Dr. Jennifer Arnold, neonatologist and medical director of Texas Children’s Simulation Center, is serving as the face of a grassroots advocacy effort called Speak Now for Kids through Children’s Hospital Association (CHA). Arnold has been involved in promoting children’s hospital initiatives to legislators after visiting the hill with her husband and their children to speak about children’s hospitals last year.
Representatives from Texas Children’s Hospital are joining children’s hospitals from across the nation in Washington, D.C. next week for the annual Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) Family Advocacy Day. The hospitals along with patient families speak with members of Congress to advocate for issues impacting children’s health. CHA continues to promote Speak Now for Kids, a grassroots initiative to get patient families and health care providers to promote issues that matter to pediatric patients by reaching out to their legislators.
Texas children’s patients representing the hospital in D.C. this year with their families include Audrina Cardenas. Born with her heart outside her chest, Audrina was delivered at Texas Children’s and underwent a strenuous surgery before being cared for at the hospital over several months. Lauryn Audrict’s family traveled to Houston from their home in Louisiana for Lauryn to receive her care at Texas Children’s Hospital. Lauryn underwent a frontal and temporal lobectomy in August 2013. Dr. Angus Wilfong, medical director of the comprehensive epilepsy program, will accompany the patients on the trip and make visits to key representatives and senators.
The team is once again promoting important legislation that would create pediatric centers of excellence at children’s hospitals to care for the most vulnerable patients: medically complex children on Medicaid. The legislation – titled “Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act” (or ACE Kids Act) – will ensure that children are able to receive the care they need from a center equipped to provide comprehensive care, even if the hospital is in another state.
The families speaking in Washington, D.C., this week represent the voices of the thousands of children being treated at centers of excellence like Texas Children’s Hospital every day. As a Texas Children’s employee, you can help spread the message about why children’s hospitals are the best place for kids with complex medical conditions.
5 ways you can Speak Now for Kids:
- #Speaknowforkids. Use this hashtag and saturate social media with your stories about why children’s hospitals matter.
- Get social with your policymakers. Find the social media pages for your representatives and senators and post messages on their pages about why you want them to Speak Now for Kids.
- Call, write, and reach out. Lawmakers are elected by you to stand up for you. Make your voice heard. Contact their offices and let them know why you care about Medicaid reform for medically complex children. Click here to find out who represents you.
- Share a story. Encourage patient families to share their stories here.
- Vote. Elected officials are elected by you to represent you. Register to vote and practice your right to do so. The best way to ensure your legislators listen is to vote for them.