Please Scroll Down to See All of Our Important Calls to Action
As pediatric-focused APRNs, you are advocating every day – for your patients, your students or your role as a health care leader. Join our community of experts in pediatrics and advocates for children in communicating with elected leaders and amplifying messages to benefit child health and advanced practice nursing. On this page, you can participate in our pre-formatted campaigns.
If you prefer to call your elected leaders, you should be able to find their office phone numbers on their official webpages. You can also call the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to reach your U.S. Representatives or Senators.
Participate in Our Advocacy Campaigns
Campaign: Urge Congress to Reauthorize Nursing Workforce Programs
Federal funding for nursing workforce development programs is at risk. Authorization for programs under Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act expired on Sept. 30, leaving them vulnerable to funding reductions or even elimination. Fortunately, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize these programs has been introduced in both the House and Senate – and NAPNAP needs your help to ensure its passage this year.
The “Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025” (S. 1874/H.R. 3593) would reauthorize these essential programs, which provide the majority of federal support for the recruitment, education, practice, and retention of pediatric APRNs and other nurses. Extending these programs is critical to enabling APRN education programs to admit and prepare students for careers in nursing.
The bill enjoys strong bipartisan support in both chambers. However, to secure its passage, we must demonstrate broad support – and that’s where you come in. Please contact your U.S. Senators and Representative NOW. Lawmakers need to hear from their constituents how vital these Title VIII programs are for addressing the nursing shortage and ensuring children and adolescents have access to care provided by pediatric APRNs. In the blue box, simply fill in your info, click next, review and/or customize the communication and click submit. There are separate messages for House and Senate members.
Campaign: Your Elected Leaders Need To Understand Your Priorities
It is essential that NAPNAP members help build awareness about our profession and the key role that we play in delivering evidence-based, high quality pediatric health care. Take time to introduce (or reintroduce) yourself to your elected leaders – as a constituent and a health care leader. Start building relationships now so that elected officials better understand you and the issues you will raise during their terms. As an expert in pediatrics and an advocate for children, you are a valuable resource and influencer in your home district!
It’s quick and easy to advocate for child health and advanced practice nursing issues with our pre-formatted communication that sends directly to your elected leaders in Congress. However, we highly encourage you to customize the content to focus on issues impacting your practice, research or advanced practice education. In the blue box, simply fill in your info, click next, review and/or customize the communication and click submit.
Campaign: Call on Congress to support the “Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act
Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) have joined Reps. David Joyce (R-OH), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Lauren Underwood (D-IL), and Mike Rogers (R-AL) in introducing the “Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act” (S. 575 and H.R. 1317), legislation that would remove a wide range of long-standing federal statutory and regulatory barriers that currently restrict Medicare and Medicaid patients’ access to care provided by NPs and APRNs. The ICAN Act would enable APRNs to utilize their clinical expertise to improve care for patients by:
- Authorizing patients to receive Medicaid outpatient clinic services under the direction of NPs
- Making permanent the waiver allowing Medicare and Medicaid hospital patients to be under the care of NPs
- Authorizing NPs and CNSs to refer patients to dieticians or nutrition professionals
- and much more!
Please contact your members of Congress NOW to ask them to cosponsor the ICAN Act to increase patient access to high quality care provided by NPs and APRNs. In the blue box, simply fill in your info, click next, review and/or customize the communication and click submit.
