Becoming an Advocacy Center of Excellence

Building  advocacy  capacity  via  the  Advocacy  and  Hispanic  Advocacy  Center  of  Excellence  Programs  

Alex  Harris  Deputy  Director  for  Na>onal  Advocacy,  NACHC  

aharris@nachc.org  |  202-­‐296-­‐3072  

Health center policy challenges require advocacy

Health  centers  need  a  strong  advocacy  founda>on  to  support  their  mission  at  all  levels  

of  government.    

State  flexibility  around  

health  care  

Uncertain  CHC  

funding  

Poten>al  cuts  to  Medicaid  

Establishing a thriving advocacy program through the Advocacy Center of Excellence

•  Incorpora>ng  advocacy  as  an  element  of  opera>onal  excellence  

•  Establishes  a  standardized  framework  for  building  a  solid  advocacy  founda>on  

•  Allows  Health  Centers  to  demonstrate  commitment  to  advocacy  as  an  organiza>onal  priority  

•  Tiered  to  encourage  par>cipa>on  and  reward  improvement  and  increased  engagement  (bronze,  silver,  gold)  

•  NACHC  partners  with  PCAs  to  support  ACEs  

Hcadvocacy.org  

How can you achieve ACE status?

Two main pathways: ACE and HACE

ACE 1.  Make  the  commitment  to  advocacy  2.  Register  staff  and  board  as  advocates  3.  Par>cipate  in  NHCW  4.  Engage  elected  officials  5.  Establish  an  online  presence  6.  Silver  and  gold  levels  à  increased  

engagement/response  rates  and  innova>on  

HACE 1.  Make  the  commitment  to  advocacy  

2.  Educate  your  pa>ent  popula>on  on  health  center  advocacy  

3.  Incorporate  advocacy  into  community  outreach  4.  Provide  a  way  for  pa>ents  and  community  

members  to  get  involved  in  advocacy  

Take the steps to create a culture of advocacy at your health center – anyone can lead the charge.

Institutionalize advocacy among your staff and board.

Engage patients and community members in advocacy.

#1: Make the commitment to advocacy

•  Establish  an  advocacy  commi]ee  or  workgroup  or  designate  an  advocacy  coordinator  

• Have  an  advocacy  work  plan  in  place  •  Incorporate  advocacy  as  a  standing  agenda  item  at  staff  and  board  mee>ngs  

• Pass  a  board  resolu>on  on  advocacy  AC

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#2: Register staff and board as advocates

• Register  50%  of  staff  and  board  as  Health  Center  Advocates  

•  SILVER:  Register  75%  of  staff  and  board  as  Health  Center  Advocates  

• GOLD:  Register  100%  of  staff  and  board  as  Health  Center  Advocates  

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Tips:  -­‐  Ask  NACHC  for  your  

numbers  to  set  a  baseline  -­‐  Remember,  email  responses  

are  usually  pre]y  low.  Think  2-­‐5%.  

-­‐  In-­‐person  signups  are  usually  the  most  effec>ve,  you  can  send  us  scanned  copies  of  forms!  

-­‐  You  can  also  send  us  a  list  of  your  staff  –  they  can  always  opt-­‐out  later.  

#3: Participate in NHCW

Host  at  least  one  NHCW  event  

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#4: Engage elected officials

• Host  one  elected  official  at  the  health  center  at  least  annually  

•  SILVER:  Host  at  least  two  elected  officials  

• GOLD:  Host  at  least  three  elected  officials  A

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#5: Establish an online presence

•  Establish  an  account  for  the  health  center  on  at  least  one  social  media  plahorm  A

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#6: Increased engagement/response rates and innovation

•  SILVER:  Achieve  10%  minimum  response  rate  on  ac>on  items  and  establish  a  plan  for  measuring  response  rates  

• GOLD:  Achieve  10%  minimum  response  rate  on  ac>on  items  and  establish  a  plan  for  measuring  response  rates  

•  SILVER:  Provide  at  least  one  staff  training  and  one  board  training  on  advocacy  each  year  

• GOLD:  Par>cipate  in  the  Advocacy  Leadership  Program  and  a]end  the  P&I  

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Tips and tricks for achieving ACE A

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-­‐  Ask  NACHC  for  your  advocacy  numbers  to  set  a  baseline  -­‐  Remember,  email  responses  are  usually  pre]y  low.  Think  

2-­‐5%.  -­‐  In-­‐person  signups  are  usually  the  most  effec>ve,  you  can  

send  us  scanned  copies  of  forms!  -­‐  You  can  also  send  us  a  list  of  your  staff  –  they  can  always  

opt-­‐out  later.  -­‐  Compe>>ons  and  incen>ves  work  amazingly  well  -­‐  Think  about  all  your  touch-­‐points  with  staff:  

-­‐  Break  room  -­‐  Department  mee>ngs  -­‐  Staff  portal  -­‐  Nurse’s  sta>on  -­‐  Alerts  -­‐  Even  bathrooms  

-­‐  Always  be  promo>ng  an  ac>on  item  –  you  can  chose  from  our  menu  of  op>ons  

ACE  Goals  •  Register  50%  of  staff  and  board  as  Health  Center  Advocates  

•  SILVER:  Register  75%  of  staff  and  board  as  Health  Center  Advocates  

•  GOLD:  Register  100%  of  staff  and  board  as  Health  Center  Advocates  

Common questions and concerns

•  Do  we  have  to  sign  up  50%  of  all  staff  and  board  as  advocates  to  achieve  Bronze  ACE?  

•  How  do  we  even  begin  to  sign  up  that  many  staff?  

• We’re  a  large  organiza>on  with  many  sites  –  how  do  we  feasibly  accomplish  this?  

•  Can  I  get  a  weekly  report  on  our  advocacy  numbers?  

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•  I  know  some  of  my  staff  signed  up  but  aren’t  showing  up  in  this  report  –  why  not?  

•  Our  legislators  are  all  suppor>ve,  so  I  don’t  see  the  value  in  doing  this.  

•  What  about  staff  who  are  100%  330  funded?  

•  Advocates  are  great,  but  how  can  we  measure  engagement?  

•  Gold  ACE  is  done  –  now  what?  

#1: Make the commitment to advocacy at your health center

•  Take  the  HACE  advocacy  pledge.  •  Set  your  advocacy  goals.  •  Appoint  an  advocacy  coordinator  for  your  health  center.  

•  Pass  a  board  resolu>on  making  advocacy  a  priority.  

•  Incorporate  advocacy  as  a  standing  agenda  item  at  staff  and  board  mee>ngs.    

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#2: Provide information about health centers and the importance of advocacy to your patient population.

•  Schedule  a  webinar  with  Alex  Harris  (aharris@nachc.org)  to  train  advocacy  champions  at  your  organiza>on  on  some  health  center  advocacy  basics.  

•  Suggested:  Train  a  minimum  of  five  staff  to  be  advocacy  champions  or  at  least  one  staff  person  per  site  your  health  center  serves.  

•  Play  this  video  in  your  wai>ng  room.  •  Distribute  these  fliers  at  your  health  center.  

•  Incorporate  advocacy  into  your  social  media  plan  using  these  pos>ng  sugges>ons.  

 

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#3: Incorporate advocacy into your community outreach.

•  Create  an  advocacy  booth  for  community  events  and  bring  these  informa>on  sheets.  

•  Suggested:  use  this  booth  at  a  minimum  of  one  community  event  per  year.  

•  Host  a  Na>onal  Health  Center  Week  event  incorpora>ng  advocacy  outreach.  

•  Organize  an  open  house  or  community  town  hall  incorpora>ng  advocacy  outreach.  

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#4: Provide a way for patients to get involved in advocacy and make the commitment.

•  Leave  a  sign  up  form  in  wai>ng  rooms  and  around  the  health  center.  (Scan  and  email  completed  forms  to  grassroots@nachc.org.)  

•  Suggested:  set  an  individual  goal  for  advocate  recruitment,  at  least  50  advocates  a  year,  and  check-­‐in  regularly  with  NACHC  for  updates.  

•  Engage  the  local  media.  •  Suggested:  publish  at  least  one  leHer  to  the  editor  or  op-­‐ed  annually.  

•  Partner  with  another  community  organiza>on  on  advocacy  and/or  civic  engagement.  

 

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Feeling overwhelmed? Start where it works best for you.

-­‐  Both  the  ACE  and  HACE  will  get  you  “Advocacy  Center  of  Excellence  status”  

-­‐ Once  you’ve  completed  one,  the  other  will  be  much  easier  

-­‐  Silver  and  Gold  levels  of  the  HACE  are  coming  soon,  so  now  is  a  good  >me  to  get  started  

-­‐  Both  are  meant  to  be  marathons,  not  sprints!  Don’t  feel  like  you  have  to  complete  all  of  the  steps  in  a  short  >meframe,  it  is  a  process.  

Hcadvocacy.org  

Questions?