Portrait of an Activist:  Laura Willingham

By: Morgan Sheets

When she is not busy taking care of two daughters under the age of three or working as the ACA’s new National Peer Network (NPN) consultant, Laura Willingham might be answering a call from one of the support group leaders or volunteers in Region L.  Willingham is one of the ACA’s regional representatives, overseeing and assisting members in Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska. 

Laura is also an ACA-certified peer visitor and peer visitor trainer heading out to hospitals and prosthetic facilities to meet with new amputees and help them navigate the road to rehabilitation.  Laura is also the leader of the Washington state campaign for prosthetic coverage.

A group of patients and activists came together to work with the ACA on a prosthetic coverage bill in the summer of 2006.  Since then, Willingham has been leading the committee in their efforts to build a parity campaign.  Last year, they focused on recruiting members for the committee and raising awareness about the need for parity legislation.  They also held a very successful statewide petition drive collecting hundreds of signatures in a few short months. 

In an effort to strengthen the Washington campaign, Laura worked to identify partners who were willing to sign on and endorse the parity bill.  It is important to have other organizations on record in support of the legislation.  This demonstrates that a broad range of groups agree with the policy and helps to influence lawmakers. 

Willingham was able to generate endorsements from a number of groups including the Swedish Hospital Board of Directors and Life Care Centers of America.  She also worked to engage the Washington Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (WOPA) and local small businesses in the parity initiative. 

Recently, the Washington campaign has put a lot of their energy into identifying a sponsor to introduce their bill in the 2008 session. This has been very successful.  Both Representative Christine Rolfes, the Assistant Majority Whip and Representative Mike Sells are coordinating with the committee to get the bill introduced. 

The committee is also gearing up to support the federal parity bill, which will be introduced in 2008.  Washington will play an important role.  They have members on the two key House committees --- House Energy & Commerce and House Education & Labor.  Senator Patty Murray is also on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). 

The Washington campaign committee is comprised of a strong group of activists from throughout the state, but they owe a great deal of their success to the strong leadership of Laura. 

Sheets is the National Advocacy Director for the Amputee Coalition of America.  To get involved in your state parity efforts, contact the ACA at state@amputee-coalition.org. To find out more about the ACA’s Congressional initiative, contact us at federal@amputee-coalition.org.