We are so glad you will be joining us as a participant at the inaugural HPNA on the Hill, September 21-22 in Washington, D.C.!
This will be an interactive, participatory event, and we look forward to engaging discussions about our policy work, strategies for advancing policy priorities at the federal level, and ways to continue building relationships with policymakers during and beyond our visits to Capitol Hill.
To help ensure you have the best experience at this event, we have compiled a set of resources to prepare you for the full-day training and legislative meetings. We will be providing quite a bit of information and strongly suggest that you pace yourself and find some time each week leading up to Hill Day to make sure you have the time to absorb and process the material. Below we have detailed the required activities as well as optional additional learning opportunities.
How to Prepare for Hill Day
This covers the agenda for both days, HPNA’s policy priorities and asks, ways to get to know more about your audience for these meetings, storytelling prompts that will help focus your message, our social media toolkit, and more.
Access frequently asked questions about meeting ethics here.
Access the free Course: Grassroots Guide: Advocacy and Influence.
This background will be very helpful for our discussions about Congress, the legislative process, and effective meetings with policymakers.
Let us know as soon as possible about any dietary preferences you have. Breakfast and lunch will be provided on Monday, as well as breakfast on Tuesday morning. You can make accommodation requests here.
Review the document: Priority Issues, Legislative Asks, and Data Points
Download and review the leave-behind flyer: How you can Support Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses at the Federal Level
- Choose 1-2 issues and data points to frame your advocacy story.
- Find your issue. It can be as simple as improving access to hospice and palliative care.
- Identify a story that illustrates why you love what you do and/or one of the challenges you face specific to the policy issue.
- Choose 1-2 data points that show the broad impact.
- Offer an actionable, reasonable solution.
- Tell your story in under three minutes.
- Submit your story here by September 5 to help us identify the best story for your legislative meeting group!
Email Emily Harris, HPNA Director of Membership and Marketing, if you would like to walk over together as a group each morning.
- Monday Morning: The group will meet at the Capitol Hill Hotel at 8:00 a.m. to walk to the Rayburn Building together.
- Tuesday Morning: We will be in a different room on Tuesday. A group will convene at the Capitol Hill Hotel at 7:40 a.m. to walk over to the Rayburn Building together.
Visit HPNA’s Action Center and make sure you know who represents you at the federal level: your two senators and representative. Also, please confirm that you are signed up for our action alerts and have an account in our system.
- Do some research on your legislators:
- HPNA’s election center is a great starting point and will provide you with background and links to legislator websites. No need to spend a lot of time on this as HPNA’s advocacy team will be providing you with some background on the offices, but it’s always a good idea to check out their bios and view legislation they’ve sponsored, and even sign up for their constituent newsletters and/or follow them on social media.
- You may not agree with their stance on certain (or even most) issues, and that’s okay. We ask that you keep an open mind and try to find a personal connection. You may be from the same town or city, or maybe you attended the same school.
- At least a few of you may have a representative who is a nurse! Think about what might motivate and interest them, based on their committee membership, bio, and press releases. Also, make sure to check the hospice and palliative nursing issues scorecard on HPNA’s action center, which will tell you whether your legislators have co-sponsored any of the HPNA-endorsed bills this Congress.
- HPNA’s election center is a great starting point and will provide you with background and links to legislator websites. No need to spend a lot of time on this as HPNA’s advocacy team will be providing you with some background on the offices, but it’s always a good idea to check out their bios and view legislation they’ve sponsored, and even sign up for their constituent newsletters and/or follow them on social media.
- Access HPNA’s Hill Day Social Media Resources
- Follow HPNA’s official social accounts so you can easily engage with and share Hill Day content.
- Save or download the ready-to-use graphics in the social media toolkit.
- Choose a caption—or draft your own—and decide what personal perspective you want to add.
- Make sure your social profiles are ready.
During Hill Day
Social media will be one of your biggest tools for sharing our message while on the Hill. Every post before, during, and after the event helps raise awareness and extend our reach.
To make it easy to share your experience and support our advocacy efforts, we’ve created a toolkit with ready-to-use social media graphics, sample copy, and additional resources.
Hill Meeting Materials
Access materials for your hill meetings below.
- Improve Medicare and Medicaid by Comprehensively Removing Federal Barriers to Practice on Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
- National Institute of Nursing
- Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs
After Hill Day
Keep the conversation going!
Post on social media with the hashtag #HPNAontheHill26 and submit a video testimonial.
- Share your biggest takeaway while the experience is still fresh.
- Reflect on a conversation, policy issue, or moment that changed or reinforced your perspective.
- Thank fellow advocates, recognize the experience, and continue engaging with HPNA’s advocacy content.
- Your post does not have to end the conversation—it can invite others into it.
Receive Continuing Education Credit for HPNA on the Hill
We’re pleased to offer Nursing Continuing Professional Development (NCPD) contact hours for HPNA on the Hill activities (the prep webinar, live training, and post-event webinar).
To claim credit, you will log in to your HPNA Learning Center account and complete the corresponding evaluation after each activity. More information about contact hours and reminders to complete evaluations will be provided at each activity. If you have questions about continuing education credit, please contact education@hpna.org.
Access your Contact Hour Certificate
Follow these steps to complete your evaluation and access your contact hour certificate for attending Hill Day.
Attend the Hill Day Debrief
The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation is hosting an interactive session that will provide an inside look at key conversations, advocacy efforts, and accomplishments from Hill Day meetings with policymakers. Register here
Attend our Next Steps Call
Stay tuned for details about a “Next Steps” call in November! We’ll recap the success of our meetings on the Hill and discuss action items to continue advancing HPNA’s advocacy efforts.
Questions? Contact Us!
Again, thank you for your interest in HPNA on the Hill and our advocacy initiatives! We look forward to having you join us in September! Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Quick Links to Hill Day Resources:
- Grassroots Guide: Advocacy and Influence
- HPNA’s 2026 Policy Priorities
- Dietary Preferences Form
- HPNA Action Center
- HPNA Hill Day Meeting Template
- Tips for Effective Meetings with Legislative Staff
- Hill Day Agenda
- Social Media Toolkit
- Storytelling/Video Testimonial Upload
- Photo Upload
- Hill Day Debrief Event