Atlanta Chapter United Advanced Practice Registered Nurses

CAPRN hosts APRN days at the Capitol

Posted about 8 years ago by Amanda Sanders

Get your APRN friends together to spend a few hours at the Capitol to meet with legislators and CAPRN's new lobbist, and sit in on Committee meetings. APRN Days are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 1/26/16 through 3/2/16, so everyone should be able to find a time to come. If you plan to attend, please dress professionally and wear a white lab coat with your name on it, or better yet, a badge from where you work.

Parking is $10 at Capitol Lot Daily, address: 218 Capitol Avenue SE, Atlanta, GA 30334. Agendas for committee meetings are usually posted only a day or two before (and sometimes added to the day of), but if you would like to know what will be discussed, contact CAPRN lobbyist Julianna McConnell at julimmconnell@bellsouth.net. In some cases, you can sign in at the start of a Committee meeting to offer testimony. If you need to contact the lobbyist when you arrive, text her at (770) 713-1249. Please also email your name and date of attendance to Molly Bachtel, APRN at: molly.bachtel@emory.edu. She is keeping track of attendees, and is a great resource if you have questions.

10:00 AM - Meet with CAPRN lobbyist on 3rd Floor outside Clerk of House Office for a tour and meeting key legislators. You can also call out your own district legislators for introductions at this time. If you don't know who they are, go to this website and enter your address to find out: http://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/

MEETINGS:

12:00 PM - (Wednesdays)
Women's Legislative Caucus Meeting

2:00 PM - (Tuesdays)
HOUSE Health & Human Services Committee Meeting - chaired by Sharon Cooper, historically an opponent of APRNs increasing scope of practice.

3:00 PM (Mondays) or 2:00 PM (Wednesdays)
SENATE Health & Human Services Committee Meeting - chaired by Renee Unterman, a nurse and supporter of APRNs.

The purpose of these events is to increase APRNs visibility and presence at the Georgia legislature, so we can better advocate for our patients and our profession. Georgia physicians have had a daily presence at the state capital each day of the legislative session for many years, and the physician groups have several lobbyists. We hope you will consider stepping up to this challenge to become involved with the lawmaking process and show that there are other healthcare workers available to meet the primary care shortage in Georgia.

One bill that will be up for consideration this year would extend Georgia Tax Credits to APRN preceptors in primary care settings ($1000 off State taxes annually). Some physicians are already receiving this credit for serving as preceptors to APRN, PA, and medical students. Another issue to discuss with HHS committee members is the revision to nursing regulations that removed "in emergencies only" as a contingency for allowing APRNs to order CT scans, MRIs, or other nuclear studies. This revision passed the senate - twice - only to die in the House Health and Human Services Committee, despite expert testimony supporting the change. Georgia is the only State with this restriction on APRNs.