Dozens of Advocate Health Care nurses head to Springfield
On April 24, nurses and associates across Advocate Health Care went to Springfield for the 13th annual Nurse Advocacy Day at the State Capitol. In total, over 80 Advocate nurses met with dozens of state legislators including Senate President John Cullerton and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin to discuss important health care issues.
Eight nurses from Advocate Lutheran General Hospital attended the advocacy day this year. They met with senators and state representatives on critical health care initiatives that impact their profession like the state Medicaid budget, the nurse licensure compact, which would allow nurses licensed under a reciprocal compact state to also be licensed by any state within the compact, and supporting raising the legal age for buying cigarettes and tobacco products to 21.
"Nurse Advocacy Day is a great opportunity for our nurses to go to Springfield and discuss critical issues that impact their work every day," said Jane Denten, Chief Nurse Executive at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill. "This annual advocacy day allows them the opportunity to speak with legislators one on one and share stories and insights from their work at the hospital that can better inform them on critical issues up for debate."
The nurses met with Senator John Mulroe who represents the 10th district and Senator Laura Murphy who represents the 28th district. The Lutheran General Hospital nurses also spoke with State Representative Michael McAuliffe (20th district), State Representative Michelle Mussman (56th district), State Representative Martin Moylan (55th district) and State Representative David Harris (53rd district).
Legislators welcomed the opinions and perspectives of Advocate nurses. Many of them conveyed their respect and support for the nursing community and their tireless commitment to the communities they serve. Advocate's significant presence at the Capitol also helped to educate lawmakers on many important nursing issues.
Nurse Advocacy Day is hosted by Advocate's Nurse Advocacy Council (NAC), a self-governed council composed of frontline nurses that works to educate and empower the largest nursing audience in Illinois: Advocate's more than 11,000 professional nurses. Advocate is the only known health care provider in the state to provide frontline nurses with this opportunity, thus giving them a stronger voice on legislative issues in Springfield and Washington D.C.