Doulas go to Washington

Are you a doula & free on March 11th? If so, what about a road trip?

HealthConnect One and members of its National Community-based Doula Network are heading to Washington, DC to advocate for continued funding for community-based doula programs in the FY11 federal budget.

There will be a National Doula Network reception at the DC Birth Center on Wednesday evening March 10th, and Doula Lobby Day activities on Capitol Hill, Thursday March 11th.

"HealthConnect One has reserved a block of rooms for overnight stay on Wednesday March 10th at the DoubleTree Washington, 1515 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Please call the hotel directly to make a reservation at 1-800-492-5195. When you call to book your room, please state that you are part of the HealthConnect One Network meeting, in order to take advantage of our $175/night room rate (including breakfast). The deadline for the room block rate is February 15th. You will need to provide a valid credit card number upon booking.

We will begin the Lobby Day activities by attending Senator Richard J. Durbin's constituent coffee on Thursday morning (8:30am-9:30am). We encourage you to schedule visits with your congressional delegation from 10am-noon. HealthConnect One will then host a lunch de-brief session from 1pm-4pm at the DoubleTree Washington following our morning visits on Capitol Hill.

Please let us know by Thursday, February 11, 2010 if you are able to attend!

We can assist you with making appointments with your U.S. Senators' and Representative's offices to request a visit (with your elected official or their health legislative assistant). Further information on Doula Funding talking points will also be provided when you register.

We hope that you will be able to join us for these Lobby Day activities, and that your organization can support your travel expenses. HealthConnect One has a small budget to support travel costs, so if you would like to join us, but your organization is unable to cover travel costs, please contact Mac Grambauer at mac@lmcalpine.com.

For those of you who cannot come with us to Washington, we suggest that you call your elected officials in Washington on March 10 and 11, and ask for their support to continue the funding for community-based doula programs in the FY11 budget.