by Emily Muse, AAHPM Communities Manager
I am a planner. I create lists, diagrams, and spreadsheets for almost everything. I even use a planning rubric when packing for weekend trips. Obviously, I began my preparation for the 2011 AAHPM Washington DC “Capitol Hill Fly In” by researching my congressional representatives and senators. I wanted to learn as much as possible about the people I would be meeting and were “representing” me in D.C. A lot of this investigation was done just by entering my zip code in the AAHPM Legislative Action Center. (http://www.capwiz.com/aahpm/home/)
At a glance I was able to discover all the committees that my senators and my congressional representative served on. How they had voted on specific legislation and issues and I read and reread all the proposed legislation that would affect AAHPM members. It was wonderful. After accessing their office addresses I plotted out where they were all located within the map of Capitol Hill.
I was ready, or so I thought.
What I was not prepared for was the knowledge, dedication and tenacity of our AAHPM members. It did not surprise me, it wowed me. Not only had our members prepared for this visit, they had been advocating and championing Hospice and Palliative in ways I had never thought about. One member encourages staff to contact elected officials regularly about HPM issues. Another invited his representative to visit his program and learn firsthand what Palliative Medicine provides for constituents. All of our members had brought with them anecdotes of patients achieving successful pain and symptom management, making decisions about their care that made sense for themselves and their families and utilizing allocated resources appropriately due to team based care and excellent communication among providers. And what was even more impressive, Senators, Representatives and Staffers all listened. They asked questions and posed some opposition, but they were open to learn more. I hope some of those members who participated in this year’s DC Fly In will write about their individual experiences. I think all of the participants were amazing, even one who commented that this was “just another way we advocate for our patients”.