For the third year, the Colorado Public Health Association hosted Public Health Day at the Capitol as part of National Public Health Week on April 3. The event brings constituents to the state Capitol building to learn about the legislative process, while demonstrating the inextricable link between health and policy.
This year, the event was opened up to groups beyond CPHA partners, including the Colorado Society for Public Health Education, the Colorado School of Public Health, the Colorado Environmental Health Association and the Public Health Nurses Association of Colorado.
“We invited them to join us to expand this effort,” Kim Boyd, ND, NP, board member of CPHA and the nurses association, told The Nation’s Health. “We really want to ensure that…we’re taking the lead on engaging all of our public health communities.”
The purpose of holding Public Health Day at the Capitol is twofold, according to Amy Winterfield, JD, public policy director of CPHA, an APHA-affiliated association. First, CPHA wants “to give public health a face,” she told The Nation’s Health. Second, the event is designed to give constituents a better understanding of the legislative process and how they can better communicate with lawmakers to advocate for policies they care about.
“The actions taken by policymakers affect our ability to be responsive and effective public health organizations in the state,” Winterfield said. “It’s important for public health organizations to take a role in shaping those policies that are set by the legislative process.”
Colorado state Sen. John Kefalas, standing, speaks to members of the Colorado Public Health Association and other groups as part of Public Health Day at the Capitol during NPHW.
Photo courtesy Burke Fishburn
The visit to the Capitol came at a particularly opportune time, with the national conversation surrounding health care. Winterfield and Boyd attributed the enthusiasm for this year’s event in part to the political climate. More than ever, a strong presence from the public health community was necessary, Boyd said.
“Especially this year, there was a great deal of interest among Colorado public health organizations and associations,” Winterfield said. “There’s heightened interest in health and health care access and public health in general.”
CPHA also asked constituents to address two policies in particular with legislators to gain their support: the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, the state’s version of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and Senate Bill 17-207, which is aimed at bolstering Colorado’s behavioral health crisis system.
Navigating the legislative process can be overwhelming for an individual to go about alone. But having a big group of constituents learning about advocacy and policy puts people at ease, the organizers of the event said. Participants received a lesson in civic engagement in a low-pressure environment. Constituents learned best practices for communicating with legislators, such as how to pull them off the floor for discussion. In addition, several constituents watched House and Senate proceedings on the floor.
“Just being at the Capitol makes the whole legislative process less intimidating for people because it gives them the support of their peers as they communicate with legislators,” Winterfield said.
Bringing a large group to the Capitol had another benefit, she noted, in that having a major presence from the public health community grabs the attention of lawmakers.
Bipartisan legislators from across the state spoke to the constituents, discussing their own policy concerns and encouraging participants to bring about change.
“We had an array of people from around the state who were interested in what public health has to say,” Winterfield said, including several state legislators.
The constituents who took part in Public Health Day at the Capitol were able to continue the conversation with Public Advocacy Talks, a series of rapid lectures focused on different areas of public health advocacy, ranging from climate change to mental health.
With all of the events, the intent was “to engage people in the process of funding public health more, connecting with other public health professionals and thinking of advocacy moving forward,” Boyd said.
For more information on CPHA, visit www.coloradopublichealth.org.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
