Sample Nursing Home Family Member Letter to Editor
Dear Editor:
Look behind the numbers and you’ll see the faces of Medicaid. People like me and thousands of others like me in Pennsylvania --- older men and women who rely on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities for assistance with daily living needs.
As the state works to craft a 2009-10 budget, lawmakers and the administration would be wise to remember those who are affected by their decisions. Failure to fully fund nursing homes threatens the viability of Pennsylvania’s long-term care system and jeopardizes the quality of services that people like me and 80,000 other residents receive in skilled care.
Like most people, I never thought about aging when I was young, and I never thought about a nursing home when I got older. I was fortunate to find a facility that can help me lead a high quality of life, and fortunate to have caretakers who work so hard to help me ensure my health and dignity as I age. I know from talking to other residents here that they feel the same.
None of us ever wanted to ask for help. But when we needed it, as we do now, we’re sure glad it was there, as it is now, too. Our hope is that it stays that way.
All of us are concerned that nursing homes won’t get the level of state funding they need, and that the services and care we’ve come to rely on may change or disappear. Many of us have nowhere left to turn. And now we’re hoping the state won’t turn its back on us.
SINCERELY,