Happy National Hospital Week! And National Nurses Week! Let's celebrate with some meetings and social media blasts.
May 6-9: Hospital execs and lobbyists will flood the Washington Hilton for the American Hospital Association's annual membership meeting. HHS Secretary Alex Azar, CMS Administrator Seema Verma and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) are among the D.C. dignitaries scheduled to speak, along with a cavalcade of policy wonks, including Peggy Noonan, Frank Sesno and Jake Tapper, who will entertain the crowd with their political insights.
May 9: AHA members descend on Capitol Hill for a full day of lobbying.
May 6-12: Groups ranging from the American Nurses Association to the American Holistic Nurses Association are hosting webinars and sponsoring local events to celebrate all things nursing. This year's theme is, "Nurses: Inspire, Innovate, Influence." The week culminates with a recognition of Florence Nightingale's birthday, May 12. Watch for #NursesWeek mentions, which were already popping on Twitter last week.
May 8: The House Veterans Affairs' Committee is slated to debate a package of reforms to the VA Choice program. Committee Chairman Rep. Dr. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) introduced the bill last week, saying it "must be passed, and if Congress fails to act, veterans will pay for that failure." President Donald Trump wants a reform package done by the end of May.
May 8: It's a busy day on the opioid front. The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations holds a hearing on distribution and diversion. The House Judiciary Committee will hear from the acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration during its hearing on the crisis. And the House Education and the Workforce Committee's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections will discuss the impact of opioid abuse on the federal workforce.
