Thank you for your interest in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Division of Advocacy and Health Policy's (DAHP) advocacy at home efforts! By regularly participating in advocacy at home, you will continue to help raise the profile of issues impacting surgeons and surgical patients and establish yourself as a trusted resource to your members of Congress and their staff.
Recently, the Advocacy at Home program has taken on even greater meaning as advocating from home has become somewhat of a new normal. Whether meetings occur in-person, via teleconference, or by video, your continued engagement demonstrates your commitment to surgeon advocacy, particularly developing and maintaining relationships with key elected officials who demonstrate a commitment to promoting important surgical health policy matters.
Why Should You Participate?
The DAHP consistently works to educate members of Congress and their staff about the many issues facing surgery and surgical patients. To be truly effective, the ACS needs surgeon advocates to regularly engage and inform their lawmakers of the many healthcare-related issues confronting the surgical community. The ACS is calling on all surgeons to do their part to ensure that surgery's voice is heard in Washington, DC, and across the country.
Senators and representatives return home during district work periods to visit with constituents and learn more about important issues facing their states and districts. In-district meetings and teleconferences provide valuable opportunities to meet with policymakers nearby and assist them in gauging what is important to surgeons and the surgical community.
Regularly meeting with your elected officials at home is a powerful way to raise the profile of issues and effect change. While members of Congress and their staff are well-versed on many policy topics, surgeons are the experts on surgical issues.
Interacting with your member of Congress is easier than you think! While scheduling is subject to each member of Congress' availability, DAHP staff developed several resources to assist you with these efforts.
Resources
Audience
All ACS members should consider becoming more engaged surgeon advocates, including but not limited to:
- Advocacy Summit attendees
- Chapter leaders
- Health policy and advocacy committee and group members
- Officers and Board of Regents
- Resident and Associate Society (RAS) and Young Fellows Association (YFA) members
Take Action
The College has several legislative priorities that have the potential to be considered during the remainder of the 118th Congress and beyond. Regularly visit the SurgeonsVoice Advocacy Center to identify issues important to you, and take action to have your voice heard on Capitol Hill.
For questions, contact ahp@facs.org.
