Sponsoring a Congressional Tour
Date posted on the Web: February
3, 1998
MEMORANDUM
TO: Members of the ASTP
FROM: Dr. Thomas Gonwa, ASTP Public Policy Co-Chair
Dr. John Neylan, ASTP Public Policy Co-Chair
DATE: January 23, 1998
RE: Sponsoring a Congressional Tour
As a part of our efforts to increase
funding for the National Institute for Diabetes, Digestive,
and Kidney Disease (NIDDK), the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the American Society of Transplant
Physicians (ASTP) asks you to consider hosting a Congressional
tour at your hospital, research lab, or transplant program
during the Congressional recesses. The schedule is provided
below. We find that this one-on-one type of education has proven
to be very successful with Members of Congress and their staff.
The level of knowledge and support for research about organ
transplantation and donation should be greatly enhanced following
a tour at your facility. This type of relationship building
is pivotal to ASTP's overall efforts to effect national health
care and research policy.
We have taken the liberty of drafting
a sample letter, which you can use to invite your Member of
Congress for a tour. Please take the letter and proceed in
the following manner:
1. Decide on the suggested date,
time, and place. While you will only put one date and time
option in the letter, please remember that you will need to
be flexible on this aspect, if the Member is going to agree.
We would like to suggest that you select from the following
dates:
President's Day Recess: February
14-23, 1998
Spring Break: April 2-20, 1998
Memorial Day Recess: May 23-31, 1998
Independence Day Recess: June 27 - July 13, 1998
August Recess: August 8 - September 8, 1998
2. Re-type the draft letter on to
your own personal letterhead, filling in the date, time, and
place. Also, since this is a somewhat generic letter, you should
add a few sentences to personalize the letter to specific concerns
related to your transplant research or medical practice.
3. Please cc: the letter to Jill
Rathbun, ASTP Washington Representative. Upon receiving the
cc: copy of the letter, ASTP will call the scheduler for your
Member of Congress. This will ensure that the letter was received
and properly routed. Also, this will enable ASTP to gauge the
interest of the office and begin the negotiation process. Following
this phone call, ASTP will call you to discuss what steps need
to taken to ensure that your Member of Congress accepts your
invitation.
4. After your Member of Congress
accepts the invitation, ASTP will work with you regarding the
actual tour, specific points you will want to make with your
Member of Congress, background information on the Member and
on the status of current health care issues, and etc.
We want to thank you in advance
for the effort and energy you will expend on behalf of the
ASTP and our efforts to secure greater funding for organ transplantation
and increased access to care. If you have any questions or
need additional information, please do not hesitate to call
Jill Rathbun, ASTP Washington Representative, at (202) 857-1898,
or e-mail Jill at jill_rathbun@dc.sba.com.
You may also contact Eric Byer, ASTP Public Policy Coordinator,
at (202) 857-1886 ext. 3240, or e-mail Eric at eric_byer@dc.sba.com.
SAMPLE INVITATION LETTER
January 24, 1998
The Honorable John Lewis
229 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Lewis:
I am writing to extend an invitation
to you and your staff to visit [Insert Tour Site]
and spend some time with us, and other members of the American
Society of Transplant Physicians from around the state, learning
about organ transplantation.
To facilitate the scheduling of
your visit, I would like to suggest [Insert Date and
Time] as a possible time. However if this suggestion
does not work, I would be happy to change the date and time
to one that is convenient. I will be in contact with your office
sometime next week to confirm or change this date.
[Insert a paragraph that
specifically describes your medical practice and research]
Despite improvements in the organ
retrieval system, allocation has simply not met with demand.
In 1990, there were 21,914 patients on the waiting list; today
there are over 51,000 patients on the waiting list representing
an increase of 133% over six years. Tragically, the number
of donors has increased by only 43% over the same period. I
will show you real world examples of why organ donation is
so important when you come to visit our facility on [date].
Let me thank you in advance for
considering my request. I look forward to seeing in [Month
of Visit Request].
Sincerely,
John F. Neylan, M.D.
ASTP President-Elect
CC: Lacretia Hill, Scheduler, Congressman
Lewis
Jill Rathbun, ASTP Washington Representative
