DES PLAINES, Ill. – The Emergency Nurses Association today announced it is being recognized by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) with a 2018 Gold Circle Award in the advocacy category. ENA is receiving the award for the hard work of its members and staff in the passage of H.R. 304, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act.

ENA developed a multi-faceted advocacy strategy that involved direct lobbying in Congress, including more than 250 Capitol Hill meetings, and an extensive grassroots letter-writing campaign by ENA members, generating more than 400 emails to Senators and Representatives. Throughout our campaign in support of the bill, ENA worked closely with a broad-based coalition of stakeholders to maximize the impact of our congressional outreach. As a result of these initiatives and the enactment of H.R. 304 in November of last year, emergency medical services (EMS) practitioners can continue to utilize standing orders to administer life-saving medications to millions of patients requiring emergency care.

“It's hard to imagine how our colleagues in EMS could have continued to deliver care without this legislation” said ENA president Jeff Solheim, MSN, RN, CEN, TCRN, CFRN, FAEN, FAAN. “This advocacy campaign – and the passage of this legislation – will lead to better outcomes for millions of patients in emergency situations.”

The Gold Circle Awards competition is the premier association marketing, membership and communications award that recognizes excellence, innovation and achievement in association/nonprofit marketing, membership and communications programs. This year’s competition received more than 183 entries across 15 categories, including convention/meeting campaign, member retention campaign, print magazine, and video.

“This award recognizes associations who are effectively including elements of creativity, design, technology, and metrics,” said ASAE president and CEO John H. Graham IV, FASAE, CAE. “Marketing, membership and communications plays an important role for associations – it’s the primary means for sharing information with members and staff as well as branding the organization to the global community. Congratulations!”

Entries for the Gold Circle Awards competition are judged consistently in each category based on criteria established by the ASAE Gold Circle Award Committee for excellence in association marketing, membership and communications programs.

“Our members submitted outstanding entries this year. The quality of work our judges review require tough choices to determine the Gold Circle Award winners,” said Paula Gonzalez, Director of Member Relations at Produce Marketing Association and chair of the Gold Circle Awards Committee.

ENA will receive its second Gold Circle Award at ASAE’s Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference in Washington D.C. May 22-23.

“I’m really proud of how active our association is when it comes to government relations and advocacy,” said Solheim. “Safe practice and safe care is what we stand for and if you look at what our members are doing, they’re putting those words into practice.”