Health care leaders discuss ways to effectively engage legislators

It's always important to bring the issue back to the patient, said Sarah Lechner, senior vice president and chief of external affairs for Hackensack Meridian Health, during a Q&A about building relationships with elected officials when advocating for hospitals and health systems at AHA's 2024 Annual Meeting April 14-16. Lechner, along with Jeremy Nordquist, president of the Nebraska Hospital Association, said early engagement, hosting site visits, crafting tailored messages with specific asks, and being reciprocal are key elements to establishing effective relationships with legislators.

"It has to start as early as possible," Nordquist said. "Politicians make decisions on a lot of different factors when it comes to help with [favorable] votes. … So, spending time working on yourself, and certainly working with your state associations to think through who and how you can plug in to people who are in office."