By Karen Lui, RN, MS

Have you:

• Attended Day on the Hill, AACVPR's DC advocacy event, in the past?
• Always wanted to go, but couldn’t for financial or scheduling reasons?
• Never even entertained the thought of getting involved at this level?
• Always wanted to know how a current proposal could affect your program? (Because it could!)

AACVPR has successfully lobbied to have some important bills passed for cardiac, intensive cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation (CR/ICR/PR) services over the years. Any member who has participated in that process has proud memories of making it happen.

The SOS: Sustaining Outpatient Services Act of 2021 is a critically important bill for the future expansion of our programs to meet increasing demand.

This piece of legislation will enable CR/ICR/PR programs to locate off campus, providing opportunities such as:

• Moving to a larger space to decrease the wait time from hospital discharge to enrollment in a patient’s rehabilitation course,
• Utilizing a location that is more convenient for patients, and
• Removing the severe financial penalty tied to re-locating CR/ICR/PR programs from the hospital to an off-hospital campus or from an off-campus location to a different off-campus location.

This bill is for our patients. This bill is for our programs. It is one of the most effective ways we can address many of the under-utilization barriers we deal with every day.

Be part of the solution. Join your fellow AACVPR and state affiliate CR/ICR/PR members March 8-12 for Day on the Hill. Or at least please send this letter to your US Congressional Members before the March 8 kick-off. In doing so, you will share in the pride of what many passionate professionals can achieve together.