AIMS UPDATE
Medical Simulation Action Alert (House)
Medical Simulation Action Alert
Senate Help with Health
What is Healthcare Simulation? (PDF)
Medical Simulation Health Policy Tool Kit (PDF)
H.R. 855 - One Page Summary (PDF)
Dear SSH Member: We are writing today to ask for your help in advancing medical simulation in the U.S. Senate. As you might have heard, we are working closely with Advanced Initiatives in Medical Simulation (AIMS) to move the medical simulation legislation (S.616/H.R. 855) forward in Congress. Now that we have legislation in the House and Senate, the next step in the process is to hold a hearing on medical simulation and specifically, this bill. Today, we are asking for your help by cosigning a letter to Senator Harkin, the lead sponsor of the bill in the Senate. The goal is to get commitment from organizations, associations, simulation centers, hospitals and other groups to sign onto this letter urging Senator Harkin to move forward with a hearing and quick passage of S. 616. The Process: If you work for a hospital, sim center, or are a part of an association, take a copy of the attached letter to your leadership and ask if your group can join AIMS, the Society and many other groups in supporting the passage of the medical simulation legislation. There is no need to send the letter on your own or actually sign the letter. If you are successful in getting your organization or hospital to support the initiative, please email Erin Will Morton (erin.morton@dbr.com) with AIMS to add your organization to the list. AIMS is collecting a list of signatories to add to one final letter that will be personally delivered to Senator Harkin. If you have questions or want more information about the sign on process, please email Erin directly and she or another AIMS staff member will be happy to help you. We know many of you have been to the Hill, written letters, and called your Members of Congress and their staff. We hope you will take a few minutes to read this letter and get your organizations or institutions to sign on and show your support. If you have any questions or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact AIMS or the PAGR Committee directly. Sincerely, Amanda Burden - Chair amandaburden@yahoo.com Sandi Feaster - Vice Chair sfeaster@stanford.edu SSH PAGR Committee AIMS S. 616 Sign On Letter.DOC S.616.pdf
Dear SSH Member:
We are writing today to ask for your help in advancing medical simulation in the U.S. Senate. As you might have heard, we are working closely with Advanced Initiatives in Medical Simulation (AIMS) to move the medical simulation legislation (S.616/H.R. 855) forward in Congress. Now that we have legislation in the House and Senate, the next step in the process is to hold a hearing on medical simulation and specifically, this bill.
Today, we are asking for your help by cosigning a letter to Senator Harkin, the lead sponsor of the bill in the Senate. The goal is to get commitment from organizations, associations, simulation centers, hospitals and other groups to sign onto this letter urging Senator Harkin to move forward with a hearing and quick passage of S. 616.
The Process:
We know many of you have been to the Hill, written letters, and called your Members of Congress and their staff. We hope you will take a few minutes to read this letter and get your organizations or institutions to sign on and show your support. If you have any questions or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact AIMS or the PAGR Committee directly.
Sincerely,
Amanda Burden - Chair
amandaburden@yahoo.com
Sandi Feaster - Vice Chair
sfeaster@stanford.edu
SSH PAGR Committee
AIMS S. 616 Sign On Letter.DOC
S.616.pdf
Simulate in August
Steps for your Simulation Center
August is a critical time to educate your Senator or Member of Congress about the importance of medical simulation training! Nearly all Senators and Representatives will spend a portion of August back home in their State or District for a district work period. With health care reform on the forefront, you can bet that policymakers will want to schedule meetings to hear from their constituents on health care.
That's where you come in! And that's where a medical simulation demonstration and tour of your facility will fit in. There is no better way to gain support for medical simulation training than to have elected officials view medical simulation in action. To paraphrase the saying, "a visual is worth a thousand words."
Act now! Senators, Representatives, and their staff are working right now to put together their August State and District Work Period schedules. It's not too late to invite your elected official to an August tour of your facility!
How to get started:
1. Send an invitation letter to your Legislators. Send a letter to your Senators and Representative (you can find a sample letter on the AIMS website, under the legislative advocacy tab). Feel free to modify it to address the specific circumstances of your medical simulation center. Please send this email off to the office of your Senators and Representative immediately. A few days after you send you request, be sure to follow-up with a phone call to the office to ensure your request was received.
Your letters can be faxed or emailed to your Member’s office. Call the office first to find out what their preferred method of scheduling is, and let them know what you are trying to do. Be sure to ask the name of the scheduler so that you know who to address your fax or email to. If the office asks you to email the request, be sure to get the correct spelling of the person’s first and last name. In some cases, the receptionist might tell you that their office has an online form for scheduling requests. If this is the case, be sure to get the web address where you can find the form. In this case, it is still a good idea to send an invitation via fax or email, but be certain to mention that you filed your request through the appropriate system online as well.
2. Plan on three separate meetings. Remember that you will be trying to schedule at least three meetings--one for each Senator and another for your Representative. You might be lucky and get more than one elected official participate in a single meeting, but given the difficulty of coordinating their schedules, you should expect three separate meetings. Most likely, when your request is processed the Member’s scheduler will call you back directly to schedule a visit. It is a good idea to work out some dates with your simulation center staff ahead of time so that you can be prepared to discuss possible visit times with the scheduler. If you can commit to a time when you have the scheduler on the phone that is best. If not, be prompt in getting back to the office, as the calendar will fill up quickly!
3. Communicate with PAGR and our partners at AIMS: If you are planning to invite your Members of Congress to your simulation center, please notify either Sandi Feaster (sfeaster@stanford.edu) or Amanda Burden (amandaburden@yahoo.com) or the AIMS staff (info@medsim.org). Please be sure to include the names of each of the policymakers you invited in your email.
4. Remember the State and District Office staff. If your Senators or Representative are unable to accept your invitation for the August State/District Work Period, extend an invitation to their state/district staff. Having key state staff exposed to your simulation center will help to build relationships and will prove useful in future scheduling discussions.
5. Ask Questions! Sandi, Amanda or the AIMS staff is happy to assist you in any way possible to implement these invitations. Feel free to contact Sandi, Amanda or an AIMS staff member. We'll talk you through the process, answer any questions, and help you in any way that we can.