Capitol Hill Day 2009 was an unprecedented success.  More than 500 Hospice Advocates conducted nearly 1,500 meetings with Congressional offices.  Nearly 3,000 of you participated in NHPCO’s first-ever Virtual Hill Day. 

Here are some photos from the day, including: the strategy session, meetings with lawmakers and staff, and the respite room and Congressional Reception at the Capitol Visitor Center.  

Because of your efforts, hospice champions in the Senate have joined in the effort to stop the hospice rate cuts by circulating their own letter to President Obama, asking him to rescind the rule to cut our reimbursement.  Great work!

The following tips and resources may be helpful for you as you continue your Hill Day activities:

• Please remember to follow up with a “thank you” email to the staff that you met with during Hill Day.  Express your gratitude for their valuable time and support of hospice.
• Check the  Rate Cuts section of the Hospice Advocacy Web page for regular updates on the signatories for both the House and the new Senate letters. 
• Follow up with the offices that you met with that have not yet signed onto the letters. We expect the House letter to be open through May 4^th and the Senate letter to be open for a couple of weeks.  Here is an updated version of the  background document for Congressional offices.
• If you did not complete and turn in the feedback forms while you were in D.C., please provide feedback on your meetings  here.
• If you would like to provide general feedback or comments about Hill Day, please send them to: hillday@nhpco.org.  And, be sure to check out the  Buzz on Hill Day.
• If you were asked about other hospice issues while you were meeting with your representatives, check out the  Hospice on Capitol Hill section of the Hospice Advocacy Web page for resources on health reform and the recent MedPAC recommendations.
• Reach out to local media by using the template  Hill Day press release.  A tip sheet for placing your press release is available in the  Advocacy Tools section  of the Hospice Advocacy Web page.
• Finally, take a look at the Hill Day, Every Day presentation from MLC to see how you can incorporate more Hospice Advocacy into your daily activities.

Together, NHPCO and Hospice Advocates are building a prominent presence on Capitol Hill.  We thank you for your commitment to Hospice Advocacy, and your dedication to the patients that count on us for high-quality and compassionate end-of-life care.  We look forward to seeing you in 2010!

Thank you again for your Hospice Advocacy!