Sample Nursing Home Employee Letter to Legislator
Examples:
Letter 1
Dear (Legislator’s Name),
I work at (Nursing Home Name) in your district. I am writing to ask that you work to ensure that our frail elderly and disabled get the care they need.
Like most of my colleagues, I love my job. It is difficult and challenging, but nothing is more gratifying than the smiles, hugs and words of gratitude that we get from our residents and their families. Our nursing home is very much its own community, and we work hard to ensure that our residents have a high quality of life, despite their health.
As Pennsylvania’s population ages, and as more and more residents come to our nursing home with chronic conditions that require continuous care, the need to ensure we have a network of compassionate and competent caretakers to help them is vital.
In Pennsylvania, nursing homes are underfunded about $5,000 per year for each Medicaid resident they care for, and two out of every three residents are on Medicaid. Each year, it gets harder for nursing homes to compete for staff with other health care settings that aren’t as dependent on Medicaid reimbursements as we are.
Turnover undermines quality care. Come meet our residents, and they’ll tell you how important it is that a familiar face cares for them each day. Caretakers who stay on the job longer get to know their patients well, and better understand their needs and interests.
Please make quality care and quality of life for Pennsylvania’s nursing home residents a priority in this budget season. The men and women in my nursing home deserve to age with dignity and respect.
Sincerely,
Name,
Position at Facility
Facility Name
Letter 2
Dear (Legislator’s Name),
I work at (YOUR FACILITY’S NAME) in (CITY). I am writing to you about the importance of adequate Medicaid funding for Pennsylvania’s nursing homes. Pennsylvania is the third oldest state in the nation, and we have a large number of elderly and disabled residents who need around-the-clock care that nursing homes provide. That is why their families turned to us. Neither the Governor’s proposed budget nor Senate Bill 850 includes sufficient funding for the care of these very sick and frail residents.
I love my job and I take pride in working hard to help our residents live their best quality of life. Without adequate funding, I worry whether we’ll have the resources we need to care for these frail and elderly residents.
In Pennsylvania, two out of every three nursing home residents are on Medicaid, and for each one of them, a nursing home suffers an average loss of $14 a day, or $5,000 a year. When government fails to live up to its obligation to cover the cost of care for our residents, it impacts all of us who work here. It makes our challenging jobs even more difficult. My colleagues and I are doing our part to ensure the highest quality of care for our residents – but we need you to do your part.
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue. I invite you to come to our nursing home and meet the staff and residents firsthand and learn about the care we provide for our residents, and how much more difficult that is becoming because of years of insufficient funding.
Sincerely,
Name,
Position at Facility
Facility Name