Health Center Advocacy for Board Members August 29, 2017 Elizabeth Kwasnik Manager of Grassroots Advocacy, NACHC

Today’s Agenda Advocacy refresher Creative ideas & best practices BMAC & toolkit Discussion

For starters… The Basics Keys to Successful Advocacy Know what you want Know who can give it to you Know what they want The squeaky wheel gets the grease! Advocacy is an ongoing effort Keys to Successful Advocacy Advocacy is a competitive activity There are winners and losers, and sometimes a stalemate is a win! Advocacy is an ACTIVE, not passive, process You are not the only one who wants something, so you have to be heard through the din of all the other interests

Because there is too much at risk NOT to advocate. Why Advocacy? Because CHCs can and should be part of the solution for challenges facing the health care system Because CHCs are one of the few things that still have bipartisan support Because many of the more than 26 million patients we serve would have nowhere else to go Because our network is 140,000 advocates strong Because we are facing the potentially devastating Health Center Funding Cliff on Sept. 30 Because there is too much at risk NOT to advocate.

  Dos and Don’ts Don’ts: Dos: Offer Answers You Don’t Have Know What You’re Asking For Know Your Audience Know Your Opponents Know The Rules Make a Commitment Be Polite Say THANK YOU Keep it Simple Don’ts: Offer Answers You Don’t Have Assume Knowledge of Health Centers Believe Someone Else is Taking Care of Your Advocacy Burn Bridges Be Intimidated Confuse Being Quiet for Being Polite Express Partisanship Forget to make your ASK  

Advocacy is story-telling! Your story: You are an expert, your story matters, it’s PERSONAL! The Health Center story: Why and how did you get involved? What good is data without the human element and impact? It’s PERSONAL & it’s about our patients! Remember, YOU are an expert!

Taking Advocacy to the Next Level In order to realize the full potential of our grassroots power it is critical that we create a culture of advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels… starting with your Health Center! Building a culture of advocacy means: Changing the culture and attitude from within the health center, recognizing advocacy as a critical and mandatory component to daily work and planning. Making a commitment to doing the work to build and organize our grassroots in order to fully realize the potential of our grassroots power. Growth and recognition of grassroots advocacy and effectiveness the same way other critical skills and programs are recognized for health center staff and boards.

Board-Specific Activities: Planning & Infrastructure Make sure all board members are registered as advocates (and take action when necessary!) Pass a resolution on advocacy as a priority at your Health Center If your HC has an advocacy committee, mandate board member participation and/or create a board subcommittee Add advocacy as a standing agenda item at all board meetings (have HC staff update board on latest activities, NACHC/statewide campaigns, etc.) Survey members for connections/relationships within the community Apply for ACE status!

Board-Specific Activities: Action Items Participate in the Board Member Advocacy Certificate (BMAC) program Work with your CFO/finance staff to complete a Health Center data analysis (for the cliff & Medicaid) Have a job outside the Health Center? Engage your employer. Participate in NACHC’s monthly webinars (next one on Sept. 7 at 3:30PM Eastern!) Visit www.hcadvocacy.org/takeaction to take action and connect with your Members of Congress NOW

Other Ideas & Best Practices Annual board retreat Advocacy as part of board orientation Thank you notes from HC CEO to board members’ outside employer Pair up board members and staff for community events Develop CEO/board chair relationship Board “corner” or contribution to staff/community newsletter NHCW Consumer Board Member Day

What is BMAC? A program specifically designed for board members to complement our other advocacy programming An effort to increase education and engagement of board members The program provides the opportunity to share best practices and network with peers

The checklist/application 10 required items- including webinars, conference sessions, office hours (via phone) All items must be completed within an 18-month period Webinar and office hour recordings will be posted online for those who cannot join live Hard-copy and online checklist available Attendance lists will be reviewed to confirm participation

The checklist/application Topics covered by BMAC: Advocacy 101 How to Prepare for P&I Advocacy for Board Members National Health Center Week Importance and How-tos of Community Partnerships Other Board Programming from NACHC Advocacy Legalese The Board’s Role in Advocacy Planning

FAQs Applicable programming Conference attendance Any activities completed on or after January 1, 2017 count toward completion of the certificate. Conference attendance Attending an advocacy session at your primary care association’s annual conference can be substituted for attendance/participation at any (one) NACHC conference. If your state’s Primary Care Association doesn’t hold an annual conference NACHC is aware that there are states whose PCAs do not organize an annual conference. NACHC will work with the PCA to provide some form of advocacy training for all advocates in that state, including board members who want to complete BMAC.

FAQs BMAC and ACE NACHC Membership Completion of BMAC alone does not make a Health Center eligible for Gold ACE status. All Bronze and Silver items, as well as the other Gold items, must be completed in order for a Health Center to be approved as a Gold ACE. However, if a board member has completed BMAC, their Health Center does NOT also have to complete the ALP participation requirement; Gold status requires EITHER ALP or BMAC participation. Board members do NOT have to be at an ACE Health Center (current or aspiring) in order to participate in BMAC. NACHC Membership Board members do NOT have to be NACHC individual or organizational members to participate in BMAC.

FAQs NACHC’s Certificate in Health Center Governance Program for Board Members This certificate program requires 31 contact hours through attendance/participation in education sessions offered at one of NACHC’s three national conferences, over the course of three years. In addition to the required sessions (7 hours), 24 more contact hours are needed; advocacy education sessions at NACHC conferences required for BMAC can count toward these additional hours.

Board Member Advocacy Toolkit An opportunity for those who do not wish to participate in BMAC, but still want to learn more (or for HC staff who want to further engage their boards) Consists of: PowerPoint presentation Downloadable templates

Contact us: grassroots@nachc.org Where to find these resources BMAC (including info, checklist, FAQs, etc.): www.hcadvocacy.org/bmac Board Member Advocacy Toolkit: www.hcadvocacy.org/boardresources Contact us: grassroots@nachc.org

Thursday, September 7 at 3:30PM ET Save the date Thursday, September 7 at 3:30PM ET Policy & Advocacy Update Webinar RSVP at www.hcadvocacy.org/sept_pa_webinar Learn what you need to know about our advocacy strategy for September and tell your Members of Congress to FIX THE CLIFF!

Questions?

What is your most embarrassing advocacy question? Discussion What is your most embarrassing advocacy question?

Discussion What is your biggest challenge as a board member? What are some potential solutions?

Discussion Identify one way in which you could streamline or improve HC staff & board working together on advocacy.

Discussion What are you most proud of about your Health Center or why are you proud to be a board member? How can you turn this into an advocacy tool and use it to influence policymakers?

Contact Us Contact the NACHC advocacy team if you have questions or need additional information or resources! grassroots@nachc.com www.hcadvocacy.org ekwasnik@nachc.org 202-331-4614