‘No Time’ to Support Industry Advocacy? If You Have 15 Minutes and a Laptop, Think Again

Anyone who attended the Urgent Care Association’s recent convention in Las Vegas will tell you that the pandemic has done nothing to diminish the unified spirit among competitors in the urgent care marketplace. One of the reasons for this sense of community is the fact that the industry has had to fight for its place at the proverbial table. This does not mean the fight is over by any means. New challenges arise constantly, while other challenges on the regulatory side persist. UCA employs deep resources to advocate on your behalf, but they can’t do it alone. Buy-in at the grassroots level is essential for the industry’s collective voice to be heard—and the louder that voice is, the more likely it is that our issues will garner the necessary attention from lawmakers. As UCA CEO Lou Ellen Horwitz noted in a letter published by Kaiser Health News, the Association has been working directly with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to offer more opportunities for urgent care centers to take part in COVID-19 test-and-treat initiatives. The Association needs your help, though, and has issued a call to action for you to take part in its 2022–2025 Advocacy Priorities & Strategies. The industry has come a long way, but there is no finish line in sight.