2023 Fall GAPNA Newsletter Volume 42 Number 3

Our Advocacy Efforts Never Cease

By Kimberly Posey

The GAPNA’s Health Affairs Committee (HAC) had a sizzling start to the summer.

GAPNA continues to be engaged in advocacy efforts to improve the quality of care for residents in long- term care with the Moving Forward Coalition, minimum staffing requirements, and GAPNA Position Statement on Removing Regulatory Barriers for APRNs in LTC.

GAPNA was one of 235 organizations that signed on to H.R. 8812, Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act which Congress reintroduced earlier this year. The ICAN Act would remove outdated barriers in the Medicare and Medicaid programs that currently prevent APRNs from practicing to the full extent of their education and clinical training.

Did you know that the HAC has GAPNA liaisons representing GAPNA on 12 national coalitions and sharing their reports on the monthly committee calls? Don’t let the summer heat slow down your advocacy efforts. Please consider joining the HAC. Together we have more collective power. The Health Affairs Committee’s virtual meetings occur on the first Tuesday of each month. A Zoom meeting link is published in the GAPNA Exchange the day before the meeting.

Finally, the HAC looks forward to seeing you in New Orleans at the Annual Conference. Please attend the General Session on Friday, September 29th, “Health Affairs’ Work with Coalitions,” and hear directly from our HAC GAPNA liaisons. The session will share the ongoing work with the coalitions and the Health Policy Toolkit.

Kimberly Posey, PhD, DNP, APRN, APCNP-BC, GS-C
k.posey@tcu.edu