Empowering Patients is an initiative of the Nurses for the Affordable Care Act, a committee of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Nurse Alliance. SEIU's Nurse Alliance is comprised of over 85,000 Registered Nurses across 21 states.

Chaired by Cathy Glasson, an RN and president of SEIU Local 199 in Iowa, the Nurses for the Affordable Care Act committee has recruited over 40 nurses from 7 states (CA, TX, IA, NY, PA, WV, FL) who are committed to empowering their patients with the information they need about how the healthcare law benefits them.

As trusted voices in the healthcare field, our nurses are well-positioned to educate their fellow nurses and their patients about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. Senator Harkin's Nurse Advisory Committee has held several nurse-to-nurse forums, and Cathy Glasson's participation on the Senator's Nurse Advisory Committee has inspired our Empowering Patients Initiative.

During the pilot phase, beginning this summer through the fall, our nurses are holding forums hosted by hospitals in their states to educate fellow nurses. Our nurses have been trained on the benefits of the healthcare law and will talk about the law from the perspective of a skilled healthcare provider. The Empowering Patients presentation encourages nurses to think about the benefits of the healthcare law as a WIN for patients, and challenges nurses to think about W-I-N on each shift: Who needs Information Now? The nurses are partnering with allies in several areas who can serve as a policy resource for questions about the Affordable Care Act.

This fall, the Empowering Patients Initiative will widen its scope to include additional states as well as broader forum audiences.