Last week, we proudly relaunched our Speak Now For Kids website, which features a myriad of ways to get involved with our advocacy efforts to protect Medicaid and the Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program (CHGME). On our site you'll find a wealth of information about the two programs and their benefits, a quick and easy link to contact Congress and voice your concerns over the potential cuts, and our new video, which illustrates the potential danger of cutting these programs.
To kick off the relaunch of of our website we were lucky enough to be joined by 200 others concerned about proposed cuts to Medicaid and CHGME for a "Twitter party." For those unfamiliar with the term, a Twitter party is a virtual conversation using the Twitter platform. Users "tweet" with a specified hashtag (#) for the party, in this case, #dontcutkids. This allows us to connect with scores of potential new allies and advocates through social media. Amy Lupold Bair, a well-known blogger and social media expert, moderated our party and kept the conversation moving with great questions and comments. We recorded more than 3,300 tweets during our one-hour long conversation, and were the #2 trending topic on the Washington, DC area.
We were able to chat with a wonderful group of potential new advocates, all concerned about the future of kids' health care. Throughout our fast-moving conversation we relayed facts and information to the group about the importance of Medicaid and CHGME to kids. Many were surprised to learn that one out of every three kids is on Medicaid, and that half of all kids treated at children's hospitals are on Medicaid. Many were also unaware that CHGME trains 5,600 pediatric specialists a year.
More importantly, the folks that joined us told us THEIR stories, about how their kids have benefitted from children's hospitals and Medicaid. @MamaSarahJane told us "We depended on medicaid for my kids up until about a month ago, I don't know what we would have done w/out it." @zebastyandylan noted "I haven't had to use medicaid...yet. I would like to know that it is there in case I ever do." In the end, we were very happy that so many users reported they had learned some new information and would help spread our message. As @momsCAF put it, "Definitely learned some things I didn't know. Great to see mom activism at work."
We will be regularly updating Speak Now For Kids, especially as Congress works through the final months of 2011. We anticipate a great deal of legislative activity on these issues, and our website will be the best way to find out how these changes can affect your health care, your hospital and your kids.
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