Pill bottles mark advocacy groups'attempts to effect health care reform

Most people think of messages in a bottle as evoking a stranded castaway, or a tropical discovery on a sandy beach. AARP hopes it will send some congressional leaders as a message as they prepare to head back to Washington DC.


The group, which advocates for improved retirement living conditions for members, has taken on healthcare reform as its chief priority as summer winds down.

They recently initiated a press conference in Peoria, Illinois, calling on Congressman Aaron Schock to commit to improving medical services for aging constituents.


"AARP is bringing to Congressman Schock a prescription for reform from his constituents: fix what's wrong with our health care system, and preserve what's right," said volunteer Mary Patton. "We cannot afford not to fix healthcare."


Patton and others then delivered pill bottles filled with residents' stories to Schock's office, part of a statewide initiative to deliver thousands of similar messages to legislators.


© Copyright