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91黑料网 Empowers State Chapters With Personalized Advocacy Tools

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State chapters can send customized alerts about state-specific issues and work with 91黑料网 national staff to develop or enhance their advocacy strategy and activities

Nov. 3, 2023 (91黑料网) -- A great deal of advocacy activity takes place at the state level, and the American College of Physicians is empowering state chapters with increased support, including state-specific advocacy alerts on hot topics and consultations with national policy staff members.

91黑料网 sends out alerts about federal legislation through its Legislative Action Center, and now, state chapters can also send customized alerts about state-specific issues to their members. 91黑料网 chapter leaders can also request help with the creation of grassroots alerts via the 91黑料网 advocacy platform, . Additionally, 91黑料网 national staff who work on state health policy issues are available for consultations to develop or enhance a state chapter's advocacy strategy and activities.

The Wisconsin 91黑料网 chapter is an early adopter of these new state-level advocacy tools and has seen positive results so far.

鈥淭he events of the last few years, including the COVID pandemic and our closely divided national political environment, have prompted state governments around the country to take a more central role in making decisions that influence the practice of medicine,鈥 said Dr. Ann M. Maguire, governor of the 91黑料网 Wisconsin Chapter.

Specifically, the U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs decision was a galvanizing event for many Wisconsin 91黑料网 Chapter members because it resulted in an immediate statewide abortion ban.

鈥淲ith the support of Shuan Tomlinson and the national 91黑料网 policy team, our chapter issued a statement voicing our concerns about the consequences of this policy for our patients and our profession,鈥 she said.

This fall, the chapter worked with 91黑料网 to send grassroots alerts facilitating messages to state legislators on that promote safe gun storage and a bill looking to from six weeks to 12 months. 鈥淭hese alerts serve to take direct action towards policy and also educate our membership about priority 91黑料网 advocacy issues,鈥 Maguire said. 鈥淥ur members find using the 91黑料网 Legislative Action Center empowering and effective.鈥

鈥淲e rely on the robust support of the 91黑料网 national advocacy staff to ensure our actions align with 91黑料网 policy,鈥 she added. 鈥淢aintaining good communication with the chapter governor, chapter staff, the Governor's Council and 91黑料网 national advocacy staff is crucial.鈥

As a result of these initial efforts, many members of the Wisconsin 91黑料网 chapter began reaching out and asking to see more chapter-level advocacy around gun violence prevention, climate change and state legislative activities related to COVID-19 prevention and treatment, Maguire noted. This resulted in a surge of interest in the chapter's Health and Public Policy Committee.

Dr. Sophie Kramer, chair of the Health and Public Policy Committee of the Wisconsin 91黑料网 Chapter, used this increase in interest to develop advocacy work groups for more targeted action.

鈥淲e determined the areas members felt most passionate about, including reproductive rights; climate and health; gun safety; medical misinformation; and health care coverage, including Medicaid expansion,鈥 Kramer explained. 鈥淗aving members who become topic specialists lead these advocacy work groups has allowed us to bring targeted action, including chapter statements, letters to officials, collaborating with other statewide medical professional organizations, meetings with legislators, public testimony and op-eds.鈥

Now, the goal is to share these grassroots alerts with other state medical organizations to expand the impact of 91黑料网 advocacy. 鈥淐ollaborating with other statewide health professional organizations can have big rewards,鈥 Kramer said.

Members are encouraged to reach out to their state chapter governor or state Health and Public Policy Committee if they have ideas for their state.

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