By: Christian Petersen, Government Relations Manager
Connecticut Children’s is pleased to once again join children’s hospitals from across the country for the Children’s Hospital Association’s Annual Family Advocacy Day in Washington, DC. This week, Connecticut Children’s patient champion Carter and his mom Ashley, dad Matt, and brother Calvin, are joining Senior Director for Government Relations and External Affairs Jane Baird, and Government Relations Manager Christian Petersen in DC to advocate with members of Congress and encourage them to boldly support the health systems, pediatric professionals, and community investments that help children and families thrive.
At the end of each day Christian, Ashley, and Jane will provide a recap summarizing the day’s activities and key takeaways. Follow along on their journey!
Arrival in Washington, DC
Wednesday kicked off 2026 Family Advocacy Week! Carter, Ashley and the rest of the family hit the road early, excited for the next couple of days in Washington, DC advocating on behalf of children’s hospitals and the patient families they serve.
Carter brought great energy to the trip from the very beginning and was excited to experience Washington, DC and represent Connecticut Children’s alongside patient families from across the country.
After arriving in DC, we headed over to the hotel where many of the Children’s Hospital Association’s (CHA) events and activities will take place over the next few days. We stopped by the CHA check-in desk to pick up our materials for the week, including fact sheets for our meetings on Capitol Hill and Carter’s patient ambassador trading card.
After check-in, I got to work finalizing our Family Advocacy Week meetings, while Carter and the family spent some time exploring Washington, DC and taking in the sights before dinner with CHA at the hotel.
Looking Ahead to Advocacy on Capitol Hill
Thursday and Friday are shaping up to be busy days! We have briefings and family events hosted by CHA, along with several meetings on Capitol Hill with members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation. We are looking forward to connecting with dozens of patient families from across the country and sharing the importance of investing in pediatric health care.
Patient families are our strongest advocates, and we are so grateful for families like Carter's who are eager to share their story and use their voices to support pediatric health systems like Connecticut Children’s.