1. Telling your story: The POWER of the Patient’s Voice
Andrea Baer, MS, Director of Patient Advocacy

2. Be a Voice for the Mission Be able to speak about them
Tell your story
Be a Voice for the Mission
Know the 5 Priorities
Be able to speak about them
Build relationships
Get involved

3. Your Story

4. You could write a book?…..Don’t
Your Elevator Speech: 30 second story: Practice don’t perform
Don’t use acronyms: Keep it simple
Know your audience: What to share, how much to share
Have an ask: donations? volunteers? policy support?

5. Be a voice for the mission
Tell your Story
Be a voice for the mission

7. Mended Hearts Talking Points
Mended Hearts is the largest peer-to-peer heart patient support network in the world
Mended Hearts has been offering hope and support for 65 years, visiting more than 200,000 patients every year
Mended Hearts provides education, support and hope to all types of heart patients and their families
Mended Hearts has 300 chapters and groups in North America, serving 460+ hospitals

8. Telling Your Story
Newspaper Articles, Letters to the Editor, and Television and Radio
Social Media
Health professionals/Local organizations
Engage with your Members of Congress
Legislative Action Alerts

9. Telling Your Story April 8, 2016 March 3, 2016 April 10, 2016
We see examples of Mended Hearts patients sharing their story and our mission with their local news outlets. These three stories are just from the last two months.
April 8, 2016
March 3, 2016
April 10, 2016

10. Social Media /Mended Little Hearts National Follow us! Like us!
/MendedHearts
/Mended Little Hearts National
@MendedHearts
@MLH_CHD
Share our posts or create your own Mended Hearts-related content!

11. Engage with Policy Advocacy!
Find Your Representative
Engage them on social media
Ask for a meeting at their District office
Build a relationship!
Mended Hearts will send Action Alerts. Participate! Share! Get Involved!
The power of legislative action alerts comes from many advocates sending the same important message

12. Be able to speak about them
Know the 5 Priorities
Be able to speak about them

13. Know the 5 Priorities
Access to Innovative Cardiovascular Disease Treatments And Devices
2. Medication Adherence and Therapy Management
3. Access to Cardiac Rehabilitation
4. Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities In CHD
5. Access to Innovative Pediatric Cardiovascular Devices and Treatments

14. Heart Advocacy Mended Hearts advocacy focuses on these five priorities
We work to “move the needle” on these items: assuring that the patient voice is heard throughout healthcare
Policy, Payors, Providers, & Patients: If there’s a conversation, we want to be a part of it
You – our advocates – are the key to our advocacy success!

15. Build relationships
Get involved

16. Build Relationships and Get Involved
Be a part of the Power of the Patient Voice
Share the mission of Mended Hearts
Stay engaged and connected with PAN
Advocate for cardiovascular patients
YOU are our leaders among leaders!

17. Other Ways to Get Involved
Volunteer for hospital boards or patient groups
Seek out speaking opportunities in your local community
State and local opportunities
Use training materials and webinars to train new advocates
Use the webinars and resources for chapter meetings

18. Be a voice for the mission Be able to speak about them
Tell your story
Be a voice for the mission
Know the 5 Priorities
Be able to speak about them
Build relationships
Get involved

19. Thank you! Questions?