Week 6 Healthcare Policy & Finance

Policy Advocacy Letter

Assignment Overview:  

Nurses can advocate for healthcare policies to promote justice, fairness, and health equity at facility, local, state, national, and global levels. Writing a letter of concern for or support towards a particular policy or legislation is an effective way to hold leaders accountable in their positions.  

Assignment Instructions:  

In the Week 2 Policy Letter Checkpoint, you began this assignment by completing the following:  

· Identifying a pending healthcare bill that needs improvement or proposing a new bill recommendation relevant to your current practice, community health needs, or personal interests.

· Explaining why that bill or recommendation is important.

· Identifying the leader or change agent (local, state, and national leader/legislator) who is appropriate to advocate for this policy change or adoption.  

· Identifying the official mailing or email address of this leader. 
Note: Your elected officials’ email and physical addresses are available on their websites. You can find out who represents you on the 


House


 and 


Senate

 

For this assignment you will use the bill and leader identified in Week 2 ( María Elvira Salazar) to compose a letter or email to the leader or change agent using the following sections. Use proper letter or email format including address lines, greeting, subject line, date, salutation, and professional closing. Use this 

sample letter
 as a guide. Use complete sentences with professional language and accurate grammar/sentence structure. The letter or email should be concise with a maximum of 2 pages. Use APA-recommended font. 

Paragraph 1 Introduction:   

· Introduce yourself, your current role, and your relationship to the leader or change agent.   

· Summarize why this issue is important to your role.   

· Explain your perspective on this issue.   

· State your position/request/reason for writing.   

·
Note: If your letter pertains to a specific piece of legislation, identify it accordingly as federal or state, e.g., H.R. 1234 (for a House resolution) or S.B. 234 (for a Senate bill).

Paragraph 2 Summary & History:   

· Summarize the pending healthcare bill or the lack there of if you chose to recommend a new bill. (Attach existing bill or link to piece of legislation to this letter.)  

· Outline the history or evolution of this piece of pending legislation.

· Outline the policy development process at this level.  

· Explain your rationale for recommending a new or changed healthcare bill.   

Paragraphs 3 & 4 Recommendations:  

·
If you are supporting the recommended changes proposed by the bill, describe its impact on patient care and your nursing role at bedside, higher organizational levels, local, state, national, and global levels.

·
If you are recommending a new piece of legislation, describe the need for it and the impact(s) of the lack of policy on patient care and your nursing role at bedside, higher organizational levels, local, state, national, and global levels (as applicable). Draft a proposal for the new bill.  

·
If you are recommending an improvement or additions to an existing piece of legislation, propose specific areas within the existing bill that need improvement. Refer to specifics in the existing bill or legislation and draft changes.  Describe the areas that you would want to change and how they could benefit patient care, community or population health, or nursing practice at the bedside, higher organizational levels, local, state, national, and global levels (as applicable).  

· Provide justification and at least 2 pieces of factual evidence to support your recommendations with proper APA in text citations.

Paragraph 5 Closing:

· Explain what you want the leader to do or steps you want them to take and request a response from them on the issue.

· Explain how you can help facilitate this change or be involved in the policy development process.

· Provide additional resources or recommendations as applicable.   

Appendix: 

· On a separate page, include a 2-3 paragraph reflection on this assignment addressing the following prompts:   

· State if you mailed or emailed the letter and include the date it was sent.  

· Describe your experience, feelings, and perceptions throughout this assignment.   

· Do you think this is an effective way to advocate for your changes? Why or why not?  

· What is your expected response from your legislator or representative?   

· How will you follow up or what are your next steps or other actions you can take?  

· What are your views about the nurse’s role in healthcare policy advocacy after completing this assignment?   

Assignment Submission Requirement:  

· Submit the assignment (letter and appendix) to dropbox as a Word document.    

· Send the letter or email to the leader after completing the assignment.  

Week 6 Healthcare Policy & Finance

Policy Advocacy Letter

Assignment Overview:  

Nurses can advocate for healthcare policies to promote justice, fairness, and health equity at facility, local, state, national, and global levels. Writing a letter of concern for or support towards a particular policy or legislation is an effective way to hold leaders accountable in their positions.  

Assignment Instructions:  

In the Week 2 Policy Letter Checkpoint, you began this assignment by completing the following:  

· Identifying a pending healthcare bill that needs improvement or proposing a new bill recommendation relevant to your current practice, community health needs, or personal interests.

· Explaining why that bill or recommendation is important.

· Identifying the leader or change agent (local, state, and national leader/legislator) who is appropriate to advocate for this policy change or adoption.  

· Identifying the official mailing or email address of this leader. 
Note: Your elected officials’ email and physical addresses are available on their websites. You can find out who represents you on the 


House


 and 


Senate

 

For this assignment you will use the bill and leader identified in Week 2 ( María Elvira Salazar) to compose a letter or email to the leader or change agent using the following sections. Use proper letter or email format including address lines, greeting, subject line, date, salutation, and professional closing. Use this 

sample letter
 as a guide. Use complete sentences with professional language and accurate grammar/sentence structure. The letter or email should be concise with a maximum of 2 pages. Use APA-recommended font. 

Paragraph 1 Introduction:   

· Introduce yourself, your current role, and your relationship to the leader or change agent.   

· Summarize why this issue is important to your role.   

· Explain your perspective on this issue.   

· State your position/request/reason for writing.   

·
Note: If your letter pertains to a specific piece of legislation, identify it accordingly as federal or state, e.g., H.R. 1234 (for a House resolution) or S.B. 234 (for a Senate bill).

Paragraph 2 Summary & History:   

· Summarize the pending healthcare bill or the lack there of if you chose to recommend a new bill. (Attach existing bill or link to piece of legislation to this letter.)  

· Outline the history or evolution of this piece of pending legislation.

· Outline the policy development process at this level.  

· Explain your rationale for recommending a new or changed healthcare bill.   

Paragraphs 3 & 4 Recommendations:  

·
If you are supporting the recommended changes proposed by the bill, describe its impact on patient care and your nursing role at bedside, higher organizational levels, local, state, national, and global levels.

·
If you are recommending a new piece of legislation, describe the need for it and the impact(s) of the lack of policy on patient care and your nursing role at bedside, higher organizational levels, local, state, national, and global levels (as applicable). Draft a proposal for the new bill.  

·
If you are recommending an improvement or additions to an existing piece of legislation, propose specific areas within the existing bill that need improvement. Refer to specifics in the existing bill or legislation and draft changes.  Describe the areas that you would want to change and how they could benefit patient care, community or population health, or nursing practice at the bedside, higher organizational levels, local, state, national, and global levels (as applicable).  

· Provide justification and at least 2 pieces of factual evidence to support your recommendations with proper APA in text citations.

Paragraph 5 Closing:

· Explain what you want the leader to do or steps you want them to take and request a response from them on the issue.

· Explain how you can help facilitate this change or be involved in the policy development process.

· Provide additional resources or recommendations as applicable.   

Appendix: 

· On a separate page, include a 2-3 paragraph reflection on this assignment addressing the following prompts:   

· State if you mailed or emailed the letter and include the date it was sent.  

· Describe your experience, feelings, and perceptions throughout this assignment.   

· Do you think this is an effective way to advocate for your changes? Why or why not?  

· What is your expected response from your legislator or representative?   

· How will you follow up or what are your next steps or other actions you can take?  

· What are your views about the nurse’s role in healthcare policy advocacy after completing this assignment?   

Assignment Submission Requirement:  

· Submit the assignment (letter and appendix) to dropbox as a Word document.    

· Send the letter or email to the leader after completing the assignment.  

Overview

Continue working on the naturally occurring risk you analyzed in Week 3. This week, you will establish the significance of the risk, the stakeholders, and the scientific, technological, and societal issues pertaining to the risk. In addition, you will turn to the critical focus of environmental health management—mitigation of the negative effects on population health.​​​​​

Instructions

Write a 4-5 page paper, based on the natural environmental health risk selected in Week 3.

1. Explain why this naturally occurring risk is important enough for you to research it. This may include information from your risk analyses in Week 3 or other reasons, such as the number of stakeholders, recent incidents, or personal experience.
2. Analyze three important scientific, technological, or societal issues pertaining to your chosen natural environmental risk. Justify the importance of these issues based on your research, and provide references to sources that support your analysis. To help guide your research and selection of these issues, note the following:
   • Scientific issues may include the fields of science involved in the study or mitigation of this risk or other issues.
   • Technological issues may include, for example, the types of technology that are available to determine and mitigate the risk.
   • Societal issues may include, for example, socioeconomic impacts and disparities, geographic occurrence, and others.
3. Recommend a specific mitigation strategy for the natural environmental risk based on your comparison of at least two specific mitigation programs, policies, or strategies you discover through research.
4. Use at least four sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Evaluate naturally occurring sources of environmental risk for their impact on human populations.
• Assess strategies used to mitigate the negative effects of environmental hazards on population health.