4/11/19
Fly in. Advocate. Fly out.
The 2nd day of our time in DC was just as busy and inspiring as the first! I started the morning with a congressional staff briefing, hearing from Jacquelyn Bolen from the Committee on Energy & Commerce and Brett Baker from the Committee on Finance. They took the time to answer questions from pharmacists and listen to some of the biggest concerns independent pharmacy owners are facing today.
I spent the 2ndday with the Tennessee Pharmacists Association attending all their meetings with legislators. I am so grateful that they allowed me to join them and hear from another state and group of experienced health professionals about how they are effected by current practices in the health care system.
We began the morning with a meeting with Eliana Goodman, a staffer from Representative Kustoff’s office, followed by Ella Mathews from Representative Jim Cooper’s office (which had the best view in all of DC), and Robert Kerr from Representative Chuck Fleischmann’s office. We finished with a meeting with Representative Scott DesJarlais’ chief of staff. Representative DesJarlais is my home district’s representative, and he is also a doctor and is very receptive to the need for change in healthcare. I was so impressed with all the impactful stories from the pharmacists in attendance.
I then headed to APhA headquarters to meet up with Liza Chapman (immediate past president of GPhA, Mercer graduate, and employee at PTCB which is in the same building). She and her colleague (and former APhA-ASP NEC and former APhA staff member) Ryan gave us the full tour of the beautiful building, including the rooftop with some amazing views! I also ran into the APhA-ASP National Executive Committee who are here preparing for the April Business Meeting with all the newly appointed standing committees.
We then took our time walking back to the Metro, stopping for South Korea’s President to leave the White House following his meeting with President Trump, and for some photo ops in front of the big white mansion itself! What an inspiring couple of days!
Thank you so much to all the pharmacists who welcomed me as a first year student, and taught me so much about policy and advocacy. Thank you to the NCPA staff members who worked tirelessly to prepare an amazing event. And thank you to all the legislators and staffers who took the time to meet with us and better understand the issues that are affecting our career and patients.
