Advocate Advocate – We Need Change

Today I am in Washington, D.C., trying to plead with our legislators that a true crisis in Senior Living Care and Acute care services is coming. This is a plea I have been making over the past 25 years of my career, the message hasn’t changed, but certainly, the urgency post-pandemic has elevated this message to a new level. Over the past few weeks, I have heard from family members, residents, and staff about how our crisis’s lack of funding and attention is impacting their lives. They are looking to me for answers, to solve the situation, and to promise that things will change. I can’t make that promise that things will change in the immediate future, and it breaks my heart. It breaks my heart when my father texts me to say that the Memory Care Facility my stepmother is in is so short-staffed that they are asking families to support the needs of their loved ones by feeding them, providing their cares, and sitting with them. Yet we understand the financial costs to families that seek a higher level of care with the expectation that they are paying for caregiver support, so why are we asking them to pitch in? This crisis is occurring EVERYWHERE, not just in Dawson, MN. I can continue to provide stories like this, but it will not change the environment we are currently operating in. Our staff are tireless caregivers who put their patients, residents, and tenants needs above their own. They deserve better, but our current Federal and State funding mechanisms do not support the cost of care at this time and continue to increase our regulatory burdens. Inflation is the highest in years, and we continue to have a severe caregiver shortage post-pandemic. These issues are HUGE, but collectively let us make our voices heard. Together we can inspire change, which is why I, too, am pleading for your help in understanding the issues and supporting our message to our State and Federal Legislators.

Kris Jacobson,  LNHA, LALD, MBA
JMHS CEO

State Legislators

Federal Legislators