PTA Student Takes on Capitol Hill
6.22.2015
I am a wife, a mother of three children, and a current graduate of the CCRI PTA program. I am proud to be a GPTA and look forward to taking the licensing exam next month. I am also a member of the APTA who recently attended PT Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. I went with two other members of the RI APTA, Wendy Fox and Julia Baldenko, to represent Rhode Island and speak with our elected representatives. Wendy Fox, PT, DPT, GCS, WCS, is a RI Delegate and has been to PT Day many times, while this was the first year that Julia and I have gone.
Wendy preceded us at the Gaylord National Harbor in Maryland as one of the RI Delegates and participated in the voting process in the 2015 House of Delegates beginning on June 1st. When Julia Baldenko, PT, DPT, and I arrived on June 3rd, we were able to sit in on the House in progress, which was very interesting. As quoted on the APTA website, apta.org, during the annual meeting “business of the House is conducted through the introduction of motions, which may amend APTA's bylaws, direct a course of action, articulate an association attitude on the physical therapy needs of the public or the needs of members, or describe a goal the association wishes to achieve.” We were able to witness various states proposing wording changes to by-laws and subsequent voice voting with “aye” or “nay” to decide on the changes.
Once the House finished its meeting, we all attended the mandatory Hill preparation session on the afternoon of Wed., June 3rd. All 50 states were represented and there was definitely a buzz of excitement in the air. A vendor called Soapbox was in charge of arranging our meetings and bus transportation to/from Capitol Hill and they were impressive in their organization and professionalism. We received a bag of relevant information, including a briefing book and a guide for the 114th Congress, as well as our Congressional meeting schedule for the next day.
PT Day on Capitol Hill began very early on June 4th at 6:00AM when we met in a ballroom for a quick breakfast before being called to our buses to drive into the city. We were all given blue signs that read “Physical Therapy Transforms” with the opposite side reading “#PTTransforms” for Twitter tagging. Once all the buses arrived, we had a rally on the Hill which was a sea of blue signs, smiling faces and several enthusiastic speakers. Wendy, Julia and I met the new APTA president, Sharon Dunn, who was kind enough to take a photograph with us.
We had to depart from the rally early since our first appointment was at 8:30AM with Rep. David Cicilline. We actually met with legislative assistants of all four congressional members since it was a busy voting day on the floor, although Rep. Cicilline did pass through the office long enough for a photo op with us. All of the legislative assistants were very receptive to our discussions regarding the four issues: the Therapy Cap repeal, the PT Workforce/National Health Service Corp. Act, the Safe Play Act (Concussion Management) and the Medicare Locum Tenens bill. We are fortunate that our four Rhode Island reps fully support the Medicare Therapy Cap Repeal which just missed being passed by two votes earlier this year.
PT Day on Capitol Hill was a fabulous experience. It was wonderful to meet so many compassionate, caring PT people from all over the country. The energy and passion in our profession really encourages me as I begin my career in physical therapy. Over 1,000 people attended the PT Day rally and proudly represented our profession in a proactive, dynamic demonstration. It made me realize it is more important than ever to make sure our elected officials understand our practice and follow through on subsequent bills that help our patients and profession thrive and succeed. I am thankful to the RI APTA for enabling me to attend PT Day on Capitol Hill and be a more active member of our physical therapy community. I look forward to continued involvement with such a dynamic organization.
Lisa Dowden, GPTA
June 2015
Please view our photos from PT Day on Capitol Hill at:
https://goo.gl/photos/ecQemvRQ9qz1F9LU6
