Special Session Ahead - Still Time for the Quality Assurance Fee

Thursday, March 11

Although this year's legislative session is expected to end at midnight tonight, it looks like lawmakers will come back for a special session next week.

We need to keep up the fight to Save Long-Term Care and Stop the Cuts.

Our emails and phone calls are making a difference, but we need to keep up the pressure. Click here to send an email to your legislator to urge them to support the Quality Assurance Fee: http://775nw.seiu.org/page/speakout/2010leg511

The House and Senate budget proposals include millions of dollars in cuts to home care services for the elderly and disabled, nursing homes and adult day health.

There is a simple, common sense proposal that would prevent these cuts from happening.

Money created by the Quality Assurance Fee - charged to nursing homes - would bring in federal matching funds without running up the state's deficit.

The federal government will match every dollar generated by the fee from nursing homes. The proposal will bring in tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to virtually every nursing home in the state and help ensure quality care for vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities.

Washington state is only one of 13 states that does not take advantage of this federal funding. The fee is supported a substantial majority of nursing homes in Washington State, as well as the Washington Health Care Association, the Residents Council of Washington, the Washington State Senior Citizens' Lobby, and nursing home workers across the state.

Click here to send an email to your legislators. Urge them to support the Quality Assurance Fee (HB 3021/SB 6751): http://775nw.seiu.org/page/speakout/2010leg511

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Rebuilding Our Economic Future Public Service Announcement on the Budget

Thursday, March 4

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This is a last minute push to email legislators to stop cuts to home care hours.

Wednesday, March 3

The House of Representatives hasn't yet voted on amendments that would restore the cuts they made. We still have a chance to pass these amendments.

Email your Representatives as soon as possible. Urge them to prevent further cuts to hours.
Last week the House and Senate finally released their budget proposals. The Senate's proposal was a little better than the House and with some changes over the weekend, they restored some of the home care cuts we were facing.

But the House still needs to get their act together. They released a plan for raising revenue yesterday - which is good.

But they still need to prevent further cuts to home care. This is bad.

Click here to send an email. Time is running out.

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Cathy Byrd, David Lindberg, Ivy Williams and Flash Scaff, Jr. Deliver 14,000 Signatures to Key Budget Writers in Olympia

Monday, March 1

Four home care workers - Cathy Byrd, David Lindberg, Ivy Williams and Flash Scaff, Jr.- spoke for 14,000 in Olympia when they delivered names of members who support raising revenue and preventing cuts to home care and other critical long-term care services. We collected the names in two big binders and delivered them to key budget decision makers. Since home care workers don't have a common workplace, the petition “signed” virtually or over the phone.


Video



We met with Speaker of the House Frank Chopp; Representative Kelli Linville (Chair, House Ways and Means Committee); Representative Eric Pettigrew (Chair, House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee); Representative Eileen Cody (Chair, House Health and Wellness Committee); Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and Marty Loesch (Governor Gregoire’s Director of Outreach and General Counsel). We also delivered books to the offices of Senator Margarita Prentice (Chair, Senate Ways and Means Committee); Senator Rodney Tom (Vice Chair, Operating Budget, Senate Ways and Means Committee); and Senator Karen Keiser (Chair, Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee).

Pictures

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Working Together with (Almost All) of Our Home Care Employers in Olympia

Tuesday, February 16

We held our most successful home care quarterly employers meeting to date on February 16th. Eight of our nine Washington home care agencies attended, with the anti-union management of Korean Women’s Association being the only exception.

Employer representatives were particularly engaged in discussions around Legislative strategy, our home and community-based services provider tax bill, rule making around home care certification and testing fees. Many also committed to weighing in the Department of Health rulemaking process to create a fair certification and exam system for the new training standards that are set to begin in 2011.

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775NW Member Chris Hardin and His Client Featured on King 5 News

Saturday, February 13

Click here for the written story on the King 5 News Web site.

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Nursing Home Workers Rally for Funding in Olympia

Friday, February 12

Nursing home workers are voicing support for a new funding source for nursing homes in Washington. It's known as a Quality Assurance Fee, and it is already used in more than 30 other states.

Donna Peake, a certified nurse's assistant in Vancouver, says such a dedicated funding source would be welcome. Cuts by her employer have meant fewer caregivers, and more frustration for staff and residents, she says.

"You've got to take shortcuts to meet the care; to try to get things done when you're working with that many residents. It's hard. It hurts me, because I know I'm better than that, but because we don't have the staff, I can't deliver the quality care that they need to have."

The House bill (HB 3021) to create the fee is sponsored by Representative Tami Green of Lakewood, a registered nurse who has worked in long-term care facilities. It has 23 co-sponsors. The Senate bill is SB 6751.

Click here to hear the radio story.

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Save Long-Term Care Day a HUGE Success

Monday, January 25

Hundreds of Caregivers came to Olympia on Monday, January 25, for Save Long-Term Care Day.

We marched on the Capitol, met with dozens of senators and representatives and asked lawmakers to close tax loopholes and look for other sources of revenue to balance the state budget. in order to avoid devastating cuts to long-term care.

Because of budget cuts in 2009, the state eliminated 227,045 hours of care each month for vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities who receive home care services. Long-term care can’t take more cuts!

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Watch The Movie

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See Some of the Pictures

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Sharon Kitchel-Perdue and Susie Young Invited to Participate in Long-Term Care Work Session

Tuesday, January 19

Sharon Kitchel-Perdue, an Individual Provider from Olympia, and Susie Young, an agency home care aide from Spokane, presented before the House Health and Human Services Appropriations committee. They presented alongside consumer advocates and services providers about the impact of budget cuts on the long-term care and developmental disability supports systems.

Susie and Sharon discussed the challenges recruiting and retaining qualified workers, and the impact of the proposed cuts to health insurance and home care hours on consumers and caregivers. Susie and Sharon’s statements were very powerful.

Click here to listen to their testimony (the cameras are pointed toward the legislators, but you can still here Sharon and Susie.)

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Judy Harris from Port Orchard Testifies Before the Senate Ways and Means Committee

Monday, January 18

Judy Harris testified yesterday before the Senate Ways and Means Committee on the impact of the budget cuts. Keeping it short and to the point, she did a great job of explaining why we need to raise revenue and stop the cuts to home care.

Click below to watch her testimony.

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Facing a $2.6 billion budget deficit, we need to act now to save long-term care

Friday, January 8th

Sign Our Petition Today - We will be delivering all of your signatures on Monday.

This year's Washington state legislative sesion is starting on Monday. There is still time to sign our petition to Governor Gregoire and the legislature urging them to save long-term care, stop the cuts and raise revenue.

As we begin the New Year our state is faced with some stark choices about our future and the things we value. Do we put college out of reach for more than 10,000 low-income students by cutting their financial aid or do we close unjustified tax loopholes? Do we kick hundreds of thousands of people (including 16,000 kids) off of health insurance or explore new sources of revenue?

We need to send a loud and clear message that legislators should not balance the budget on the backs of working families, our kids, the most vulnerable, and the environment. That is why we are joining organizations across the state to deliver thousands of petitions to the capitol on the first day of session.

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