Crossing Rivers Health Supporters Attend WHA Advocacy Day Over 1,000 Hospital Advocates in Madison to Learn, Meet with Legislators
Madison, WI (March 22, 2018)…Over 1,000 hospital leaders, employees, trustees, and volunteers, including from Crossing Rivers Health, descended on Madison on March 21 to participate in the Wisconsin Hospital Association’s (WHA) Advocacy Day event. Advocacy Day is an annual event that connects hospital supporters from across the state with their legislators in Madison so lawmakers can learn how issues impact local hospitals and communities.
“The Wisconsin Hospital Association’s Advocacy Day continues to be the powerhouse event in Madison. This year’s event had over 1,000 hospital and health system supporters, and we are proud to have been a part of this tremendous day,” said Jenny Pritchett, Chief Nursing Officer at Crossing Rivers Health. “We continue to provide information to our legislators on key health care issues like Medicaid funding so they know how their decisions impact our community hospital.”
The crowd of over 1,000 heard from the always popular bipartisan state legislative panel of State Senator Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), State Representative Joe Sanfelippo (R-New Berlin) and State Representative Debra Kolste (D-Janesville). Advocacy Day attendees also heard from morning keynote speaker Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for NPR. Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch provided luncheon keynote remarks and touted Wisconsin’s high-quality health care.
This year over 600 attendees spent time in the afternoon meeting with elected officials in the State Capitol, including Representative Lee Nerison and Senator Jennifer Shilling. Attendees urged legislators to improve the state’s Medicaid reimbursement for hospitals and continue efforts to strengthen Wisconsin’s high-quality health care workforce. Advocates made sure their legislators were aware of the role hospitals play in communities across the state in providing high quality, high-value health care and how the legislature can support those efforts through the policies it enacts.
“We are proud of Wisconsin’s reputation of providing some of the highest quality, highest value care in the nation,” said Pritchett. “Advocacy Day allows us to help legislators understand how their policy decisions can help protect our local hospital, patients, and communities.”