I. FOLLOWING THE NARRATIVE: A quick summary of national media trends last week.
(*LeadingAge is featured in the story.)
Ongoing discussion of the Biden Administration American Jobs Plan with a specific focus on the $400B for caregiving continued, as did pick up of LeadingAge’s Blueprint for a Better Aging Infrastructure; other recurring topics include vaccination progress and ongoing challenges among healthcare workers and other adults, as well as state-level civil liability protection legislation.
Federal Legislation
- HuffPost: Why Joe Biden’s Economic Plan Includes Home Health Care, Not Just Roads And Bridges
- *Kaiser Health News/NPR Shots: What’s In Biden’s $400 Billion Plan To Support Families’ Long-Term Health Needs
- *Reuters: Top White House economist defends ‘care economy’ as infrastructure
- McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Biden’s $400 billion proposal for HCBS won’t address all problems in LTC, expert warns
- McKnight’s Senior Living: Newly unveiled American Jobs Plan could lead to union organizing uptick
- ABC: Biden’s ambitious expansion of long-term care sparks debate
- *Home Health Care News: America’s Home Care Infrastructure Is Crumbling. Here’s How to Fix It
Vaccines
- Washington Post: Should health-care workers be required to get coronavirus shots? Companies grapple with mandates
- *McKnight’s Senior Living: Most large employers expect to offer vaccines to employees on-site: survey
- *McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Just 24% of long-term care workers don’t plan to get vaccinated: survey
- AP/ABC News: Summoning seniors: Big new push to vaccinate older Americans
- CNN Newsroom with Pamela Brown: As workplaces debate mandatory vaccines, one CEO shares her team’s vaccination successes
Liability
- McKnight’s Senior Living: COVID-19 liability protection bill goes to Kentucky governor as shield laws gain traction among states
- McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Providers pushing back against effort that would make nursing homes liable for COVID-19 failures
- ABC News: Cuomo repeals nursing home and hospital COVID-19 liability protections
Joining policymakers and numerous long-term care CEOs as a speaker at the Apr. 7 National Association of Health Care Assistants CNA Virtual March on Washington, our CEO and president Katie Smith Sloan outlined an organization-wide LeadingAge effort that builds on our advocacy for a strong workforce and research into what that takes to drive transformational change.
- *Skilled Nursing News: For True Nursing Home Reforms, Operators and Experts Agree: ‘Invest in CNAs’
- *McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: ‘Words are not enough’: Employers, leaders push to increase CNA wages
II. Other Clips That Influenced the Week: LeadingAge is a sought-out, reliable source for multiple trade and national media outlets (see that coverage on our Driving the Conversation page). Other key clips shaped the narrative last week:
- *Skilled Nursing News: Infection Control Immediate Jeopardy Citations Tripled in 2020 — and Nursing Homes Should Expect Even More
- *McKnight’s Senior Living: 75 percent of not-for-profit aging service providers need more relief funds: LeadingAge survey
- Home Health Care News: PACE Providers Shift Services Toward the Home Amid Nation’s Long-Term Care Overhaul
- Hospice News: CMS Proposes 2.3% Pay Raise for Hospices, Updates Conditions of Participation
- *McKnight’s Senior Living: $100 million boost from HHS will expand COVID-19 vaccine access for independent living residents, others
- *McKnight’s Senior Living: HUD more than doubles allocation for affordable housing to almost $700M through Housing Trust Fund
- AARP: Nursing Home Residents Get First Hugs in a Year, As Visits Resume
- Home Health Care News: Senior Helpers Likely to Be the First of Many Home Care Dominoes to Fall in 2021
- Fox TV Nashville: Digging Out: Fixing systemic problems in Tennessee nursing homes
- Slate: John Oliver Looks Into the Long-Term Care Industry (Note: LeadingAge’s updated nursing home reform & accountability talking points are here.)
III. What’s On Our Radar This week’s likely priorities:
- Continued discussion of Biden Administration’s America’s Jobs Plan, caregiving and aging services as part of U.S. healthcare infrastructure; monitoring various stakeholders’ positions on Care Economy
- Biden Administration budget
IV. National Statements & Products (all posted on ‘Driving the Conversation’ page)
- Springtime Reunions & Gratitude: Communications Toolkit
- Op-eds
- Media releases
- Phone script for reporter pitches
- Social Media Posts and Creative
- Careers in Aging Week (Apr. 18-24)
- Social Media Posts and Creative
V. State Resources Rundown: State Association COVID Media Materials: A folder of helpful resources, sample op eds, fact sheets, and more.
