February 28, 2022 Washington, DC — Response from Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO, LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, including nursing homes, on today’s White House statement on improving safety and quality of care in the nation’s nursing homes: 

“Like anyone who cares about America’s older adults, LeadingAge is gratified to see that the Biden Administration is prioritizing long-term care by including it in the State of the Union address. If the past two years have shown us anything, it is that our country’s insufficient and fractured aging services infrastructure is in desperate need of an overhaul. And nursing homes are a key component of that infrastructure. 

We know that transparency, quality improvement, and workforce investments are critical to building better nursing homes for America’s older adults and families. Yet Medicaid, the dominant payer of long-term care services, doesn’t fully cover nursing homes’ cost of quality care. Regulations and enforcement, even with the best intentions, just can’t change that math. 

It’s clear that the President understands that a quality workforce and quality care are inextricably linked. Our solutions to long-standing workforce challenges, many of which will be referenced in the address, include improving recruitment, ensuring access to initial and ongoing quality training, and providing career advancement opportunities. In addition, it’s critical that direct care professionals—most of whom are women of color—earn at least a living wage. This level of compensation, research shows, would reduce turnover and staffing shortages, boost productivity, enhance quality of care, and increase overall economic growth in communities across the country. 

Nonprofit, mission-driven nursing homes are committed to providing quality care for older adults and to always improving their operations and practices. Our system of enforcement shouldn’t be based on punishment over improvement; the system must be transformed.” 

We represent more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations that touch millions of lives every day. Alongside our members and 38 state partners, we use applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building to make America a better place to grow old. Our membership, which now includes the providers of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, encompasses the continuum of services for people as they age, including those with disabilities. We bring together the most inventive minds in the field to lead and innovate solutions that support older adults wherever they call home. For more information visit leadingage.org.