As part of AMD Awareness Month, and having declared the fourth week in February Access in Sight – National Macular Degeneration Advocacy and Action Week, the Age-related Macular Degeneration Foundation (AMDF) is inviting members of the AMD community to come to Washington, DC, on February 28-29, to meet with their representatives in Congress and the Senate to convey several messages of importance to the AMD community and everyone affected by low vision. We will also be creating digital opportunities for constituents to contact their representatives in advance of the DC-based activities.
The issues we will be focusing on this year will be:
- Access to care/transportation: difficulties getting to and from eyecare appointments and other aspects of daily living; solutions
- Access to assistive devices and services: seeking a change in Medicare coverage to offset these prohibitively expensive devices that hold the potential to restore elements of independence to those who have lost it due to low vision
- Increased federal support for eye research at the NEI: new drugs for Geographic Atrophy originated in research supported by the NEI; continuous and increased funding is necessary to bring more promising treatments to patients
- The maintenance of critical federal support for national vision/eye disease surveillance through the CDC
Activities will include:
February 28 — dinner and advocacy training in the evening (costs covered by AMDF and NAEVR) at a hotel-to-be-determined that is close to the following day’s activities
February 29 AM — Capitol Hill visits by participating advocates and supporting members of the AMDF/NAEVR team
February 29 — 12-1PM — Congressional Briefing in the Senate Rayburn Building, featuring a patient speaker and an NEI-supported scientist (boxed lunch provided by AMDF)
February 29 PM — Capitol Hill visits by participating advocates and supporting members of the AMDF/NAEVR team
Participating advocates will need to cover the costs of transportation, hotel (a block of rooms in a hotel near the Senate Rayburn Building will be reserved at a discounted rate), and meals other than dinner on February 28 and lunch at the Congressional Briefing on February 29.
If you are interested in participating, please email Matthew Levine [email protected] and Jennifer Williams [email protected].