Bill Klaproth (Host): This is an AAOMS On The Go podcast. I'm Bill Klaproth, and I'm pleased to welcome with me today, Dr. John Rydlewicz, a member of the OMSPAC Board of Directors, who is here to talk about his experience hosting legislators in his office and to provide tips for others who are interested.

Dr. Rydlewicz, thank you so much for being here.

John Rydlewicz, DDS: Bill, it's a pleasure to be with you today. Thank you for having me.

Host: Absolutely. So let's start with this question. What made you want to host a member of Congress in your office?

John Rydlewicz, DDS: Bill, that's a great question. I have a great kind of passion for our specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery, and I wanted to find a way to kind of give back to the specialty, it's given so much to me and to our patients. So I thought, it'd be great to host one of my representatives to kind of help inform them, to educate them about what our oral surgery issues are and how they affect our patients, how they affect our patients' care, and also how the oral surgeons are affected, who provide their care.

Host: It's always good to make those relationships, isn't it?

John Rydlewicz, DDS: Yeah, it's really important, as we all know, that connection is with our legislator is important. It allows us then to better explain why we want something to be done. We can also then express some of our patients stories that kind of hit home why this is an important issue and allow your legislator to know that, hey, there are constituents in your district that have these issues, would you be willing to kind of sign on and help with these issues?

Host: So once you decided you wanted to do this, how did you go about scheduling and preparing for the visit? I mean, how did you contact your legislator?

John Rydlewicz, DDS: Bill, what I did is I reached out to AAOMS Headquarters and I spoke with the staff and I had mentioned, hey, I would really like to take the opportunity to have a member of Congress come to my office so I could show them what we do on a daily basis. So this AAOMS staff contacted my representative and then they figured out when my representative would be in district conducting local affairs.

And that member of Congress's local staff then put together some potential dates for the meeting. AAOMS worked back and forth with them. They coordinated a time and a date. And then the legislator was able to come to my office. It was actually quite a simple process in the sense that I didn't have to do anything.

AAOMS staff did a great job and made it simple. And I was able to then have a productive meeting with my legislator.

Host: And approximately how long were you able to meet with this person?

John Rydlewicz, DDS: About 20 minutes. Obviously, they're busy people and when they're back in district, when they're in your home area, they usually are pretty busy meeting with other constituents, attending other events that have been scheduled. So, I tried to be effective and not, and be respectful of their time and not take too much of it.

But yet, give them enough time so that they get an idea of what an oral maxillofacial surgeon does.

Host: Yeah, so with only 20 minutes, I'm sure you had to be very specific with what you wanted to talk to this person about. So what specific issues or policies did you discuss?

John Rydlewicz, DDS: Yeah. You know, Bill, I was very cognizant that they're bombarded with a lot of information on various political topics. I think if you have the opportunity to attend Day on the Hill, you kind of experience firsthand the number of constituents that come to the Congressional offices to lobby on behalf of their issues.

And I wanted the ability to be able to talk about some specific issues relating to oral surgery and patients of oral surgeons. The big thing is I kept it brief and kept it to a few things because I knew that we have an excellent lobbying team and that they would follow up with the member of Congress's staff and would give more of the details and more of where legislation is, but I specifically talked about two acts that were being, or legislation that AAOMS was supporting.

One of them was called, is called the ELSA Act. And it stands for Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act. And this legislation would require health care, or rather health insurance carriers, to provide services for craniofacial congenital anomalies. Unfortunately, at this time, some carriers will not provide this reimbursement for services necessary to correct the craniofacial anomaly.

The other one that I talked about with my member of Congress was the, called the READY Act, which is the Resident Education Deferment on Interest Act. And this legislation would allow deferment of interest on federal student loans for medical and dental students while in residency.

Really, this legislation is there to help address the economic burden that is required to attend medical school, to attend dental school. And I made it quite clear to my legislator that this is not a debt forgiveness plan, but it's just a deferment of interest. Only on the student, the student debt load while they're in residency.

And that even this little bit makes such a big difference to the residents and being able to pay back their student loan, federal student loans in a timely manner.

Host: Well, it's nice when you finally get an audience with someone like this from Congress, and they really understand and get what you're saying. So, during your discussion, Dr. Rydlewicz, did this member of Congress find anything particularly interesting or compelling, or did the light bulb go off, and they go, I get it. I really understand what you're saying, and I'm going to help you with this.

John Rydlewicz, DDS: Yeah specifically with them coming in, my member of Congress was quite honest and said, Hey, besides wisdom teeth, I really don't know what you guys do and what your scope of practice is for an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. And so, I kind of wanted the opportunity to show them what we do.

And that day we had a lot of emergency patients that were coming into our office. And these emergency patients were coming from our local emergency department at our local hospitals. And they had some significant swellings. And our, my member of Congress got the opportunity to see that we could bring them in, help them deal with this need, resolve the infection, and get them on a way of healing.

And he was really impressed about how efficiently we as oral surgeons, could help to improve the lives of our patients. We also had a lot of post-operative appointments for patients who had surgery on their faces called orthognathic surgery, where you move the maxilla and mandible to help improve inclusion of the patient, but also then to help airway other things.

And he was completely impressed about how you can change someone's appearance and then more importantly the function and potentially the airway to give the patient a better quality of life. So it was neat to be able to share those patient experiences with our legislator so they had an idea of what kind of we do. And it wasn't just wisdom teeth, but some of the bigger issues that we deal with.

Host: That is so great to hear. So him saying, I really don't know much about what you do, except you remove wisdom teeth. That's exactly why you do this. Isn't that right, Dr. Rydlewicz, to educate this person on the specialty in everything you do.

John Rydlewicz, DDS: And that's correct. You know, nobody knows what we do better than ourselves and what services we can provide to our patients. And when we take the time to have them come in, we can show them and educate them. And it helps, then, our lobbying team, too, that when they go back to Washington and deal with our representatives, the aides and the representative may know, Oh, yeah, I remember.

I was in John's office. And, that little profound experience they may have had interacting with one of their, one of the patients can make such a big difference when trying to get them to sign on or to support what we feel is a good goal in oral surgery with AAOMS.

Host: Was there anything else, Dr. Rydlewicz, that you found surprising or interesting about the experience?

John Rydlewicz, DDS: Yeah, Bill, for me it was, how personable the legislators really are. I mean, I know they get elected, right? But sometimes you see them on TV and they are much more formal and they're a little bit more guarded. You know, when I had mine come to my office, I was a little worried about how our conversation would go, right?

Would my representative be relatable? Would we have things to talk about or have things in common? But when I found that, you know, we kind of did our introductions and we started the tour, and I started to explain the issues that are important to our specialty, it was really easy to have a casual but informed discussion with my representative.

And all those kind of worries I had before went away and it was just two people coming together trying to understand that there's a need for constituents and need for oral surgery patients and that we'd like to come together and discuss that. So it was a lot. It was great experience.

Host: Well, I'm so happy to hear that. And even if this is someone you didn't vote for, I mean, you still need to reach out. Connect, try to build that relationship, and get your point across and educate that person about the specialty. That's what it's all about. Even if this person is someone that you didn't necessarily vote for, would that be correct, Dr. Rydlewicz?

John Rydlewicz, DDS: Yeah, and I think that's, in a broader sense, even more important, being a member of the OMSPAC board. You know, I also serve for District 4, and it's understanding that we support all people all across the aisle, and that, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter who we work with, that we're looking to help and promote AAMOS issues and issues that affect oral and maxillofacial surgery.

And so, we look for any type of relationships that can be built. We may not always be on the same side for a certain issue, but hopefully by having a good dialogue, by having a good relationship with that office, that next time they could be our greatest advocate. And that's what's most important for getting things done is being able to have that relationship and being comfortable talking to your member of Congress.

Host: Absolutely. Very well said. So have you remained engaged with this person?

John Rydlewicz, DDS: I do. So, usually what I do is about two to three times a year, I'll call the healthcare policy aid or staff member in the member of my Congress's office. And what I do is I kind of use that time to talk to the staff member and update them of where legislation that AAOMS is supporting, where it is in the process, and kind of asking them, hey, would your member of Congress be willing to sign on to support the bill?

I also then ask them, hey, are there any questions or any potential questions you think that my legislator may have about the act or the legislation that we are promoting. If I can't answer that question, then I pass those questions on to our lobbying team and then they follow up with the office and with the appropriate aid to then get those details. So, it's great because I don't have to worry about if they start asking me about really defined processes relating to the legislation or the fine details.

I don't have to know that. But I know that I can get them in contact with our great lobbying team who will be able to follow up and answer all of those questions and any other issues they may have.

Host: Well, that access is important, and you reaching out and establishing that relationship is certainly making that possible. So, Dr. Rydlewicz, in a nutshell, if you could, could you tell us, in your opinion, how does hosting federal or state lawmakers in OMS offices contribute to building stronger relationships, and why should other OMSs make time to host as you have done?

John Rydlewicz, DDS: We've talked about this so far in the podcast. There's that old adage, it's not what you know, but who you know. And I really believe that to a certain extent. And by us as oral surgeons, taking the time to host a legislator in your office, it really shows a commitment, right, to the policy asks that we're requesting of our legislators to support.

It gives an opportunity for us also, as we talked about earlier, to share patient stories to your representative and to better explain, why we're pushing for these certain issues. Not just federal, but also on state. And state legislators are a little bit easier to schedule visits because they're your next door neighbor and they're in district more.

And most of the time, your state legislator will also be the person running for an open U.S. Senate or U.S. House seat. So having a relationship early on with them and educating them about oral surgery issues makes it a little bit easier then when they get to the federal level to understand why we're doing it.

Also, you know, a lot of times, those issues that present at the federal level started on a smaller state scale. And if you can have that relationship, you can let AAOMS know, you can let the lobbying team know that, Hey, here are some things coming down the pike. Maybe we should get behind this and start addressing it before it comes on a federal level, or at least, figure out where, if we support that, if we don't from an AAOMS perspective.

You know, with the fact of why an oral surgeon should really take the time to host a legislator; we all have busy practices and we can't take the time to go to Washington to participate on Day on the Hill. Although that experience is incredible and it really helps to better understand the legislative process, it's not feasible for most of us.

We have busy schedules. But the great thing about hosting, is that you have a home field advantage. Your legislator is coming to your office and you get to show them the incredible work that we do. Plus, it also makes that experience less intimidating. They're in your office, you know your office well, your staff is there, you're more comfortable, and then it, finally it just gives an opportunity to give back to the specialty and everyone doing their part to make it the best specialty we can.

Host: Yeah, some really good points. It's got to start somewhere, so take the initiative to bring up those important points that you want that person to know about, and hosting them right there in your office, because you can't fly to Washington all the time to participate in Day on the Hill is a great thought. Having them in your office really is convenient, and can be a bit comforting having them right there with you.

But speaking of that comfort, I know you said you were a little bit nervous when this person was coming in before the visit. Do you have any tips for AAOMS members, especially those who may be a bit intimidated to host an elected official?

John Rydlewicz, DDS: Yeah, the most important thing that I learned is that they're people too, right, and that they want to hear from their constituents and they want to know about issues that affect their constituents. What I recommend is read their biography. They're on the Congressional or the State House website.

I typically go and look for news articles or podcasts in which representatives have been involved with. For me, I find that it provides topics to discuss with the legislator outside of politics. I even call the legislative aides and ask them, Hey, are there any hobbies my representative enjoys? Or what personal interests do my member of Congress have outside of Washington?

And when you can take that little bit of personal connection, it then makes the conversation a little bit easier. And it also kind of puts your representative at ease too. And it helps to really foster a relationship.

Host: Those are great ideas. So it sounds like do your research, you said, read, read the bio, look for them on podcasts, search for news stories with that person. Do they have any hobbies or personal interests? You called the office. I think that's great, Dr. Rydlewicz, you really did your homework and your research. And it sounds like that's a great tip for anyone who wants to host a legislator in their office.

John Rydlewicz, DDS: It is, and I've gotten more leg, or leg work, or I've gotten, you know, lot of success with just like this podcast, listening to podcasts and just some of the funny things they may have said or what not and it really helped to break the ice with that member of Congress.

Host: That's a great way to put it. It's a great icebreaker, if you find out that this person is a baseball fan or likes wine or something. You can mention it to them. Hey, how about the team this year? So that is a great icebreaker and is a great idea. Well, Dr. Rydlewicz, this has really been informative. I want to thank you so much for your time. Before we wrap up, is there anything else you want to add about your experience hosting a legislator in your office?

John Rydlewicz, DDS: Yeah the biggest thing is don't be intimidated with the whole process. Please contact the AAOMS Government Affairs staff with any questions you may have, and they'll help facilitate the arrangements, and then provide you guidance for discussions, kind of what to show off in your office or in your tour.

And finally, you know, kind of last but not least, just make the jump. Do it. You won't be disappointed. It can foster a lifelong relationship that not only will enrich your practice or people's practices, but also is going to enrich our wonderful specialty that we have. So, it's something that I've enjoyed doing and will continue to do.

Host: Very well said. And Dr. Rydlewicz we want to thank you so much for the good work you're doing on behalf of the specialty. Thank you so much for your time today. It's been a pleasure talking with you.

John Rydlewicz, DDS: It's been a pleasure speaking with you, Bill.

Host: Well, thank you again. And once again, that is Dr. John Rydlewicz. And for more information, and if you want to get involved in AAOMS's advocacy efforts, visit aaoms.org, of course that's A-A-O-M-S.org/advocacy.

 And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social media and don't forget to subscribe. Thanks for listening.