The President announced his plan during the State of the Union Address, mirroring the demands of the caregiving workforce in the Commonwealth
In Tuesday night’s State of the Union Address, President Biden unveiled his plans to hold nursing homes accountable to their workforce and for the care they provide, and make the quality of care and facility ownership more transparent so that potential residents and their loved ones can make informed decisions about care.
The announcement resonated with nursing home workers in Pennsylvania who are demanding statewide reform now to protect residents and stop the care crisis. In response to the State of the Union, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania President Matthew Yarnell issued the following statement:
“Nursing home residents and caregivers are paying the price for years of understaffing and underfunding which has left our long term care system in a catastrophic crisis. The president’s announcement means that it’s all the more urgent for the Commonwealth to enact and fund real nursing home reform in this state budget. Given Pennsylvania’s rapidly-aging population, it is imperative to fix this broken system and ensure all people have safe, reliable options for quality care in the setting of their choice.
“Nursing home owners and our elected leaders must listen to and come together with workers to build the solutions we need for reform. This includes strong staffing standards, good jobs with fair wages, benefits, and training to recruit a strong workforce, and accountability to protect both residents and workers and ensure funding is spent on care.
“President Biden’s announcement highlights the need for transparency to protect residents and workers from “bad actor” nursing home owners who put profits over people and have histories of poor care and practices in other states. With over 70% of nursing home funding coming from taxpayer dollars, the public has the right to know that these funds are going directly to care and strengthening the workforce, and our state legislature has the responsibility to provide that accountability.
This year is a turning point. We must commit to making permanent, sustainable reform to the Commonwealth’s nursing homes and improving care.”
For Immediate Release: March 2, 2022
Contact: Karen Gownley, 717-805-6070; karen.gownley@seiuhcpa.org