CHCC is a member of Washington Health Care Association — a nonprofit industry group that promotes quality care and advocates for those who live and work in long-term care and assisted living centers.
WHCA is well respected in our industry, which is why CHCC’s CEO, Patrick O’Neill, chooses to serve on their board of directors.
WHCA is currently fighting to protect funding for care centers across the state — an issue that impacts the financial integrity of CHCC — and they could use your help.
If you are a person who is impacted by the long-term care industry (staff, resident, family member or designated representatives), we ask that you consider sending a message to Washington state legislators through this website: https://www.whca.org/advocacy/action-center/
The advocacy issue:
In mid-March, the federal government began providing the state of Washington supplemental funding for Medicaid programs to address the unanticipated costs associated with fighting the pandemic.
Through that funding, long-term care centers like CHCC received an additional $29 per day for each Medicaid resident to offset the cost of COVID-19 expenses — estimated by WHCA to be closer to $50 per day for each resident.
The emergency federal funding has helped CHCC keep its residents and staff safe by paying for extra personal protective equipment, enhanced environmental services (cleaning and sanitizing) and additional staffing expenses. The funding helps us maintain compliance with numerous governmental regulations and policies that have rolled out during the pandemic — policies designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community and protect long-term care center residents.
That supplemental funding from Washington state has now been reduced to $5 per day for each Medicaid resident. The reduction of funding comes at a time when our diligence must remain high in order to protect those who live and work here.
For the long term sustainability of CHCC and other care centers in our state, we need our community to help tell legislative leaders that it is not OK to reduce the funding necessary to care for residents and staff while we are still working to comply with new policies and regulations linked to COVID-19. Please consider using the form on this page to send an email to our state’s legislative authorities.