A Call to Action

The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) is excited to be celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year. ACU's mission is to improve the health of underserved communities and to develop and support those clinicians who choose to serve them. Over these 10 years, ACU has engaged in activities and programs to fulfill our mission. Our oft-used acronym, C.A.R.E.S., refers to our organizational strength - i.e., supporting Clinicians in Communities through Advocacy, Research, Education, and Service.

ACU members— clinicians in practice, students, advocates, and academicians, as well as health care clinics, health departments, national, regional, and state primary care organizations, and professional societies--are on the front lines in health care with America's underserved vulnerable communities. We serve individuals who typically have little or no other access to health care services. They are among the approximately 46 million people in this country (one in five) who have no health insurance. They may speak little or no English. Often they lack the means to pay for prescription medicines that others take for granted. Our members are also on the front lines of health policy, working to establish a more equitable health care system.

Throughout the year, ACU will be expanding its advocacy efforts to make our health care system more inclusive, more responsive, and more accessible to all residents of the United States. We have already created a monthly electronic newsletter, Advocacy NOW!, to provide relevant and up-to-date health policy information and the tools to take action when and where it is needed. We are currently enhancing this website to reflect the active role we are taking in Washington, D.C., on health policy issues. ACU's first national conference is being planned for September 29 - October 1, 2006 in Washington, D.C. We hope you will join us there to become more engaged in this critically important dialogue.

ACU membership is invited to work with the advocacy committee in the development of policy briefs on topics of greatest importance to its membership. To join the advocacy committee acu@clinicians.org.

We urge our members to:

• Write, e-mail, telephone and, when they are back in your home district, meet with your elected representatives. Let them know that their constituents are not getting the care they need and why [i.e. lack of health insurance, interpreters, transportation, limited healthcare workforce or other needed resources].
• Collaborate with local media by writing letters to the editor, op-ed columns on health care access.
• E-Mail advocacy@clinicians.org with examples of the inequities in care and the consequences/solutions that you see in your own practice. ACU will compile and present these cases to state and federal officials as we work on these issues on your behalf.
• Educate your friends, neighbors and local leaders on how these issues impact the whole community.
• Read our Policy Briefs section to educate yourself, and consider writing a brief of your own to submit to the site. (Please read submission guidelines carefully.)
• Develop advocacy skills using resources such as the KaiserEdu.

You are not alone. We are working in concert with many organizations whose work and resources address the need for a continuum of health care services in our underserved communities. Together we will overcome the barriers that our patients and clinicians face to secure high quality, patient centered, culturally appropriate health care for our patients, our families, our friends, and ourselves.