Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel met with nurses from Rockland and Westchester as part of the Health Policy Workshop in Washington this week. Karen Johnson-Fairclough, from Mt. Vernon, and Brenda Boston-Hudson, of Nyack met with Congressman Engel on behalf of the American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA). Ms. Boston-Hudson works for the New York State Department of Health and Ms. Johnson-Fairclough works for the Jacobi Medical Center.

ANNA is a professional nursing organization of over 12,000 registered nurses practicing in nephrology, transplantation and related therapies. The nurses spoke with Congressman Engel regarding health issues affecting New Yorkers, specifically end-stage disease patients.

Congressman Engel has supported the Nursing Workforce Development program at the Health Resources and Services Administration and has signed a letter to Appropriators supporting its funding. He also signed a letter to Appropriators in support of increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Congressman Engel voted for the 2008 Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act which overhauled Medicare’s End Stage Renal Disease program. All three of these measures are priorities for ANNA.