Thirty-Five Years ago I began my career in Long Term Care. A few years later, I answered the call to became a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. “A shout out to all of the Nursing Home Administrators in our community and surrounding areas that have committed to a 24/7, 365 days set of responsibilities.” I absolutely love caring for those, that have lived years of experiences, shared their personal stories, and bring joy to my heart each day. We as leaders of our long-term care services support our direct and indirect caregivers to the best of our abilities. TOGETHER we do make a difference! We navigate the regulatory changes, ensure financial viability and work daily to improve the lives of our residents and staff.
Through these years, there have been many changes in the field of Senior Services. From the expansion into Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, and Homecare/Hospice to name a few. There has been one thing during these years that has been consistent and that is the lack of funding for these services. Yesterday, a colleague and I had the pleasure of traveling to the Twin Cities to participate in an Advocacy event at the Minnesota State Capital with other healthcare leaders from around the state. We brought with us messages from our staff to share with our legislators that stressed the importance of distributing some of the 17.5 billion dollar surplus with our Healthcare Industries. We are told by our trade associations, Leading Age MN and Minnesota Hospital Association, that these grassroots efforts due make a difference in the legislative decision-making process. We remain eternally optimistic that one day our legislative body will correct a reimbursement system that seems flawed especially when so many lives depend on these services. I invite each of you, to share our message with your legislator in hopes that TOGETHER we can continue to provide our services and make a difference in the lives of our residents, tenants, patients and caregivers.
Kris Jacobson, LNHA, LALD, MBA
JMHS CEO
