When Virginia’s General Assembly is in town, AARP Virginia will push lawmakers to protect at-risk nursing home residents and their families by taking on long-overdue quality and staffing problems in facilities. “Virginia’s long-standing failure to address staffing shortages in nursing homes must come to an end,” said Jared Calfee, Associate State Director for Advocacy at AARP Virginia. “Too many of Virginia’s 30,000 nursing home residents have suffered due to inaction, and it’s time for that to stop.” AARP Virginia supports House Bill 1564 sponsored by Delegate Vivian Watts. Calfee said Watts and advocates have been bringing the problems in nursing facilities to lawmakers’ attention for more than 20 years, but legislation has failed year after year. “Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away,” Calfee said. “It’s up to the General Assembly to take the lead in ensuring that our nursing home residents are provided with safe, quality care.”
