Letter sent to DHHS by many Nurse Practitioners

Dear Secretary Thompson, Tom Joyner, Garth Graham, Tuei Doong, Teresa Chapa, Cynthia Amis and Blake Crawford:

I am writing to request that you change the name of the Department's "Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day" campaign to one that will include a very important segment of healthcare professionals - Nurse Practitioners (NPs). This modest change would enhance the campaign's effect on the very minority populations the campaign targets, which are served in significant part by NPs.

We recognize that the current campaign title is catchy, and perhaps it has tested well in focus groups. However, surely some other alternative could communicate the basic idea in an equally effective way such as "Take a Loved One for a Check-Up Day." We're sure that your professional staff could come up with many options.

At the outset, I note that NPs are already within the scope of the campaign, as your press release announcing the September 2004 campaign included NPs when it urged the public to make appointments with physicians or "other health professionals." So it would appear that the critical issues are whether the campaign's name adequately reflects who is likely to be providing care to those it targets, and whether it serves the Department's overall purpose of promoting public health. We submit that a change to include NPs would better serve both these goals.

As you know, the campaign is intended primarily to reduce health disparities affecting ethnic and racial minorities. Often, in the communities of these minorities, NPs health care is one of the only, or even the only, practical option for many residents. The nation's 100,000+ NPs provide high quality, cost-effective health care to both adults and children. NPs provide a unique blend of care and cure. And the holistic, community-oriented approach of NPs is an excellent fit for the target populations of this campaign.

NPs are highly skilled professionals who are changing the future of health care through groundbreaking research and clinical innovation. Prominent recognition of the contributions of NPs through a major public campaign like this one would remind the public that NPs are a vital part of the nation's healthcare team.

Please let me know if I can be of any assistance in pursuing this modest change, which would make a big difference for healthcare professionals, their patients, and the nation as a whole. Thank you very much.