Health care leaders discuss ways to effectively engage legislators

Apr 16, 2024 - 02:10 PM
Kristin Schwartz, Sarah Lechner and Jeremy Nordquist at AHA's 2024 Annual Meeting

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."
 

Related News Articles

Perspective
A New Year of Working Together to Advance Health in America
Public
Congress returned to Washington this week with a full plate of issues to contend with in the short-term as it defines its legislative agenda for the remainder…
Chairperson's File
Chair File: Leadership Dialogue — Reflecting on 2025, Looking Ahead to 2026 with Marc Boom, M.D., of Houston Methodist
Public
One of the most rewarding parts of being an AHA member and serving on the board is building relationships with other leaders who share a passion for making…
Chairperson's File
Chair File: Leadership Dialogue — The Importance of the 340B Program with Aimee Kuhlman of the AHA and Paulette Davidson of Monument Health
Public
For more than 30 years, the 340B Drug Pricing Program has provided financial help to hospitals serving vulnerable communities to manage rising prescription…
Headline
Senate reaches deal to potentially end government shutdown this week
The Senate Nov. 9 took a critical first step toward ending the government shutdown as seven Democrats and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, joined Republicans to…
Headline
Shutdown likely to continue into fifth week
There is still no clear end in sight to the government shutdown as today marks day 30 and is approaching the 35-day record that occurred in 2018-2019. Some…
Chairperson's File
Chair File: Inside the Shutdown and Other Key 2025 Priorities
Public
This week brings the fourth week of the federal government shutdown as Congress has yet to pass legislation to fund the government. This shutdown is a bit…