The Advocacy in Clinical Leadership Track, led by Dr. Dani Zipkin, is a longitudinal elective experience for second- and third-year residents in health policy and advocacy. Alternating state and federal each year, this past academic year was focused on North Carolina state legislation. The group heard from a tremendous lineup of speakers in government, non-profit corporations, and academia on topics such as Medicaid transformation, the legislative process, and health care policy priorities. GIM faculty who contributed their expertise to this effort include Drs. Larry Greenblatt, Fatima Syed, John Yeatts, and Caroline Sloan. Drs. Gene Oddone and Adia Ross added career and leadership sessions.
The group converged on the topic of expanding Medicaid access in North Carolina for their advocacy focus. The residents independently researched the topic, prepared a one page take away handout, and presented in pairs to several NC legislators and their staff. Doug Heron, Associate Vice President, Duke State Relations and Katie Stanley, Communications and Outreach Coordinator arranged the meetings for the team and provided guidance along the way.
"This is a critical year for NC to consider expanding the Medicaid program, as a new set of federal incentives are on the table," says Zipkin. "We are hopeful the team made an impact in this process"
The group's advocacy effort will continue on June 25th, when Nathan Babcock, the senior policy advisor to Senator Phil Berger, will visit the Duke Outpatient Clinic to learn more about how the patients Medicaid supports.