Agnesian HealthCare Supporters Attend WHA Advocacy Day

More than 1,000 hospital leaders, employees, trustees and volunteers, including from Agnesian HealthCare, a member of SSM Health, descended on Madison on March 21 to participate in the Wisconsin Hospital Association’s (WHA) Advocacy Day event. Advocacy Day is an annual event that connects hospital supporters from across the state with their legislators in Madison so lawmakers can learn how issues impact local hospitals and communities.

The crowd of over 1,000 heard from the always popular bipartisan state legislative panel of State Senator Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), State Representative Joe Sanfelippo (R-New Berlin) and State Representative Debra Kolste (D-Janesville). Advocacy Day attendees also heard from morning keynote speaker Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for NPR. Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch provided luncheon keynote remarks and touted Wisconsin’s high quality health care.

This year over 600 attendees spent time in the afternoon meeting with elected officials in the State Capitol. Attendees urged legislators to improve the state’s Medicaid reimbursement for hospitals and continue efforts to strengthen Wisconsin’s high quality health care workforce. Advocates made sure their legislators were aware of the role hospitals play in communities across the state in providing high quality, high value health care and how the legislature can support those efforts through the policies it enacts.

Photo caption: Lori Cardinal, director of Hospital Nursing Resources at St. Agnes Hospital, and Marge Whitinger, director of GI Endoscopy Services & Neuro/Sleep Services at St. Agnes Hospital, were among more than 1,000 hospital supporters at the annual Wisconsin Hospital Association’s Advocacy Day event.