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"Advocacy is built into the nursing profession — nurses advocate for their patients every time they work.” 

UVA Health University Medical Center Nursing Professional Governance Organization (NPGO) has launched the new Nursing Advocacy Initiative (NAI), aiming to empower UVA Health’s professional nurses to share their unique expertise and wisdom with state legislators on issues that impact the nursing profession and their patients. The goal: to help to create and shape good, effective policy.

“NAI is professional, nonpartisan, data-driven, and nurse-led; we’re rooted in our UVA Health ASPIRE values of accountability, stewardship, professionalism, integrity, respect, and equity,” says Leanne Fox, MPP, Nursing Governance Coordinator, NPGO. “This year at the state level, we’re focused on supporting legislation relating to maternal health and UVA Health Earn While You Learn.”

Advancing Healthcare | Stabilizing the Healthcare Workforce

In 2024, Fox — along with Jennifer “JT” Hall, MSN, RN, CNL, Director, University Medical Center Nursing Professional Practice, Magnet Recognition Programs — consulted with UVA Health University Medical Center Chief Nursing Officer Kathy Baker, PhD, RN, NE-BC, FAAN, on developing NAI. They partnered with Jennifer Siciliano, UVA Health Chief External Affairs Officer, and the rest of the UVA Health Government Relations team throughout the year and on Advocacy Day, to ensure their efforts would be as cohesive and effective as possible.

They hope it will be replicated at other institutions.

“We’ve worked for a year to build the program — recruiting extraordinary nurse ambassadors to engage with legislators, hosting a training session, and going to Richmond for our first Advocacy Day,” Fox describes. “These phenomenal and inspiring nurses are working to advance healthcare and stabilize the healthcare workforce. So far, we’re the first institution to start an initiative like this at the organizational level.””

The team met with Del. Katrina Callsen, who represents Charlottesville and Albemarle County; the chief of staff to Del. Amy Laufer, who represents parts of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa, and Nelson counties; and a legislative assistant to State Sen. Creigh Deeds, who represents Albemarle, Amherst, and Nelson counties and the city of Charlottesville.

They talked about policies directly related to legislation in the Virginia General Assembly.

​​Saving Lives in Vulnerable Populations

HB 1976, Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program, is sponsored by Del. Laufer, whose district includes UVA Health University Medical Center and our surrounding clinics. The bill would implement a pilot program to allow remote monitoring of maternal hypertension and maternal diabetes.“Nearly 70% of Virginia’s rural hospitals don’t offer maternity services, so pregnant patients must travel longer to receive care, increasing the risk of complications and death,” explains Fox. “Since we have a central, major medical center, these patients often make their way to UVA Health clinics, where they receive care from UVA's professional nurses.

On Feb. 4 — at the halfway point of Virginia's legislative session — HB 1976 “crossed over” to be considered by the State Senate and gained more co-sponsors including Del. Callsen.

“It was an honor to represent UVA Health NAI at Advocacy Day in Richmond,” says Felisha Tyree, MSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, Nurse Manager, Labor and Delivery. “As subject matter experts in maternal health, it is imperative we stand front and center where healthcare decisions are made. Connecting with legislators and influencing political decisions at this level empowers women’s health nurses to ensure the right work is being put into practice that save lives in this vulnerable population, who most often, cannot speak for themselves.”

Speaking Up

HB 1903 aims to create a Virginia Nursing Workforce Center and has similar intent to UVA Health’s Earn While You Learn (EWYL) program. But HB 1903 has been tabled for this session, so NAI’s nurse ambassadors plan to meet with local lawmakers after the 2025 session ends. “EWYL is exemplary of true healthcare workforce development,” hails Fox.

Participants are UVA Health employees who continue to receive full-time pay with benefits throughout their EWYL experience, and do not incur educational costs. “It’s independently managed and financed and is a success story here that, if replicated at the state level, could be transformative across Virginia by addressing healthcare workforce shortages, stimulating regional growth and stability, and reducing longer-term healthcare costs," she adds.

Fox says in Richmond, NAI nurse ambassadors shared stories of EWYL participants who are integral within their practice areas, serving as stellar caregivers and UVA Health employees.

Nicole Henley, MSN, RN, CCRN, NI-BC, Nurse Manager, UVA Health EWYL, admits she was a little nervous, but says she was very excited for her first experience attending Advocacy Day and meeting legislators. She shared with them how EWYL is creating opportunities for community members to fill hospital vacancies. “The legislators were very interested in how an EWYL model could impact the healthcare workforce and patient outcomes across Virginia. NAI provided me with the opportunity to speak up and I found that it’s easy to share the stories of our EWYL graduates when you're passionate about the impact EWYL makes!”

What’s Next?

NAI is keeping a close eye on HB 1976 and other healthcare bills. Fox will analyze the success/failure rate to help guide advocacy efforts for the rest of this year and into 2026.

NAI plans to host Delegates Callsen and Laufer, and State Sen. Deeds, in separate meetings at UVA Health to meet with nurse ambassadors and discuss specific policy solutions after this legislative session ends.

Stepping Up

Any current UVA Health professional nurse is welcome to participate in professional advocacy through NAI, though it is not a requirement of any nursing role.

Nurses may choose to share a nurse narrative. “Stories are one of the most powerful ways we connect with others, and the stories nurses can share about their practice and profession can impact healthcare policy in profound ways,” says Fox. Right now, NAI is looking for stories about maternal health and the healthcare workforce pipeline.

Or, nurses can take a more active role by becoming a nurse ambassador and:

• Participating in an annual training session in December.
• Attending NAI’s Advocacy Day every January.
• Meeting with legislators and participating in policy work groups throughout the year.

“Nurse ambassadors work in a relevant clinical setting or are subject matter experts — and their expertise, experience, and generosity of time is immeasurable and deeply appreciated,” says Fox. “We will share these stories with legislators in future meetings to help bridge the gap between what sounds good on paper and is supported with evidence to how a policy would actually impact nurses, their patients, and healthcare in general.”