AARP Virginia: ‘Staffing shortages in nursing homes must come to an end’

When Virginia’s General Assembly returns to Richmond this week, AARP Virginia will ask lawmakers to protect at-risk nursing home residents and their families by taking on 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.”

Calfee said 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.”

AARP Virginia supports legislation that will require minimum staffing standards in nursing homes. Virginia currently is one of only 12 states that does not require minimum staffing levels for nursing homes, and inadequate staffing is one of the primary indicators of poor-quality care.

AARP Virginia is part of a coalition of organizations, Virginia Voices for Nursing Home Residents, who support nursing home reform and will encourage the public to call upon lawmakers to enact the legislation.

The group is also encouraging family members of nursing home residents as well as nursing home staff to tell the organization about problems in nursing homes so that they can bring them to the attention of lawmakers.

During the session, AARP Virginia will support legislation addressing the ever-increasing costs of prescription drugs. AARP supports legislation creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Board with the authority to set upper payment limits on certain high-cost prescription medications.

Calfee said the most common challenge he hears from Virginians across the state is the skyrocketing cost of their prescription drugs, which has outpaced inflation.

“We are working hard to put fairness and accountability into the system,” Calfee said. “Medicines only work if patients can afford them.”

With 1 million members in Virginia, AARP is the largest organization working on behalf of people age 50+ and their families in the Commonwealth. In recent years, AARP Virginia has successfully fought for Medicaid expansion, protections for older people against financial exploitation and empowering family caregivers.