Advocacy

State of Idaho

Northern Idaho

Boise Area

Central Idaho

Southeast Idaho

How to contact your Elected Representatives

Pediatricians: This Is My Why (video)
This year, the AAP is celebrating the expertise, compassion, and everyday heroism of pediatricians, pediatric medical specialists, and pediatric surgical specialists through the new Pediatricians: This Is My Why campaign. This yearlong celebration is built around authentic, personal stories shared by members across the country. To kick things off, watch this powerful video from AAP President Andrew Racine, MD, PhD, FAAP, who describes his "why" and how that inspires his work. The AAP invites all members to join the campaign by sharing their own "my why" story. Members can submit their story in any format: video; blog or written reflection; photo or slideshow; or something creatively and uniquely you.
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Press Release: Showing up in this challenging time (website)
Advocacy works best when right message is delivered by right voice to right audience (website)

Joe Wilbanks, MD FAAP: I highly recommend the AAP Advocacy Conference. It was my first time going and my first foray into federal advocacy. I left feeling charged and inspired despite some difficult meetings with our state’s legislative offices. There were some great speakers with great pearls of wisdom that have stuck with me:

Lawmakers are generalists that rely on others for pros/cons of policy. We are experts in child health and need to be their voice. People trust their physician more than any other when it comes to a health issue: 85% in a KFF poll (Jan 2025).
Stories are the root of advocacy. I will begin collecting patient stories to help as I reach out to policymakers. They are more persuasive — and memorable — than statistics.
Personalized calls/emails are much more effective than form letters that we are often asked to send. One former senator noted that his office only needed five personalized contacts from constituents before taking the response seriously.

Gracie Strubel, DO: I found the conference to be helpful in so many ways. Being around like-minded people who have similar goals - keeping children safe and healthy, felt refreshing and validating especially in the setting of threats of Medicaid defunding. As a young pediatrician, it was motivating to see other seasoned pediatricians at the conference and hearing their advocacy wins as well as the stories of perseverance and resilience when things didn't turn out as they had hoped. Advocacy is a huge part of why I felt drawn to pediatrics in the first place, so I was grateful for the opportunity to attend this conference and further that passion for advocacy.