Legislative update from The Lutheran Home
In February, I reached out to family and friends of the residents of The Lutheran Home: Belle Plaine to share how our team, and senior care communities across the state, were working with state legislators to advance bills.
The problem stemmed from Minnesota seniors being denied the care they need because there aren’t enough caregivers. In October 2022, more than 11,000 admissions were denied from nursing homes and assisted living communities in Minnesota due to staffing shortages according to a survey conducted by the Long-Term Care Imperative.
The bills, if passed, would ultimately result in increased wages for professional caregivers in aging services. As part of this plan, we asked for your help to support our caregivers and reach out to your legislators. And you came through for us, so thank you!
According to Leading Age, approximately 2,500 advocates connected with lawmakers more than 11,000 times throughout 2023. We also saw 10,500 messages and 240 phone calls to lawmakers.
After the initial Human Services Omnibus Bill failed to include any of the Long-Term Care Imperative’s funding priorities for nursing homes, LeadingAge continued to work with legislators to find a path to obtaining this crucial funding before the session adjourned. This effort culminated in the last-minute approval of a funding package worth more than $350 million allocated to nursing homes in Minnesota over the next four years.
We will continue to educate our local legislators and ensure they know the impact of their proposals on seniors and their caregivers.
Thank you for supporting our care community.
Rick Krant
Administrator