The bipartisan 21st Century Long-Term Care Caucus will focus on workforce challenges, industry regulation, and innovations that may improve care in the short or long term.
That was a hot topic in Washington on Tuesday, where more than 500 AHCA and NCAL members gathered for advocacy training and meetings with their elected officials. Steil spoke at the second Congressional Briefing in two days.
Clif Porter, AHCA / NCAL senior vice president for government affairs, encouraged members earlier in the morning to share stories with senators and representatives about the impact of losing 406,000 workers in assisted living and skilled nursing since the pandemic began.
Porter encouraged both urban and rural providers to describe their specific challenges. Nate Schema, president and CEO of the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, planned to do just that when he met with Colorado Senators John Hickenlooper (D), Micahel Bennet (D), and Jon Tester (R) (D-MT).
According to the 2021 LeadingAge Ziegler 200 list, Good Sam, the second-largest nonprofit senior living and care organisation in the country, has closed several buildings in the last year, citing staff shortages. It used to use aggressive tactics to keep rural buildings open with agency workers, but has since reversed course as agency rates doubled and then tripled, Schema told McKnight’s on Tuesday.
“In some of these communities, staffing is absolutely crippling us,” he said.
Since January, Good Sam has had approximately 2,000 job openings, with 40 of those openings now in leadership or director roles.
Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities & Kentucky Center for Assisted Living President Betsy Johnson said she would share information about how a temporary nurse aide training programme has helped providers keep their doors open in meetings with her state’s representatives. Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) is a sponsor of a bill that would extend the programme for another two years, and one of the AHCA / NCAL’s main goals this week was to recruit more co-sponsors in order to build momentum for passage.
Although the 21st Century Long-Term Care Caucus will lack the oversight and other powers of a committee, its founders hope to create opportunities for House members and their staffs to attend events, programmes, and briefings on long-term care issues outside of the formal committee structure.
Although the Senate has an ageing committee, a similar committee in the House was killed in 1992 and has yet to be revived. As a special committee, the Senate Special Committee on Aging lacks legislative authority, but members can study issues, oversee programmes, and advance causes.
