ALFA Doubles Size of Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, D.C. Feb. 2, 2010 – The Assisted Living Federation of America fielded 120 senior living advocates on Capitol Hill today, twice the number of last year, during its annual federal fly-in to raise awareness of the benefits of assisted living for America’s seniors.

The senior living advocates held more than 470 meetings with Senators, House members, and key congressional staff members to highlight the philosophy of care of assisted living, the fastest growing long term care option in the United States.

“The most important part of advocacy is education,’’ said Richard Grimes, the President and CEO of ALFA. “A lot of people think assisted living is a licensing category. But it really is a philosophy of care that allows seniors to live their lives with independence, respect and dignity.’’

While the participants say awareness of assisted living has grown in recent years, too many lawmakers and staffers confuse assisted living with skilled nursing home care. Assisted living communities provide assistance in the activities of daily life, such as dressing and bathing, to frail seniors in a residential setting at about half the cost of skilled nursing care. Because so many seniors are able to manage chronic medical conditions with medication, assisted living has exploded in popularity for those seniors who are no longer able or willing to live alone.

Although assisted living remains overwhelmingly a private pay industry with regulations and licensing governed by state governments, ALFA sponsors the federal fly-in to continue public education of assisted living, foster relationships between senior living advocates and their home town lawmakers and advocate for policies beneficial to the industry and the seniors it serves.

“We are a young industry,’’ said Melanie Werdel, executive vice president of administration for Emeritus Senior Living in Seattle, Washington. “It is critically important to clarify and define our business to legislators and build relationships with them. We want to make sure the issues important to us come to life and that there is an awareness of how we enrich the lives of our residents.’’

Loren Shook, the President and CEO of Silverado Senior Living of California, said, “We have to continually educate members of Congress. Advocacy is essential for assisted living to continue to be a consumer-driven business. If we were to operate under skilled nursing regulations, we could not be a consumer-driven business.’’

Senior living advocates who were unable to travel to Washington sent letters to members of Congress via email and postal mail through ALFA’s virtual fly-in which facilitated contact through ALFA’s on-line Action Center.

Mark Miller, the state executive director for the Pennsylvania Assisted Living Association, the state affiliate of ALFA, said, “We must make sure seniors are not forgotten. The best way to do that is to share our stories and develop relationships so they can trust us as experts.’’

In addition to educating legislators on the merits of assisted living as a well-regulated and affordable home and community-based alternative to skilled nursing care, the advocates urged support for the National Silver alert Act which would establish a national notification network for locating seniors who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and wander away from their homes. Wandering is a symptom of the disease.

Other items on the ALFA agenda are:

• Opposition to the so-called Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act which would forbid the use of arbitration in assisted living contracts.
• Opposition to the so-called Employee Free choice Act which would eliminate a worker’s right to a secret ballot in deciding whether or not to join a union.

Here are several photos taken during the ALFA
2010 Advocacy Fly-In. See more photos via ALFA’s
Flickr stream.