ADVOCACY
ENA Shaping New Advocacy Department By Kendra Y. Mims, ENA Connection ENA is shaping its new advocacy department with the hiring of its first chief government relations officer. Richard Mereu, JD, MBA, who began his new position with ENA on Dec. 24, has worked in Washington, D.C, for more than 20 years and brings an extensive legislative background and congressional experience to ENA. Susan Hohenhaus, LPD, RN, CEN, FAEN, ENA’s executive director, describes the new position as instrumental in overseeing federal and state advocacy efforts and government relations related to emergency nursing. ‘‘This is the perfect time for ENA to make advocacy for the profession of emergency nursing a priority,’’ Hohenhaus said, ‘‘and Mr. Mereu is the perfect professional to begin this journey with us.’’ Mereu has a JD from Albany Law School and an MBA from The Wharton School. He has worked on a variety of health care issues as chief of staff to Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) and staff director for two subcommittees of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as serving as a professional staff member on the House Judiciary Committee. He believes his vast background is essential to helping ENA shape the new Advocacy Department. ‘‘Throughout my career I’ve had a lot of roles and worked on many issues, everything from health care and budget issues to criminal law matters and immigration,’’ he said. ‘‘We were able to pass several bills that dealt with those issues and fund programs in those areas. ‘‘I think my background is important because the issues that ENA is facing now are so diverse. I know the legislative process very well from having worked in Congress for all of those years. That’s important in terms
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Richard Mereu, JD, MBA, the new ENA chief government relations officer, uses Skype to confer with staff at ENA headquarters from his office in Washington, D.C. of trying to get the initiatives that ENA cares about passed through Congress.’’ ENA’s mission to advocate for patient safety and excellence in emergency nursing practice is one of the factors that attracted Mereu to the position. Based in ENA’s Washington, D.C. office, he looks forward to working on ENA’s top priorities, including workplace violence in the emergency care setting, which he describes as one of the most ‘‘important issues affecting the functioning of emergency departments.’’ ‘‘The primary goal is to establish a very visible presence for ENA on Capitol Hill, to advocate for our priorities in Congress and in front of the whole federal government and to move forward on legislation to the benefit of our members,’’ he said. Mereu had the opportunity to connect with members at ENA’s Emergency Nursing Advocacy Intensive in January when he presented a session on building relationships with legislators and
developing an authoritative voice on Capitol Hill to meet the needs of patients and emergency nurses. JoAnn Lazarus, MSN, RN, CEN, the 2013 ENA president, said, ‘‘I look forward to working with and learning more from Mr. Mereu about legislative and regulatory issues and expanding ENA’s influence.’’ Mereu said his position will allow him to delve much deeper into health care issues. ‘‘I’m extremely excited, especially now that health care reform is passed and it was upheld by the Supreme Court last year,’’ he said. ‘‘That will create opportunities for ENA. Also, everybody recognizes that the role of emergency nurses is so important to our overall health care system, so I’m starting at a very good time in terms of being able to get in at the ground floor as these changes are being implemented at the federal level. I can really influence some of the direction that our health care system is going to go in on behalf of ENA.’’
March 2013