NANN has formed a new committee to work with our board of directors to develop and pursue NANN's health policy agenda. We were very pleased with the response to our call for volunteers and would like to welcome the following members to the Health Policy & Advocacy Committee:

Jodi Behr, Louisville, Kentucky

Arlene Lovejoy, Burbank, California

Karen McDonald, Wilmington, Delaware

Cheryl Robinson, Biloxi, Mississippi

Joyce Stein, Brooklyn, Michigan

Sara Young Whitaker, El Paso, Texas

Angela Ryan (Board Liaison), San Clemente, California

The committee will be cochaired by Laura Stokowski (Fairfax Station, VA) and Debra Sansoucie (Stony Brook, New York). The first committee meeting was held in September in conjunction with the 24th Annual Conference in Fort Lauderdale.

Legislation and health policy affect all of us. Legislation affects our careers as nurses and our ability to provide patient care. There are bills in Congress right now about safe staffing levels, emergency preparedness, visas for nurses from outside the United States to address the nursing shortage, nursing faculty, and nursing education, in addition to numerous bills regarding infant health and welfare. Our goal is to find ways to make NANN members aware of important legislations and to guide them in exercising their political voices.

Advocacy is the act of supporting a cause, idea, or policy. Advocacy is one of NANN's and NANNP's 4 major association goals. In order to make an impact on neonatal nursing practice, regulation, and policy, NANN will work in coalition with other healthcare-related groups on issues that affect neonatal practice. For example, on behalf of our NANNP members, NANN recently responded to the American Medical Association's resolution regarding physician supervision of DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) practice.

We invite all members to join us by visiting the "Advocacy" section of the NANN Web site (Click on "About Us", and then click on "Advocacy"). There, you will be able to read about NANN's advocacy alliances and issues of interest to our members.