to my company, local peers, and local government in the next month about hospice advocacy.  (
Total time 15 minutes.)

Now imagine if the nearly thousands of hospice and palliative care staff out there would all do any part of this.  What an impact that could be!