LAFP Members Lobby Louisiana's Congressional Delegation on Capitol Hill

The following LAFP members attended the Family Medicine Congressional Conference (FMCC) in Washington, D.C., May 20-21:

• Marguerite "Cissy" Picou, MD
• Bryan Picou, MD
• James Taylor, MD
• Sherlyn Larrison, MD
• Rhonda Kendrick, MD
• Matt Delfino*

Sponsored by American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and Academic Family Medicine Advocacy Alliance (AFMAA), FMCC educates participants on family medicine’s legislative priority issues, trains attendees on how to lobby on Capitol Hill and allows participants to put these skills to use with federal legislators and their staff. Advocacy is a high priority of both AAFP and AFMAA; every family physician and educator can learn how to be effective in Washington, D.C., and at home.

Day one of the conference focused on learning how to lobby on Capitol Hill with presentations focused on practicing real-world advocacy and understanding family medicine’s legislative issues. Attendees were briefed by Congressional healthcare staffers and members of the Obama Administration. Day two gives attendees the opportunity to go do it.

A few comments from this year's attendees include:

"We had a great time and I think we would call it a successful trip considering we met with 6 offices and seemed to have the opportunity to gain some agreement or spend some time educating on the issues at each stop!"

"We went to DC to inform and educate our legislators about some hot topics in medicine including: the importance of incorporating the physician led PCMH Model into the healthcare delivery system; the need for physician payment reform; the need to modernize graduate medical education by changing the structure for family medicine residency programs; and the importance of reauthorizing Title VII with $215 million appropriated for primary care training programs."

*Matt Delfino received a 2009 Student Scholarship from the American Academy of Family Physicians to attend the FMCC conference this year.