On October 25, the Louisville Health Advisory Board (LHAB) gathered virtually for the last quarterly of 2020. The board had hoped to be able to meet in person, but with the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the group ended the year virtually. Despite this, the engagement was high with over 70 invested members representing 44 social services, for-profit, and academic organizations in attendance.
LHAB Co-chair Dr. Bryan Loy, Corporate Medical Director, Humana, welcomed the group and introduced new member and Dr. Sarah Moyer’s new Chief of Staff, Gabriell Gassaway. Gabriell will be joining the LHAB with Dr. Moyer, and attending meetings when Dr. Moyer is not available. This ensures that the health department stays up to date on the work the LHAB is doing, while also staying focused on the current pandemic.
This quarter’s agenda was inspired by feedback from committee members. The members expressed a desire to use the LHAB platform for advocacy around policy changes that influence the social determinants of health. This is new territory for the committees and many members, and they desired some guidance on how to effectively advocate for changes. LHAB leadership invited Dr. Sheila Schuster, an expert in advocacy, to provide guidance on why the LHAB would be good advocates, and how they could best use their collective resources to support policy change.
Dr. Schuster shared many great tips on how to be a good advocate, noting that public policy is going to take place whether you are there or not. In order to be a good advocate, you need to be a connector between your coalition/constituents, unlikely partners, and the policymakers. She also shared how important it is to connect with your legislators. Legislators respond to their constituents and we all have much more sway with our own legislators.
When advocating for your issues, she offered some guidance: If your legislator asks you something you do not know or unprepared for, do not give inaccurate information – it breaks trust. Instead respond with, “That is a great question, unfortunately, I don’t have an answer ready for you. What’s the best way I can follow-up with you?” This is an opportunity to better connect. And don’t forget to follow-up!
Use media! Debbie Yetter (Courier-Journal) is great for reporting on health issues. If you have someone who can speak personally on an issue, that is the kind of reporting that they want.
Know who the policymakers are on your issue, not just your own legislators. Check the Legislative Research Commission and which legislators are on which committees.
Prepare a one-page policy brief. They are overwhelmed with information, so you must make your case briefly and effectively. Put your contact information on your one-sheet, so the legislator can follow-up easily.
Targeted messages from constituents (i.e. phone messages/emails) carry a lot of weight. You do not need to have huge numbers at the state level to elevate your issue and get your message to a legislator.
Members of the LHAB asked for clarity on the difference between lobbying and advocating since many are prohibited from lobbying for an issue as a result of their job or company affiliation. Dr. Schuster shared that if you are getting paid as part of your job description to be in touch with legislators, that is likely lobbying. If you are educating (with passion) about an issue, rather than encouraging particular legislation, that is advocacy.
For more information on what bills are on the docket, and which legislators align, the Legislative Research Commission provides profiles of all legislators, including committee assignments.
Dr. Schuster will return in January to give more details on how to be an effective advocate and how to engage your legislator during the winter break!
The meeting then transitioned to Alicia Ariatti, Ariatti Advising, facilitator of the LHAB, who introduced the committee co-chairs to provide updates on their work.
LHAB Behavioral Health Co-chair, Joe Bargione, shared that this committee is offering QPR training virtually. There is a cadre of trainers available and an easy process for making a request to have training. Anyone interested can go to NAMI’s website to request a training.
On the invitation of Beck Whipple, state suicide prevention coordinator, the committee was able to join the state in submitting a grant on suicide prevention. The state received that grant, and the committee received a piece of that grant to coordinate and deliver training in suicide prevention in Jefferson County to both the general public and also clinicians. The committee will spend 2021 using this grant money as effectively as possible to increase awareness and education around suicide prevention.
Tara Schweitzer serves as the co-chair for the Respiratory committee and provided the committee’s update. The committee has been focused on raising awareness on smoking and air quality. Working with various community organizations, the committee wrote a letter to legislators to advocate for the repeal of a law that prohibits local governments from regulating tobacco sales and marketing. The repeal would let local policymakers decide how many establishments could sell tobacco products, where they could sell them, and what type of advertisements could be used to market them. The desire is to regulate local tobacco sales and marketing away from children.
The Community Continuum of Care Committee is mainly focused on two big actions: eviction prevention and piloting a state-wide program called Respite to Residence, explained co-chair Tom Walton. Respite to Residence’s goal is to ensure that homeless residents that are discharged from the hospital have a place to respite and eventually have a place to live rather than going back on the streets while still not healthy. The committee has been working on this pilot for over a year and has partnered with organizations in Lexington as they get ready to launch the pilot program. In addition to housing, the committee is learning about the different food initiatives started in West Louisville, including the Louisville Community Grocery.
The quarterly ended with Dr. Moyer sharing COVID precautions and asking all of us to stay healthy at home, wash our hands and wear a mask.
The LHAB will convene again in January to kick-off 2021!