Episode 113: Nurses on the Hill

53 min listen

Nurses Leading Advocacy in Health Policy

History and experience have consistently demonstrated that when nurses raise their voices, they significantly influence health policy. From advancing their profession to advocating for patients, nurses possess a unique ability to articulate and champion the necessary changes and legislation for enhanced health, care, and access.

ANA Hill Day: Amplifying Nursing Voices in Congress

Each year, the American Nurses Association (ANA) hosts ‘Hill Day,’ an event dedicated to advocating in the United States Congress on behalf of the more than 5 million nurses across the U.S. and the communities they serve. This episode takes you to the heart of Washington, DC, where we meet with nurses actively participating in ANA Hill Day 2024. These professionals are not just attendees but vocal advocates for the nursing profession and healthcare at large.

Engagement and Advocacy at Every Level

Tune in to our discussions with ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy PhD, RN, NEA-BC, and ANA VP for Policy and Government Affairs, Tim Nanof. They share insights into what effective advocacy for families, communities, and the workforce entails. We explore the levels of engagement and advocacy—from local and state to national—and why over 500 nurses converged on the U.S. Capitol to champion these causes.

About See You Now Podcast

See You Now is a podcast highlighting the innovative and human centered solutions that nurses are coming up with to solve for today’s most challenging, healthcare problems, created in collaboration with Johnson and Johnson and the American Nurses Association and hosted by nurse, economist and health tech specialist, Shawna Butler.

Resources

• ANA Hill Day 2024: Nurses head to Capitol Hill in record numbers
• RNAction.org
• Joyce, Bonamici, Underwood, and Kiggans Announce Relaunch of the Congressional Nursing Caucus
• Nurse Faculty Shortage Reduction Act of 2024
• Improving Care and Access to Nurses Act (ICAN)
• Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act of 2024
• Protect Nurses - Stop Congress from Undermining Safe Staffing in Long-term Care Facilities!
• Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act
• Civic Participation - Healthy People 2030 | health.gov
• Political environment and mortality rates in the United States, 2001-19: population based cross-sectional analysis | The BMJ
• Political orientation, political environment, and health behaviors in the United States
• Distressed Communities Index
• Party Affiliation and Public Spending: Evidence from U.S. Governors
• A growing gap in premature deaths along party lines underscores the collision of politics and public health
• The partisan divide can undermine Americans health researchers say | NPR