FEATURE
Host a Legislator at Your ASC on National ASC Day Share the benefits of ASCs with decision makers
A
ugust 13, 2014, is National ASC Day. In recognition, ASCs across
the country will invite their mem- bers of Congress and other state and national policymakers to tour their facilities. Start planning now to make sure that your ASC is involved. “[It is an] easy and extraordinarily
rewarding experience,” says Nancy Henry, administrator of Tallgrass Sur- gical Center in Topeka, Kansas. “We would welcome and encourage others to participate in these opportunities as well.” Tallgrass Surgical Center hosted a facility tour last year. ASC professionals who have conducted tours in the past say that Henry’s experience is typical. The tours give policymakers an opportunity to see firsthand the high-quality surgical care that ASCs provide and learn about the many benefits that these small businesses offer their communities. They also give ASC owners a chance to tell their legislators about the most important issues affecting their ASC and the entire ASC community. To schedule a tour for a member of
Congress, begin by calling or emailing your senator or representative’s local district office. “It is a small investment of your time that can help secure the future of your ASC and your patients’ right
to choose where they receive
their surgical care,” says ASCA Chief Executive Officer William Prentice. Rob Schwartz, executive direc- tor of the Colorado and Oregon state ASC associations, suggests that one of the most effective tools that an ASC can use to help visitors understand the valuable services and high-quality care that ASCs provide is to invite their visitors to change into scrubs for the tour. “[By] getting a legislator to put on scrubs, you are changing their para-
26 ASC FOCUS JUNE/JULY 2014
digm. They are in your house now,” he says. “Psychologically, they relate.” In the last two years, more than half of the members of Congress who visited an ASC later cosponsored the ASC Quality and Access Act—a clear indicator that when ASCs tell
their
story, legislators listen. “What ASCA sees on Capitol Hill is not opposition to the ASC message, but a lack of awareness” says ASCA Director of Government and Public
For help contacting your members of Congress, setting up a facility tour or assembling information and materials, email or call Jack Coleman at jcoleman@
ascassociation.org, 703.345.0260.
Affairs Steve Miller. “Hosting a facil- ity tour opens the legislators’ eyes to the great work ASCs do. It is an easy event to organize, and it makes a direct and noticeable difference on Capitol Hill.”
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