sitting by a Senator

"I've never sat by a Senator," says Jordan Ivy as he takes a seat next to Senator Sherrod Brown as part of the Children's Hospital Association's Family Advocacy Day. Jordan is joined by kids and their families from Ohio who depend on the network of children's hospitals across the state for specialized pediatric care. This group has gathered because access to specialized care is at risk if Medicaid and other vital programs are cut as part of health care reform currently being considered by Congress.

Family Advocacy Day is a great day to explore Washington D.C. and meet with members of Congress who to some may have celebrity status. However, this day, and the work done, is vitally important for legislators to hear the stories of children and families who will be impacted by decisions made about health care.

For Jordan and his new friends from across the state, living with complex medical conditions such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and achondroplasia is complicated and challenging. However, they are thriving because of the care and services they receive. Their stories need to be told and their trials and successes need to be heard by our legislators so policy decisions are made with kids and their futures in mind.  Kids are our future!

It may be easy to simply say "cut Medicaid" but who relies on Medicaid? At Dayton Children's over 50 percent of kids do! What if we replaced the word Medicaid with "children's health care" - would that change the conversation?

Family Advocacy is a great way to include children and their families in this conversation.  Thank you to Jordan and his mom, Theresa Crawford, for adding their story to this very important conversation on behalf of Dayton Children's and all kids in our community.