The learner visited senator Eleanor Sober in the senatorial residence of Florida. This was at the Old Library in Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood. There were other invited parties including senator’s assistants, Jeffrey Scala, Eric Reinarman, and Yale, Olenick. The meeting was scheduled at 10.00 am, December 2, 2015. The learner made a one-hour PowerPoint presentation in a forum also attended by other stakeholders in the health system of Broward County. Among these visitors were managers of heath facilities, administrators of the county’s health care, and local advisory panels. All these stakeholders were to offer insight in policy revisions. So as to facilitate audience’s understanding, the presenter issued handouts on the discussion topic. The presenter also answered questions raised by the audience as a way of addressing concerns and acquiring multiple perspectives about the health policy issue of interest.

1. POLICYMAKER PRIORITY ISSUE
Presentation by
Fasthomeworkhelp.com

2. VISIT DESCRIPTION
The learner visited senator Eleanor Sober in the senatorial
residence of Florida. This was at the Old Library in Hollywood
Boulevard Hollywood. There were other invited parties including
senator’s assistants, Jeffrey Scala, Eric Reinarman, and Yale,
Olenick. The meeting was scheduled at 10.00 am, December 2,
2015. The learner made a one-hour PowerPoint presentation in a
forum also attended by other stakeholders in the health system of
Broward County. Among these visitors were managers of heath
facilities, administrators of the county’s health care, and local
advisory panels. All these stakeholders were to offer insight in
policy revisions. So as to facilitate audience’s understanding, the
presenter issued handouts on the discussion topic. The presenter
also answered questions raised by the audience as a way of
addressing concerns and acquiring multiple perspectives about
the health policy issue of interest.

3. CONT’
The meeting ended with concluding messages from representatives
of various stakeholder departments including county
administrators, health care providers, county’s advisory personnel,
and the county’s political leaders. After the meeting, the presenter
compiled the contributions of various stakeholders and analyzed
emerging themes and areas of interest. The presenter then sent
emails to the participating parties including the ones who were
absent but had expressed their apology. In addition to sending the
compiled meeting outcomes, the presenter also sent the actual
PowerPoint presentation to the involved parties. The strategy
ensured that stakeholders were fully engaged in the process of
policy revision.
The following are examples of two slides used in the presentation.
The excerpts describe various concepts associated with the policy
issue.

4. HEALTH CARE ACCESS TO THE
MINORITIES
The minority groups in Broward County do not enjoy as much
access to health care as does other groups. The major hindrances to
care accessibility for this population include the following: 1).
Inability to acquire a health insurance plan, 2). Lack of health
literacy, 3). Poverty, and 4). Insufficiency of health care facilities
and professionals (Public Works, 2014). Though the accessibility of
the county’s health care is generally high, there are large disparities
between the minorities and their majority counterparts. County’s
statistics show that only 20% of Broward residents are unable to
access quality health care, but alarmingly, minority groups
constitute virtually the entire uninsured proportion (Public Works,
2014). So as to reduce these disparities, the county needs to
implement several changes in its health care policies.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS
There is need to close the gap observed in care accessibility between
the majority and minority populations in Broward County. Rapid
policy changes should take place so as to improve the navigation of
health services by minority groups. The approach should involve an
integration of programs so that it would be possible to counter various
hindrances to care accessibility for the group of interest. One of the
effective strategies would include increasing the annual coverage of
minority populations by a figure not below 5% (Public Works, 2014).
The other vital approach to solving the complications of care
accessibility include carrying out a community assessment so as to
identify specific barriers to particular minority groups and establish
how such groups would benefit from various health care policy
changes. Such an assessment would facilitate the linkage between
health care and minority groups (Silverman, 2013).

6. VISIT DESCRIPTION CONT’
The handouts issued to the policymaker highlighted issue of concern
and they contained factual statistics obtained from various studies.
The handouts also had detailed tables showing disparities in care
accessibility between the minority and majority populations. In the
handout, the presenter has highlighted both facilitators and
hindrances of care accessibility. The content also explains the extent
to which the State of Florida has addressed care accessibility
disparities. According to Fiscela (2011), the state has not fully
reduced disparities between minority and majority groups (p. 78).
The handouts also highlights the achievements and failures of the
Broward County and the State of Florida in countering disparities
through the application of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). According
to Anderson, the Act has gained mixed outcomes in influencing
health care accessibility (2014). As such, establishing the specific
impacts of the policy would enable stakeholders to make essential
changes at the state and county level.

7. POLICYMAKER’S RESPONSE
Senator Eleanor Sober responded in various ways to the policy
change recommendations. First, the policymaker acknowledged that
there was a significant crisis on health care accessibility among the
minority groups in Broward County. The senator pointed out that the
researcher’s intent to find solutions for the problem was an
encouraging gesture. She noted that handling such a problem
required the collaboration of the state and the community. The
policymaker explained that she was wiling to take part in resolving
the issue of care inaccessibility to the minority groups in Broward.
She explained that for policies to serve communities to their best,
they had to be flexible so that they could be adjusted when the need
to do so arises. The policymaker also explained that she would offer
assistance in data analysis so that the developed recommendations
would best fit Broward County. She said that she would grant
resources necessary for the efficiency of various collaborative policy
change processes.

8. POLICYMAKER’S RESPONSE CONT’
The leader also noted that the state required establishing more
health centers and safety net clinics for the community. According
to the policymaker, such an approach would positively impact on
the ability of special populations including the uninsured and
immigrants to access care. She also observed that such a strategy
would facilitate the implementation of crucial insurance programs
including Medicare and Medicaid. The senator also promised to
contribute to the issue by engaging more stakeholders. These
include the governor, legislator for Broward, and other relevant
federal and state agencies. On the other side, the policymaker
pointed out that the Broward community was also to play actively
in solving the problem facing it. She explained the need for
empowered leaders who could champion for their local
communities. Again, the senator emphasized on the need for
various stakeholders to offer unwavering commitment for the
success of the project.

9. POLICYMAKER’S RESPONSE CONT’
The policymaker’s responses were promising in promoting the
affordability, availability, and appropriateness of care. according to
the National Policy Consensus Center (NPCC, 2012), these are the
basics of care accessibility (p. 3). The policymaker also expressed
willingness to facilitate care accessibility for the minority by
pointing out that she would ensure that the project received
adequate funding. She observed that the minority groups in
Broward County had relatively poor income and measures to avail
quality services to them would require considerably heavy funding.
The policymaker expressed optimism by pointing out the project’s
focus on the small group would facilitate effective and fast solution
of the problem of interest. Additionally, the policymaker agreed that
the indicators used in the project were measurable, and therefore, it
would be possible for stakeholders to gauge their success
accurately.

10. POLICYMAKER’S RESPONSE CONT’
Other notable reactions of the policymaker include her emphasis on
the importance of having a shared mission which she identified as
having an able and healthy population. She explained that if partners
were able to develop common goals and priorities, they would
achieve an effective plan and frame for their task.
The policymaker’s response was vital for the policy change. It
offered more insight to the proposal and also illuminated the hope of
promoting health care accessibility for the minority populations. The
interaction of the researcher and the policymaker was successful. The
researcher defines success as the attainment of the objectives set for a
given task. For this project, the researcher was able to win the
support of the policymaker in making policy changes so as to
enhance the accessibility of quality health care to minority groups
living in Broward County. The researcher has noted collaboration
among stakeholders as one of the greatest achievements.

11. REFLECTION ON PROCESS
The next step for the policy change process will be developing an
effective tool that would facilitate tracking of improvements in the
Broward minority community. This will involve using defined
indicators to assess the level of care accessibility enjoyed by this
population. Subsequently, the process will involve the development
of a system that would facilitate refining of specific strategies
applied. Again, the process will involve a follow-up plan looking
into the implementation of policy changes within the community.
The plan will involve monitoring the rates of health care access
among people of both minority and majority backgrounds on an
annual basis for the next three years. The reduction of the gap
between the two groups will indicate the success of the applied
changes.

12. REFLECTION ON PROCESS CONT’
Other procedures will include the presentation of a formal thank you
note to the senator. This will be an appreciation for her willingness to
support and contribute actively to the betterment of health care
policies for the wellness of Broward County residents.
The researcher also has plans for continued patient and policy
advocacy in the future. Ideas about such advocacies include working
closely with minority groups to address their health issues. The
researcher has noted that the group is often susceptible to various
challenges of maintaining one’s health. This research shows that
some of the challenges faced by minority populations can be
addressed through policy changes. As such, the researcher will
advocate for the development of effective health policies. The
researcher will later focus on challenges of care accessibility from the
national rather than local perspective.

13. FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
The meeting of the researcher and Florida policymakers augurs well
for the future of health care. It revealed willingness of parties to
collaborate and improve the health matters of Broward residents. It
showed a future possibility for the closure of the gap between
minority and majority groups in their access to health care. The
meeting also revealed that it was possible to shape nursing in the
desired way by making necessary policy modifications. It also
showed that nurses could interact actively with the legislature to
resolve health care issues. By so doing, nurses would effectively
practice their role of patient advocacy. Nurses are among health care
professionals who interact most with patients, and therefore, they
can come up with helpful policy changes.

14. FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES CONT’
The meeting was also a wake-up call for nurses sensitizing them
on their need to forego their comfort and come up with policy
proposals for the wellness of their professions as well as patients.
It was a proof that nurses could influence policies from state and
local levels. As Benton explained, nurses are in an influential
position to call for policy changes in the local, organizational,
regional, national, and international arenas (2012, p. 5). Generally,
the meeting was an illustration that legislative knowledge is
important for nurses. As Phillips (2014) noted, policies are critical
in shaping health care practice (p. 3). As the researcher further
wrote, nurses have been in the past failed to express interest on
political matters, and as such, they have not made sufficient
contribution in shaping health care (p. 3).

15. CONCLUSION
The visit to senator Eleanor Sober and her assistants at the Florida
senatorial offices was successful. The visit allowed the researcher to
present critical health care concerns and advocate for the health needs
of minority populations living in Broward County. It helped the
researcher to address important gaps in health care accessibility by
calling up for the participation of various stakeholders. The
presentation was also successful as it attained its objective of
winning the support of the legislator to necessitate a policy change.
Again, the responses of the policymaker further facilitated the policy
modification process by offering constructive feedback that was
aimed at supporting the learner’s proposal. The response was an
implication that the researcher had a promising strategy from the
perspective of the legislator.

16. CONCLUSION CONT’
The visit offered vital insight to the researcher. The contribution of
audience from different fields related to health and policies was an
enhancement of the learner’s knowledge. The senator also offered
vital insight for the success of the project. Generally, the meeting
was an illustration that nurses should contribute actively to making
policy changes. It illustrated that nurses had the role to improve the
experiences of their patients by advocating for the development of
policies that enhance service delivery processes. The visit also
revealed that interactive interactions between nurses and
policymakers was vital in solving health care challenges that
present in communities.

17. REFERENCES
Anderson, A. (2014). The impact of the affordable care act on
health care workforce. The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved from
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/03/the-impact-of-
the-affordable-care-act-on-the-health-care-workforce.
Benton, D., (2012). Advocating globally to shape policy and
strengthen nursing’s influence. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues
in Nursing, 17(1), 5.
Fiscella, K. (2011). Health Care Reform and Equity: Promise,
Pitfalls, and Prescriptions. Annals of Family Medicine, 9(1), 78–
84.

18. REFERENCES CONT’
National Policy Consensus Center (NPCC). (2012). Improving
healthcare access. Retrieved from
http://www.policyconsensus.org/publications/reports/docs/Health
care.pdf
Phillips, R. (2014). Health care policy: the nurse's crucial
role. Viewpoint, 25(3), 3-4.
Public Works. (2014). Comprehensive community needs
assessment. Retrieved from
http://broward.org/Budget/Documents/NeedsAssesExecSummary
June162014.pdf

19. REFERENCES CONT’
Silverman, P. (2013). Broward county community health
assessment. Retrieved from
http://www.floridahealth.gov/provider-and-partner-
resources/community-partnerships/floridamapp/state-and-
community-reports/broward-county/_documents/Broward-
CHA.pdf
Visit https://fasthomeworkhelp.com/
to get college homework help online at an affordable price