From NAPNAP President Dr. Daniel Crawford

Dear Member,

The past four weeks have been turbulent for our nation, bringing uncertainty and stress to many of our members and the children, families and communities which we serve. The president’s Executive Orders directly affect pediatric clinical practice, research and nursing education. Many of these orders are contrary to our core values as an organization. I want to assure you that, while the policy landscape around us is changing, NAPNAP remains steadfast and deeply committed to our mission, vision and core values.

In response, our leadership team and federal affairs representatives have been actively engaged—meeting almost daily with coalition partners and Congressional leaders to address these critical issues. Over the past month, we have:

• attended more than 25 coalition meetings to discuss the impact of and responses to executive orders, nominations, freezes of funding and communications and removal of data and information from federal websites
• met with 12 Congressional offices, including the House Nursing Caucus, to discuss concerns about executive orders, appropriations, and budget reconciliation options threatening Medicaid and CHIP and explain their impact
• participated in a federal advisory commission meeting on Medicaid policy proposals

Recognizing the importance of protecting vulnerable communities, NAPNAP has endorsed the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, which prohibits immigration enforcement in healthcare, education, and social service settings. In line with our strategic plan, we have also joined efforts to:

• oppose the removal of data from federal websites
• oppose cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and child nutrition programs
• support Medicaid coverage and enrollment, especially for school-based services and mental and behavioral health services
• seek the withdrawal of teleprescribing regulations
• oppose cuts to the Prevention and Public Health Fund
• oppose policies that restrict access to equitable, high quality, evidence-based care for all children

Now more than ever, we must stand together as experts in pediatric health and advocates for children. To strengthen our advocacy, we need your stories—real-life examples of how Executive Orders and policy changes impact your patients, research, publication and/or nurse practitioner students. Please take a few minutes to share your experiences using our online form.

NAPNAP’s Advocacy Center makes it easy for you to introduce yourself and raise awareness about your priorities to your elected leaders. The Advocacy Center is also the spot where you can respond to our calls to action on specific policy matters.

Our government’s system of checks and balances means challenging policy changes will take time to resolve through the courts or legislative processes. Rest assured, NAPNAP’s leadership and health policy teams will continue to closely monitor federal developments and collaborate with our organizational partners to determine impactful and actionable strategies that align with our goals for pediatric health care while safeguarding our association and its leaders and members.

I will periodically post updates in NAPNAP’s Open Forum in our Member Network e-community and invite you to participate in an ongoing conversation about optimizing children’s health and protecting our profession.

Thank you,

Daniel Crawford, DNP, ARNP, CPNP-PC, CNE, FAANP
NAPNAP President