JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI – Around 750 registered nurses (RNs) and nursing students from across Missouri are expected at the State Capitol on February 17, to attend the 30th Annual Missouri Nurses Association (MONA) Nurse Advocacy Day “Legislative Advocacy: The Who, What, Why & How Nurses Should Be Involved”. Nurses are the backbone of our health care system, but all too often nurse voices are not heard in the legislative process. Nurse Advocacy Day introduces legislative advocacy as a way for nurses and nursing students to advocate for their patients and positively impact health care policy.
The daylong event at the Capitol Plaza Hotel will begin with exhibits from schools of nursing, hospitals, nursing associations and health care groups. The keynote address will be delivered by Pamela Cipriano, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, President of the American Nurses Association (ANA), who will begin the day’s events highlighting a few of the issues ANA is advocating for on behalf of nurses at the federal level and discuss ways nurses can become involved and influence the legislative process. Rebecca McClanahan, MSN, RN, MONA VP of Advocacy, and Kyna Iman, MONA Lobbyist, will then share why legislative advocacy is important, and share with participants what is needed from each nurse in the state to be successful at the Capitol.
The Missouri Nurses Association is monitoring many health care related issues during this year’s legislative session. MONA CEO Jill Kliethermes, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, will identify MONA’s 2016 Nurse Advocacy Day priorities, which include safe texting and driving, the Narcotics Control Act, implementing the Nursing Education Incentive Program and gathering data on Missouri’s health care workforce.
Participants will then go to the Capitol to observe the legislative process in action and meet with legislators about nursing-related legislation and health care in the state of Missouri.
Following the nurses’ visit to the Capitol, MONA members will present the 2016 Excellence in Health Care Legislation Awards to Rep. Craig Redmon (R-District#4) and Sen. Ryan Silvey (R-District#17) during the luncheon. MONA VP of Advocacy Rebecca McClanahan, MSN, RN, will wrap-up the day with a closing address encouraging nurses and nursing students to remain engaged in the legislative process.
