COL (Ret.) Paul W. Bricker and Stephen P. Fleming don’t have much good to say about the months they’ve spent on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bricker, chief operating officer of Knollwood, a life plan community in Washington, DC, calls COVID-19 “a pernicious enemy.” Fleming, president and CEO of the Well•Spring Group in Greensboro, NC, observes that “never have we had a situation that has literally been life and death like this has been.” Both agree that the virus hit their organizations “like a ton of bricks.”

During last Wednesday’s virtual press briefing to kick off our Act for Older Adults campaign, the 2 LeadingAge members told reporters harrowing stories about what it’s been like to lead their organizations through the worst public health crisis to hit our nation in more than a century.

They described in detail their efforts to get their hands on personal protective equipment (PPE) and to offer the robust testing they knew would help contain the spread of COVID-19 among residents and staff.

Fleming shared his discovery, early in the crisis, that the government wasn’t going to help providers of aging services protect older adults from COVID-19, even though the virus had taken the lives of more than 80,000 people over age 65 in only a few months.

“When you know that 50% of the deaths are occurring in long-term care settings, why are you not allocating resources to those organizations?” Steve asked rhetorically with a palpable sense of incredulity.

Why indeed.

Our Act for Older Adults campaign is designed to change that reality. We’re demanding that Congress enact comprehensive relief to help providers of aging services care for Americans who are most susceptible to the deadly coronavirus.

The past 4 months have been a living nightmare for older adults, their families, and LeadingAge members who provide long-term services and supports to the nation’s most vulnerable elders. Yet, government officials have continually ignored our collective cries for help. Now, our nation’s leaders seem eager to put the pandemic behind them, even as 12 states recorded their highest numbers of new COVID-19 cases during the past week alone.

LeadingAge members who fight the coronavirus on a daily basis know this pandemic is far from over. It’s time for our national leaders to reckon with this uncomfortable truth.

Unfortunately, those leaders are doing exactly the opposite. They’re congratulating themselves for “winning the fight” against COVID-19 when they should be actively leading the way through this crisis. They’re turning a deaf ear to our cries for assistance when they should be prioritizing older Americans in their pandemic response.

We’re using our advocacy campaign to demand Five Essential Actions for Older Adults and staff in nursing homes, assisted living, affordable housing, hospice, home health, and community-based services:

• Immediate access to ample and appropriate PPE for all providers who serve older Americans.
• On-demand and fully funded access to accurate and rapid-results testing for older adults and their care providers.
• Assurance that states will consider older Americans’ health and safety as they reopen.
• Funding and support for aging services providers across the continuum of care.
• Pandemic hero pay, paid sick leave, and health care coverage to recognize heroic frontline workers.

These are big asks. But we face big challenges. Weathering the current coronavirus wave—and the future waves that scientists tell us are likely to follow—will take determination and decisive action from all of us, especially our policymakers and national leaders.

Paul, Steve, and other LeadingAge members around the country have done their very best to fight a pernicious enemy and to care for its victims. LeadingAge is proud of all of you. And in your name, we are sending a strong message to our national leaders that you, and the older adults you serve, can no longer fight COVID-19 by yourselves.

It’s time for all of us to stand up and demand that Congress enact comprehensive relief for older Americans. Please join our Act for Older Adults campaign. Add your voice to the voices of your colleagues around the country. Visit our campaign website to find out how you can help us make a difference during this most important time in our history.