AAPA

Hosting a Legislator at Your Practice

AAPA has assembled some tips for hosting a federal legislator (Senator or Representative) or open seat congressional candidate at your practice. These visits provide an excellent opportunity for you to highlight the PA profession and demonstrate the breadth of care that PAs provide for the legislator’s or candidate’s constituents. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Check with your clinic administrator and supervising physician to make sure that the idea meets with their approval. Discuss ideal dates and times. First thing in the morning or afternoon may work best, before things get too busy.
2. Do some homework on the legislator. You can find contact and biographical information on AAPA’s Legislative Action Center. The biography is particularly important; if you find that your legislator has a particular interest that is relevant to your clinic (i.e. rural health care, care for the elderly, women’s health, etc.), you’ll want to emphasize that during the visit.
3. Contact the legislator or a member of his or her staff either by letter or phone. Invite them to see “health care in action” at your clinic. Your message should be that you know health care is important to them, and you’d like to give them the opportunity to see where health care is provided in their community and to discuss some of the challenges facing health care providers and their constituents.
4. Confirm a date and time for their visit. Thirty minutes to an hour should be sufficient.
5. Prepare materials to give to the legislator. You can view the 110th Congress Federal Legislative Agenda and other fact sheets on PAs here: www.aapa.org/gandp/agenda_110congress.html. You should also click on your state here to download a profile of PAs practicing in your state to give to the legislator. Finally, click here to view AAPA’s position paper on health care reform. Assembling any paper in a file folder with a “Physician Assistants” label on the tab makes it easy for the legislator to put the information in the right place once he or she is back at the office. Make sure that your contact information or business card is included.
6. Spiff up the office and alert the staff. Consider making a “Welcome Representative / Senator _____” banner or poster for the office.
7. Make a schedule for the visit. Here’s a sample tentative agenda:
   
   • 9:00 - Legislator arrives, PA-host greets the legislator, introduces staff and physicians, and introduces the legislator to patients in the waiting room
   • 9:10 - Tour of office and description of population served, special interests and roles of clinic staff. Be sure to mention any areas of particular interest to the   legislator (i.e. "Dr. Jones is board certified in geriatric medicine," or "Mrs. Miller is both our receptionist and our translator.")
   • 9:20 - Legislator, PA, and physician (and others) convene in conference room or office to discuss health issues in district. Coffee is served. Legislator is invited to share his or her health agenda and discuss other issues of particular interest. The PA’s role in the clinic is described by the physician-PA team. Discuss legislative priorities of particular interest to your practice or community; share AAPA’s health care reform principles. Clinic group asks how they might help the legislator with health issues the legislator has identified.
   • 9:40 - Legislator is thanked by everyone for taking time from his or her busy schedule to visit. Photos of legislator at clinic and with staff are taken, if appropriate.
8. Host the visit.
9. The next day: send a personal note thanking the legislator for the visit and re-state your offer to be of assistance as a health care provider in the community.
10. Keep AAPA in the loop; contact AAPA’s federal affairs staff in Washington to follow up on your meetings and to let us know if additional action on our part is needed.

Thank you – and good luck!

AAPA Federal Affairs staff:

Sandy Harding, 703/836-2272 ext. 3205, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Kristin Butterfield, 703/836-2272 ext. 3223, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
Kimberly Beer, 703/836-2272 ext. 3204, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it