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To enhance the availability of quality healthcare in South Carolina and to provide services to our members.

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Develop A Constituent Relationship Keep in mind that your goal is to develop an ongoing personal relationship with your legislators in order to facilitate communications on legislation concerning osteopathic medicine. Once you have become acquainted with your legislators a small effort will maintain a good relationship. • Keep up with what the legislators are doing and the votes they cast on issues of concern to osteopathic medicine. • Let the legislators know when you are pleased or displeased with their votes or expressed opinions on an issue of special concern to you and osteopathic medicine. • Visit the legislators’ offices and get to know the staff both in Washington and the district or state, specifically the administrative assistant, the legislative assistant, and the personal appointments secretary. Talk to them succinctly about issues, the political scene, or subjects of common interest. • Invite your legislators to speak at state, county or component society meetings or events, awards presentations, or to a group of D.O.s in your community. • Attend political functions and fundraisers. At each function, introduce your legislators to as many people as possible. • Invite your legislators and members of their staff to visit your office or clinic, or to join you on your rounds at the hospital.As with all political meetings, you should write a note of thanks after the legislator has visited your clinic or hospital, or attended a special event. This letter not only reinforces you and the organization you represent, but also provides an opportunity to re-emphasize key points made during the visit. Meet With Your Legislators Personal meetings, either to discuss a specific issue or just to introduce yourself as a constituent, are the most effective means of political communication. Given legislator's busy schedules, meetings are sometimes difficult to arrange, yet they are just as vital as any other extremely important professional meeting. The contact can be made with the legislator directly or through key staff aides. Unless you already know your legislator, you should write, rather than phone, to request an appointment or schedule a special event. Do not overlook the opportunity to meet with a staff aide, particularly if he/she is working closely with the legislator on an issue of concern to you. Tips for a Successful Visit 1. Plan Your Visit. Decide what you want to achieve; determine key issues. 2. Make an Appointment. Write, fax, and follow up by phone your targeted office in advance. Be sure to include all contact information, key issues you would like to discuss and that you are a constituent! 3. Be Prompt and Patient. Arrive on time and prepared. If interruptions occur during your meeting, please remain patient and flexible. 4. Be Prepared. Be direct about your perspectives on legislative issues and provide brief background materials. Explain how the legislation affects you and why you support or oppose it. 5. Be Responsive. Answer questions to the best of your knowledge. If you can’t answer a question, use this opportunity to tell staffers you will get them more detailed information. 6. Follow Up. After your meeting send a letter of thanks and review points covered in the meeting. 7. Inform the AOA. Help us to recognize your hard work. Let us know how the meeting went, if any follow-up by AOA lobbyists is needed. Conduct a Facility Tour Tours of your clinic’s facilities or local hospital provide one of the most effective methods of communication between you and your federal legislators. In an age when visibility and image contribute a great deal to effectiveness, seeing and being seen take on new importance for everyone. Tours are a very good vehicle for mutual benefit to osteopathic medicine and to the legislator.Visiting a clinic or hospital gives legislators a valuable opportunity to meet constituents and at the same time helps them develop a good sense of the role osteopathic medicine plays in the community. Tours are particularly useful for introducing legislators to a large number of constituents and voters. Additionally, tours present you and other D.O.s and their families an opportunity to get to know your legislator and to describe first-hand the problems you face. Tips for a Successful Facility Tour • Send a written invitation to the legislator. Don’t be discouraged if it takes several invitations before the legislator accepts. Legislators have many demands on the time they spend in the district or state. Your persistence will pay off. • Try to include colleagues or associates who you know are politically active locally or who have a special relationship with the legislator or staff member. •Map out the best route. Choose particular areas that illustrate the points you want to make. Include quiet areas to talk along the way. • Arrange to have a photographer cover the tour and take photographs for use in various AOA, state, specialty or local publications. • Follow-up with AOA staff. Let us know how the tour went, if any follow-up by AOA lobbyists is needed. Locate your Local Congressional Office All Members of Congress have at least one district or state office from which they work during their visits home. To schedule a meeting in the district you will need to make arrangements with the local scheduling office. Look up your Members of Congress and their local offices through the D.O. Advocacy Action Center (www.capwiz.com/aoa-aoia) through the 'Elected Officials' tab. Select 'Info' for a mini biography and contact information. Host A Fundraiser A very effective and simple way to develop a personal relationship with a legislator, or a potential legislator, is to host a candidate fundraiser in your home. Further, hosting a fundraiser will help to establish you as a key player in the politics of your district or state. There are a wide variety of fundraisers that you could sponsor or host. The best approach, at least initially, is to conduct a fundraiser in your home. This gives you an opportunity to make the fundraiser more personal and intimate and develop a closer relationship with the candidate. The event will have more of an impact on the candidate because of the opportunity to meet and speak with dozens of potential voters. To maximize the effectiveness of the fundraiser on the osteopathic profession, you must consider the candidate’s position on key health care issues. Contact the AOA’s Department of Government Relations to determine if the candidate has a record of support on health care issues, specifically issues of importance to the osteopathic community and for more information on how to host a fundraiser. Back to the TOP