Advocacy is inherently part of physical therapy (advocating for your patients, advocating with other health care professionals, etc.).
We also need BIG ADVOCACY: advocating for your patients, for your profession, TO your elected officials.
BUT – it doesn’t mean drop everything & hop on a flight to Washington D.C.
Dr. Mercedes Aguirre Valenzuela, PT, (@ThePTAdvocate) is on the pod today to discuss the importance of advocacy as physical therapists, how to get involved, & how to realistically advocate while balancing your clinical work.
Because:
“If not you, then WHO?”
Advocacy is an essential role for physical therapists to make a difference in healthcare and policy.
Like it or not, physical therapy is political. There is PT-related legislation being passed all the time.
You can either sit on the sidelines & hope the legislation is your favor, or you can get involved & ENSURE that it is.
Either way, legislation WILL be passed that affects you & your patients.
Building relationships with legislators and being a consistent voice can lead to positive change.
One-off emails to your elected officials are enormously important & helpful, but there’s other ways to ensure lasting change.
The Lymphedema Treatment Act is the perfect example of this: it took literal decades to get the LTA passed, with multiple rounds of getting co-sponsors, support across the aisles, & more to make this a reality.
The LTA isn’t unique in this case – this is how our political system works, like it or not.
Dr. Aguirre Valenzuela fosters relationships with her local representatives over time to advance the causes that are important to her patients & community, specifically
Numbers matter in advocacy, and grassroots efforts can have a significant impact.
It is soooo easy to feel like you’re not being heard. You’re just one PT, how much difference can you really make?
But I love Dr. Aguirre Valenzuela’s response:
“If not you, then who?
We are the physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, students, that want to go in that field. We’re the experts. And so our voice does matter and our voice needs to be heard because we have the boots on the ground.”
Ultimately, politicians are trying to get re-elected, & unhappy constituents who don’t feel like their concerns are heard won’t vote for them in the next election. So they look at the numbers of emails, phone calls, etc. supporting various legislation, & make their choices from there.
Balancing advocacy and clinical work requires time management and finding opportunities within your schedule.
But advocating is VERY DOABLE.
Dr. Aguirre Valenzuela recommends visiting APTA Legislative Action Center (for APTA members) or APTA’s Patient Action Center (for APTA non-members & general public) to get started today.
Watch this episode on YouTube:
About Dr. Mercedes Aguirre Valenzuela, PT
Dr. Aguirre Valenzuela is a pediatric physical therapy primarily working in early intervention. She was a first time political candidate in the 2023 general election for town council in NJ. Her dedication to professional advocacy has led her to leadership roles in the APTA on a National and State level. In 2022, she began her term in the public policy and advocacy committee (PPAC) and CSM Steering Group. Within the Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy, she is an active member and was elected to be in the Nominating Committee. Within the Academy of Leadership and Innovation, she is the Federal Affairs Liaison. In the state of New Jersey, she is an APTA Delegate as well as a Key Contact in her district. In Passaic County, she is the local legislative lead for Moms Demand Action. Outside of clinical practice, she uses social media (instagram: @theptadvocate) to educate PTs/PTAs/students on how to advocate for their profession. Mercedes also hosts “Playtime with a PT” classes in her local community to educate families on their baby’s development and the early intervention program.
Follow Mercedes on social media: @ThePTAdvocate
Transcript
Elise – @TheOncoPT (00:00.89)
Hey, Onco PT and welcome back to this episode of the Onco PT podcast. Now, before we get into today’s conversation, one of my favorite things in the PT world are conferences. And like, yes, I love going to conferences because we get to go to these amazing educational sessions. But what I really love is getting to meet different physical therapists from across the country and sometimes even across the world. And I was so privileged.
I don’t know if you remember this Mercedes, but we went to lunch in San Antonio with Katie O’Bright and it was such a cool group of other physical therapists. Our guest today was one of them and just the conversations that were happening were so cool to be a part of. Anyways, I’m so excited that I have Dr. Mercedes Aguirre Valenzuela on the podcast today to talk about a really exciting topic.
Mercedes Aguirre (00:33.355)
Yes.
Mercedes Aguirre (00:45.866)
It was so memorable.
No.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (00:56.398)
So Mercedes, welcome to the Onco PT podcast.
Mercedes Aguirre (00:59.01)
Hey guys, thank you for having me.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (01:02.59)
Oh my gosh, we had that lunch was genuinely so cool because there were so many different people like all over the country, all different practice areas. And it was just instant. Like when I was introduced to Mercedes, I was like, this, this PT is so cool. Like I want to be just like her. And I’m so thrilled to have you on. Can you tell my listeners a little bit about yourself?
Mercedes Aguirre (01:12.957)
Yeah.
Mercedes Aguirre (01:23.935)
girl
Elise – @TheOncoPT (01:30.402)
and how you got into physical therapy and a little bit about how you got into the work that you do now and why I have you here on the podcast.
Mercedes Aguirre (01:36.582)
Mm-hmm. Yes, well, thank you for having me. I mean, I wish I had your drive, girl. Look at you. So I’m Mercedes. So I became involved in a lot of advocacy work. Basically, I immigrated to the United States from Argentina at a young age. It was due to because in my country, we were going through a great depression.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (01:41.318)
course.
Mercedes Aguirre (02:04.19)
Um, basically I was born into political issues and because of political issues, I came to this country. So it’s kind of been a part of my life, my entire life. Um, and then during the 2016 election, I decided that I wanted to run for public office, you know, representing women. Um, but I wasn’t even in PT school yet. So I was like, let me just focus on that.
Um, and then once a physical therapist, I’ll do it and I did it. Um, and it was, uh, amazing experience running in the general election this year. I went for town council. Um, and I just wanted to share it, you know, with you and all of you out there, because I know that PTs can make the PTs and PTAs can meet the best politicians.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (02:40.006)
Amazing.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (02:54.562)
And there’s not a lot of us. I’m really not aware of a whole lot of PTs. I’m sure there are, right? I’m sure there are out there, but I’m just not well connected to the PTs and PTAs who are in that kind of leadership, which is really exciting to think about.
Mercedes Aguirre (03:01.363)
Yes, they are.
Mercedes Aguirre (03:10.014)
Right, and if they are, I mean, they may not be around our age. So I ran to help on my community and also to show that I’m still a new graduate. Even as a new graduate, I still have the skills and expertise to lead my community.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (03:19.44)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (03:31.494)
Mm-hmm. And I think that’s so important, you know, especially now we’re seeing a lot of health care issue I mean like it’s not a new thing, right? But we’re seeing a lot I feel like more health care issues that are in the news that are in politics right now that are being You know legislated on and around which I think is just that much more like Leverage and importance as to like why we’re having this conversation today because
Mercedes Aguirre (03:39.531)
Yeah.
Mercedes Aguirre (03:48.77)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (03:58.134)
as I shared off air with Mercedes before we started interviewing, this hasn’t been something that we’ve really talked about on the podcast formally. I’ve talked around it, but it wasn’t until this last year in 2023 with the recent passage of the Lymphedema Treatment Act and then the proposed sun setting of the S codes for DIEP flap and other autologous tissue flap reconstruction that I really started to be like, oh.
This is actually really important that me as the physical therapist needs to be advocating for my patients, not just in the clinic with my patients, not just with other healthcare professionals, but in the political arena. Like things are happening right now that are affecting our patients that we as physical therapists need to have like need to have our hats in the ring. So can we talk a little bit more about how you got involved in advocacy?
Mercedes Aguirre (04:27.278)
Thank you.
Mercedes Aguirre (04:32.163)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (04:54.25)
and why you felt as a physical therapist, it was so important for you to continue this interest and this passion and this work of yours in advocacy.
Mercedes Aguirre (05:04.162)
Yeah, so thank you for sharing that because I didn’t even know it myself. Um, so there’s so many things to advocate for. Um, that’s what we all gotta do it. Right. Um, so I got involved advocacy because I’m the type of person that I don’t like to see kind of change go by. I like to be a part of the change. If there’s an issue, I want to act towards it and solve the issue. Um, so with advocacy, you can use your voice, even if you’re a person.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (05:22.618)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (05:33.438)
You can email your legislator you can call them, you can have a meeting with them, and it can be just you. And I feel like that is so empowering because sometimes as healthcare professionals, PTs in particular, we feel as though we don’t have such a great voice, but we actually do. I had meetings with staff, a US representative, and weeks later, she was a co-sponsor of the pelvic health bill.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (05:46.99)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (06:02.814)
So you can do things like that. Yes, you can.
Mercedes Aguirre (06:09.792)
Yeah.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (06:10.11)
Talk about in real time seeing that happen. That is, that is so exciting.
Mercedes Aguirre (06:13.586)
Honestly, one of the top greatest moments of my life.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (06:18.714)
Oh my God. Okay. Can we talk about how did you do that? What was that process like? When I was in PT school, we did PT Day on the Hill here in Texas. Our school was located just down the road basically from the Capitol. We went to the Capitol and we were organized into these different rooms, but it didn’t really feel like it went anywhere. It was just like, oh, this was a nice gesture or whatever.
Mercedes, you were like boots on the ground, making it happen, oh my gosh.
Mercedes Aguirre (06:46.382)
Thank you.
Mercedes Aguirre (06:51.638)
So a lot has to do with timing. So I knew, and this was US representative, Mikey Sherrill, I knew at the time she was focusing a lot on maternal health because of previous meetings I had with her staff. And I was going to have a meeting with her staff during the August recess. And I wanted to just kind of take advantage of what they are currently interested in. So I invited Pelvic Health.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (06:58.042)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (07:05.187)
Okay.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (07:16.492)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (07:19.854)
clinic owner who actually owns a clinic in the Congresswoman’s hometown. And so I think that really was a significant change because it wasn’t just me on pediatric PT, right? I feel like a clinic owner in her hometown, speaking of patient experiences and their limitations, and there needs to be more understanding of pelvic health overall. And that was just, I think that really resonated with the staff.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (07:35.576)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (07:53.05)
Did you pick a random day to go and do this? Talk me through some of those logistics of how did you make that happen? Because I think that’s one of the biggest barriers that a lot of physical therapists see and perceive is how can I, as the one PT, make this happen? But again, Mercedes literally did, y’all. Oh my God.
Mercedes Aguirre (08:04.565)
Oh, no.
Mercedes Aguirre (08:14.519)
I mean, it’s really simple. You just contact the, you know, you go on the website or, you know, whatever congressperson you contact them, you email them, and you ask, you know, for a meeting. I did this during the August recess, which is kind of like the prime time to have those sorts of meetings, because Congress is in recess. So that’s why they are in recess, to have meetings with their constituents.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (08:34.123)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (08:41.282)
So that was a good time. And then I’ve been having, this wasn’t the first time I talked about this pelvic health bill with the staff. It was probably like the fourth time I had a meeting about this. So you have to build that relationship.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (08:41.338)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (08:54.068)
Wow, okay.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (08:58.586)
How did you start building that relationship?
Mercedes Aguirre (09:04.038)
Um, so meeting them a couple of times a year, at least twice a year. So we have the APTA, the advocacy day where we go to Washington, DC altogether. And then we have the August recess. Um, so those two times and also having like regular connections through email. Like if there’s something that comes up, like, um, for example, we’re having like, uh, cuts, possibly, uh, in Medicare.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (09:10.906)
Oh, him.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (09:20.302)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (09:33.435)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (09:33.671)
Just telling them about that, just like a constant communication every now and then.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (09:41.17)
Mm-hmm. So as far as, you know, right now we’re talking about these kind of big twice-a-year days. And those are definitely, I think, a little more of like, it’s, I don’t know a better word, it’s kind of flashy to, you know, go into the Capitol building because then you’re usually dressed up. Like I’m thinking of, you know, like in a blazer, walking up the steps and meeting with these representatives. And like, there’s a lot of excitement behind that, but there’s a ton of work.
Mercedes Aguirre (09:58.134)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (10:01.846)
Yeah.
Mercedes Aguirre (10:08.659)
Yeah.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (10:10.466)
that happens before we can get to that point, right? Because you talked about working on establishing those relationships. I mean, like four meetings over the course of, I’m sure several years, and then that constant communicate, not even constant communication, but regular communication with the representative and their staff. So I guess my question here is like, what kind of things, if I’m listening to this podcast right now, I’m thinking, wow, this is really cool. How can I get…
Mercedes Aguirre (10:13.858)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (10:25.631)
Yes.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (10:39.942)
started on the path to where I can eventually meet with my representative during the August recess or whatever to discuss these issues that are really important to me as a physical therapist.
Mercedes Aguirre (10:52.898)
So you can become a key contact. So you go to APTA, pause. Let me get the right link. Time out.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (11:01.014)
Yeah, absolutely. I love this. I know I put you on the spot with this, but this is such a good idea to get that link right away.
Mercedes Aguirre (11:08.134)
No. Here? Yes.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (11:24.31)
I love it, like, marker. Ha ha ha!
Mercedes Aguirre (11:24.314)
So, so you can go on the APTA website, apta.org/advocacy and you can become a key contact. There’s actually an email for that is advocacy at abta.org and just say they’re interested in becoming a key contact and then you start off, you know, it’s not August yet, right? So you just start off by like sending regular emails and the APTA gives you like a template.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (11:44.379)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (11:52.718)
It’s not like you have to type it out yourself. It’s really, really simple. And then if you start now, you’ll be ready by August.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (11:56.325)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (12:03.362)
I’m really glad you brought the template to Mercedes, because I remember thinking back to the years leading up to when the Lymphedema Treatment Act was eventually passed. You know, I’m on their email list, and they would send out different campaigns, and it was so nice, because a lot of times, what you could do is you could click a button, and it would take you to a form, or kind of like a, Google Doc is not the right phrase, but they had an email already typed out, and you could just
Mercedes Aguirre (12:15.467)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (12:30.738)
Yes.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (12:32.622)
your name into those different fillers and it was set up to where it would automatically, once you push send, it would send it to the representatives in my area. So like my area in Texas. And I think that makes it a lot less intimidating to be involved in these things without having to like draft an email by myself to my senator or my representative.
Mercedes Aguirre (12:48.183)
Yes.
Mercedes Aguirre (12:57.086)
Yes, and they look at those numbers. Okay. So if you have a lot of constituents concerned about some, those are the people that are voting for them. Okay. So if you have five people that care about something and you have a hundred thousand people that care about something, I mean, honestly, they’re going to care about, you know, what most people care about. Okay. Because it’s all about winning the election and continuing on, you know, what they’re working on. Um, so.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (13:00.543)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (13:26.274)
there is strength in numbers.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (13:34.534)
I think it’s, as you’re saying that Mercedes, I think sometimes it’s really easy to get disheartened or frustrated, but that is something that I’ve heard a lot of as far as like, they do get those emails, they do get those voicemails and however else they’re sending that in, but it really is like, it’s a strength in numbers things. And like, they’re looking at that. If it’s not them directly, it’s their staff that are looking to see like, how many people are reaching out about this information.
Mercedes Aguirre (13:41.058)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (13:55.064)
Yes.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (14:04.258)
And again, like I keep coming back to the Lymphedema Treatment Act because I think it was such like it was such a community effort across the country for so long to finally get it into action. But it really did take the numbers of people over time, just like kind of wearing it down until it was like, there’s no reason not to pass this anymore because the support is so overwhelming. And I think it like.
It’s also, I think, a really powerful lesson learned because of how long it took to get past. But we did it, y’all. We finally did it. It is into law. And I’m really excited to see what happens with that. So with all of this in mind, Mercedes, when it comes to a day in the life of Mercedes, the physical therapist, and also this advocacy force to be reckoned with, like,
What does a typical day look like? Because I feel like it would be very easy to be like, it’s so overwhelming to try and keep up with everything that’s going on and be contacting these representatives. Also, yeah, I’m supposed to treat patients amongst all this. Like, how do you make it work?
Mercedes Aguirre (15:08.098)
Thank you.
Mercedes Aguirre (15:13.587)
So I work in early intervention. I do contract work. So basically if a patient cancels, that’s when I’m like going emailing everybody and getting work done. So basically that’s how I do because I don’t like taking work home. I really don’t. So that’s how I do it. You know, I have a lot of meetings during the week.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (15:18.947)
Nice.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (15:27.394)
Yeah!
Elise – @TheOncoPT (15:33.576)
Love it.
Mercedes Aguirre (15:40.582)
I’m in the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee of the APTA. I do meet with my local party monthly. There are other community groups that I’m involved in. But what’s really important is, you know, whatever you do, make sure that you like what you’re doing and it’s not just like another kind of responsibility, like another task we have to do, just keep it exciting.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (15:44.048)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (15:51.452)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (16:06.342)
So what causes, what special areas of advocacy have you been involved in and are you continuing to be involved in? Because I think, as much as like, we’re like, yeah, patients and physical therapy, there’s a lot that falls under that. And I also know like we’re humans outside of that and we have other interests. So like, what are some of these things that you’re advocating on and for in your community?
Mercedes Aguirre (16:23.819)
Yes.
Mercedes Aguirre (16:32.002)
So like I said earlier, the timing is everything. So right now, most important thing is making sure we don’t get those cuts in Medicare. They’re gonna start in January. So we need to advocate like yesterday, and we need to contact our legislators for that. And then, in terms of the pelvic health bill, the timing was right, so I was really advocating really hard for it at that time.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (16:42.595)
Yeah.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (16:45.944)
Okay.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (16:49.561)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (17:02.614)
Um, it’s just like, there’s just different things that happen at different times. You just focus your energy more on.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (17:02.981)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (17:11.358)
Mm-hmm. How can I know what those things are to pay attention to when? Because I do feel like there’s a lot to keep up with.
Mercedes Aguirre (17:19.926)
Yes, there is. And so APTA has an advocacy newsletter. Um, so when you go to APTA.org slash advocacy, you can join their newsletter. And if you become a key contact, you’ll be automatically in that newsletter.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (17:35.85)
Mm-hmm. So I think there is a tendency sometimes, and I think I see it because I’m on social media all the time and people on social media are vocal about things. And there is very much an attitude prevalent within physical therapy about like, why should I care? Because I’m only one PT, I really can’t make that much big of a difference. It’s frustrating to feel like I’m not being heard.
Why should we be involved in advocacy and these bigger advocacy efforts beyond just the walls within our clinic?
Mercedes Aguirre (18:13.77)
Because, I mean, if it’s not you, then who? We are the physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, students, that want to go in that field. We’re the experts. And so our voice does matter and our voice needs to be heard because we have the boots on the ground.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (18:26.659)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (18:36.058)
And whatever setting you’re on, like I’m a pediatric physical therapist, I work in early intervention. A lot of the things relate to me will be more regarding like the IDA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. You know, Medicare doesn’t really affect me. Um, private insurance doesn’t affect me, but I still advocate for that because it’s about the whole, not just, you know, me.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (18:48.912)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (18:55.568)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (19:00.6)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (19:05.57)
I have so many questions swirling around in my head. I’m kind of figuring out like, where do I wanna go from here? I think what I’ll ask next is…
Mercedes Aguirre (19:14.222)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (19:20.034)
thinking. I’m thinking on this.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (19:30.374)
What is something or what are some things that have surprised you since you have been professionally advocating like as a physical therapist for a few years now? Because how long have you been practicing Mercedes?
Mercedes Aguirre (19:47.604)
Um, three years, about three years. Yeah.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (19:49.654)
Okay, so you’ve been practicing for three years. You’re out in the field, very aware of these patient issues and other issues in your community.
Mercedes Aguirre (19:53.652)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (20:01.598)
What are some things that have surprised you as you have been pursuing advocacy on these bigger scale efforts?
Mercedes Aguirre (20:10.862)
How long things take. I remember like, it’s like a few years I advocated for the National Diversity, no, it’s the work. So things take a long time. I remember advocating for years for the Workforce Diversity Act, which gives grants to diverse students in allied health professions. And-
Elise – @TheOncoPT (20:36.431)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (20:40.434)
It’s like it’s something like, okay, obviously you got to pass this. I mean, it’s so important. Um, but like, no, it takes time. Like each year you got to like reintroduce it, get more co-sponsors for the bill. Um, kind of like you’re starting over. Um, but you just gotta keep, uh, keep staying positive. Um, because that actually eventually did pass and it was really awesome. And it’s just so like.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (20:48.974)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (21:09.303)
When you’re part of that, even if it’s a really small role, even if you just sent an email about it, it makes you feel really proud. You help achieve something.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (21:10.896)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (21:21.87)
Mm-hmm.
What are some recommendations or maybe encouragement you would offer for PTs who are newer to advocating beyond the walls of their clinic and who are interested in participating more in this?
Mercedes Aguirre (21:41.674)
Um, that is so simple. You know, go on Google, type in the APTA patient action center, and you can advocate to stop the Medicare cuts. And it takes literally two minutes like Elisa.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (21:59.682)
which again, for a busy clinician is really, it really is that easy to just type in your name and submit that letter. And again, going back to something that Mercedes talked about already, which is they look at the number of people who are writing in and leaving that information and your support for different causes. So if that is the only thing that you can do, that still counts, y’all. I know when I was…
Mercedes Aguirre (22:08.744)
Yes.
Mercedes Aguirre (22:26.175)
Yes, please do it.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (22:28.014)
Gosh, I hadn’t thought about this in a few years, but a couple years ago, I was at my old job and it was like one of the times that the Lymphedema Treatment Act was trying to be passed. And it was, you know, going through the rounds, like you were talking about Mercedes of like, it had to be reintroduced and then they had to get co-sponsors. So they were in that initial like reintroduction, co-sponsor, getting people on. And I actually had patients who I would talk to them about the Lymphedema Treatment Act. I was like, hey, and I think that’s one of the things that I’ve really liked about.
Mercedes Aguirre (22:41.707)
I’m going.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (22:57.914)
that is that my patients are dealing with lymphedema. Like it is very present, very in their face. Like this is my reality right now. And so talking to them about, yeah, you know what? It really sucks that your insurance isn’t covering your compression garments. But let me tell you about this Lymphedema Treatment Act that we’re trying to get passed that will change that. And that was a really, really big connector for my patients. And I never forced them, of course. Like it was totally optional, but I told them, I was like,
Mercedes Aguirre (23:02.324)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (23:27.626)
If you would like, I can send you an email with the link to where you can write in, like you can send an email to help us with this or whatever. And I think that was also something, because again, the patients were like, yeah, it really fricking sucks that they won’t cover my compression garments. Like, then you can help us with this. And I do feel like it was, again, it still took a few years before it was passed. Don’t get me wrong, but that kind of like getting people involved and feeling like, yeah.
Mercedes Aguirre (23:44.065)
Yeah.
Mercedes Aguirre (23:51.359)
Yes.
Mercedes Aguirre (23:55.39)
It’s empowering.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (23:56.894)
It is empowering and it feels so good to be able to be like, I helped with that in one small way. I helped with that.
Mercedes Aguirre (24:02.47)
Yes.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (24:09.506)
What are some things now moving into 2024 that you are like, you know what, this is coming down the pipeline, or like, I know I really wanna get involved in this. Like, what are some things that you’re looking forward to helping advocate for in your community in the new year?
Mercedes Aguirre (24:31.362)
Um, so now I, since, you know, I’m done with my election, done with my campaign, I want to continue on advocating at a community level, things not just related to healthcare, kind of want to diversify a little bit, and right now I’m advocating for gun violence prevention. I am.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (24:40.271)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (24:50.182)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (24:59.662)
trying to look into advocating for affordable and safe housing in my community.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (25:06.598)
is so exciting. How? Because again, like I mentioned previously, we’re physical therapists but we’re also humans outside of this. How can I get plugged in or how can I find these different causes in my community that I know I’m interested in but I want to be like advocating for them now? What kind of recommendations would you give on that?
Mercedes Aguirre (25:13.183)
Mm-hmm.
Mercedes Aguirre (25:30.126)
Um, I mean you can google. So, I mean. So, um, I
Elise – @TheOncoPT (25:33.558)
I like it.
Mercedes Aguirre (25:41.886)
So the reason why I want to advocate for affordable and safe housing is because as an early intervention physical therapist, I’ve been into houses where I feel that my patients are not safe and the conditions are just terrible housing conditions. So I was like, I will advocate for this, go on Google advocacy, safe housing. And then it just came up. Sorry, not like a detailed answer.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (25:54.223)
Yes.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (25:57.932)
Yes.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (26:08.683)
Yes.
Mercedes Aguirre (26:09.93)
Yeah, you can try that. Or you can DM me and then we’ll figure it out together.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (26:13.57)
I think that’s, yes, that’s so genius though. I’m so glad you brought up the affordable housing. So I live here in Fort Worth and we were, my husband and I were invited to like a young professionals meeting like last spring. And we had no idea how challenging affordable housing is in Fort Worth. And like this meeting was so…
helpful because they laid out just so much information. We had no clue. And we had no idea until we went to this meeting about just how widespread of a problem it is. And I think that’s one thing. Our friend just invited us and we’re like, yeah, sure. This sounds interesting. Let’s go. And we came away with so much information and feeling more empowered to be like, we got to do something about this. And so I think that’s one experience that I’ve had recently.
Mercedes Aguirre (26:49.079)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (27:08.514)
I’m kind of interested in this, it sounds interesting. And then coming away from that, I felt really, I don’t know if galvanized is the word, but I felt like I had a fire lit under my butt to be like, oh, we should do, like we need to do something about this. And so I think that’s kind of influencing me. And there’s lots of other ways to find out. There’s a lot of really good like social media accounts that I’ve gotten plugged into over the last year that do a really good job of like educating on different.
Mercedes Aguirre (27:19.519)
Yes.
Mercedes Aguirre (27:23.012)
Right.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (27:36.334)
You know, like local elections that are taking place in my area and across the state. So even if maybe a listener doesn’t know exactly, you know, I’m interested in these things, but I don’t really know how it kind of all fits together. Social media has been a great place for me to get connected to different ways that I can then advocate further for my patients in my community. So like Mercedes said, Google, great place to start. Social media can be a great place to start, too.
Mercedes Aguirre (27:56.194)
Yes.
Mercedes Aguirre (28:00.946)
Yeah
Yes.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (28:06.31)
For the listener Mercedes, who is kind of like me, who has now got this fire lit under their butt, they know, I gotta do this. I’m excited about this. I want to be a part of bigger change. What is one step you would recommend that they take today to get started with this?
Mercedes Aguirre (28:13.247)
Yay!
Mercedes Aguirre (28:24.322)
Yes, okay. Go to APTA Patient Action Center. You don’t have to be an APTA member. The link can be given to anyone. And send a letter to your congresspeople to stop the Medicare cuts, please, because you only have until January. Well, it’s gonna be implemented in January, so we don’t have much time.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (28:44.79)
Ooh, that’s good to know. That is good to know. And I’m sure they’re gonna have updates, you know, like as the new year comes around of like, hey, here’s our next step that we’re gonna be working on.
Mercedes Aguirre (28:47.015)
Yeah.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (28:57.014)
Love that. Mercedes, where can people follow you on social media?
Mercedes Aguirre (29:01.75)
The PT Advocate on Instagram.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (29:04.874)
We will of course be linking Mercedes contact information in our show notes. This conversation Mercedes, I know I mentioned this before we started recording. I genuinely did not understand how big of a role that PT had to play in advocating. You know, as a clinician, it feels sometimes disheartening to be like, gosh, I just don’t know what I can do.
Mercedes Aguirre (29:21.835)
Mm-hmm.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (29:28.954)
But as Mercedes talked about in this episode, there’s a lot that we can do. And it doesn’t have to be that you fly to Washington DC and march up the steps to the Capitol. If you wanna do that, that’s super cool too, friend. But there’s a lot of really small steps that we can take that don’t take that much of your time, but are so important because they add up when we work together. And I would really, really encourage you.
Let’s advocate together for our patients, for our community, for our profession, because that is the only way that we’re gonna make change happen. That is for the best of all. And so Mercedes, I’m so, so grateful that you came on the podcast today. I’m so excited that we finally got to sit down and have this conversation. It was so fun, and I’m just so grateful to you.
Mercedes Aguirre (30:06.907)
Ding.
I know.
Mercedes Aguirre (30:14.494)
Thank you for inviting me. Thanks guys.