The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) would like to remind members to join hundreds of their peers for a day of learning and advocacy and register for WHA's Advocacy Day 2021. This year's event will be held virtually on April 14, 2021, from 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with their legislators and/or their staff virtually via the Zoom platform. Specific times, in 30-minutes intervals, are set aside on April 14, 15, and 16 for the Advocacy Day legislative visits. Meetings are scheduled based on home state senate districts, to include corresponding state assembly districts.
"Since the pandemic began and we all shifted to virtual formats, we found great success with the virtual meeting format between lawmakers and our advocates," said WHA Vice President of Advocacy Kari Hofer.
Over the past year, WHA has held 29 virtual meetings, called "virtual roundtables," connecting more than 220 health care leaders and advocates with 73 state and federal lawmakers.
“When registering for Advocacy Day, WHA encourages all attendees to sign up for the Advocacy Day legislative visits. We strongly believe these visits are the most important aspect of Advocacy Day," said Hofer. "When legislators hear from you, their constituents, they listen, because you are their neighbors, their allies in the community," Hofer added.
WHA will host a pre-Advocacy Day webinar on April 7, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. to help advocates prepare for Advocacy Day and the legislative visits. The webinar will provide an overview of why these visits are important, how legislative visits work, the logistics of the virtual format and Zoom best practices, and an overview of the issue topics WHA will ask you to discuss during your legislative appointments. Individuals can register for the live webinar here.
Learn more about the legislative visits here. If you have already registered for Advocacy Day and want to add a legislative visit, or if you have any questions related to the legislative visits, please contact WHA Government Relations Coordinator Laurie Fleuette.