U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) recently visited Truewood by Merrill, First Hill, a Merrill Gardens community in Seattle, Washington.

Lawmakers from coast to coast are gaining a fresh perspective on the value of senior living by visiting communities. We need your help so that more lawmakers, at both the federal and state level, can tour our communities, meet with residents and staff, and better understand our policy issues and our proposed solutions.

We encourage all senior living communities to host visits. To get started, please review this a toolkit which includes sample invitations, a sample itinerary, best practices for preparing for your visit, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT

Columbia Cottage Linglestown welcomed staff from the U.S. Senate Aging Committee for a visit of their community near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The visit provided an opportunity to meet with residents, staff, and senior living experts to discuss the critical role assisted living plays in supporting the needs of older adults in Pennsylvania and across the country.

The visit was coordinated by Argentum, the Pennsylvania Assisted Living Association (PALA), and Columbia Cottage Assisted Living.

U.S. Senate Aging Committee staff visited Columbia Cottage near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

U.S. Representative Mike Ezell (R-MS) and his wife Suzette recently visited Summerfield of Gulfport in Gulfport, Mississippi. He spent time meeting with residents, touring the community, and discussing issues related to senior living and healthcare.

Help spread the word! Lawmakers are returning to Washington, D.C. in the next couple of weeks after having gained a fresh perspective on the value of senior living by attending these community visits.

We need your continued help so that more lawmakers, at both the federal and state level, can tour our communities, meet with residents and staff, and better understand our policy issues and our proposed solutions. We encourage all senior living communities to host visits. To get started, please review this a toolkit which includes sample invitations, a sample itinerary, best practices for preparing for your visit, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT

U.S. Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA) recently visited The Terraces of Roseville, an Integral Senior Living community in northeast suburban Sacramento.

Congressman Kiley spent time with residents sharing his priorities in Congress, including veterans’ affairs, safety, affordability, renewable energy, and education to name a few, and answering their questions during a town hall event. Rep. Kiley also toured the beautiful community and had the opportunity to see “Central Park” where residents’ dogs have access from their apartments to the courtyard.

Kiley is a freshman member of the U.S. House, having previously served for six years in the California Assembly, so his name was already familiar to several residents.

Help spread the word! Lawmakers from coast to coast are gaining a fresh perspective on the value of senior living by attending these community visits. We need your help so that more lawmakers, at both the federal and state level, can tour our communities, meet with residents and staff, and better understand our policy issues and our proposed solutions.

We encourage all senior living communities to host visits. To get started, please review this a toolkit which includes sample invitations, a sample itinerary, best practices for preparing for your visit, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT

On Wednesday, U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) visited The Ridge Pinehurst, a senior living community operated by The Ridge Senior Living in Lakewood, Colorado.

Congresswoman Pettersen's visit included part of the unveiling of the community's Veteran’s Wall of Honor, and was able to meet with a 96-year old World War II Veteran—the oldest Veteran at the community—along with other residents and their family members and community staff. The visit also included a discussion of critical issues facing senior living communities and Argentum's policy priorities.

While lawmakers are on recess, Argentum encourages all senior living communities to host lawmakers to give them a first-hand perspective of daily life in a community and better understand our challenges and the legislative solutions we have proposed.

Have you made your plans to host a lawmaker? Argentum's toolkit provides everything you need to plan and execute an event. Please reach out to Kyle Loeber at kloeber@argentum.org with any questions or to request assistance, we're here to help!

On Wednesday, U.S. Representative Bill Foster (D-IL) visited Heritage Woods of Batavia, a Gardant-managed affordable assisted living community in northeastern Illinois.

During the visit, they discussed several workforce issues, including staffing challenges, concerns with proposed CMS staffing mandates, and targeted immigration reform to bring in nurses from foreign countries. They also discussed the difficulty hospitals are having discharging patients because of the challenges of finding an available nursing home bed, and the Illinois Supportive Living program as a model for affordable assisted living, benefiting residents and their families and saving the federal and state governments money..

Lawmakers are in the midst of their annual August recess, meeting with constituents and holding community events back in their states and districts. We need your help to be part of these discussions and to tell the story of senior living!

To help more senior living communities join in our grassroots advocacy efforts to educate and inform lawmakers on the value of senior living and our policy solutions, Argentum prepared a toolkit on hosting lawmakers for community visits, so they can see first-hand daily life of residents and caregivers and better understand our challenges and the legislative solutions we have proposed.

Last week, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA) visited the new Merrill Gardens community in the historic Wright Park neighborhood of Tacoma.

He was able to make direct connections with the residents and spent time with them during a question-and-answer period. Congressman Kilmer enjoyed a tour of the community and the spectacular view of commencement day from the rooftop garden. The Merrill Gardens Wright Park community thoroughly enjoyed the visit with the Congressman and is very appreciative of his willingness to spend time making this meaningful connection.

Help us tell our story and share the value of senior living with lawmakers:

• Download the toolkit on how to host lawmakers for visits at your community;
• Download a complimentary copy of the Value of Assisted Living for America report;
• Make a contribution to Silver PAC, the fund supported exclusively by senior living advocates, dedicated to helping foster relationships with key lawmakers and educate them on our issues.

On Monday, U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) visited Merrill Gardens at West Chester, located in her southeastern Pennsylvania Congressional district.

Rep. Houlahan's visit included a townhall forum with several residents, and offered an opportunity to discuss affordability issues, particularly for residents in memory care. They also discussed workforce issues, including barriers of transportation and child card, and constraints in Pennsylvania with regulations regarding education requirements for direct care workers. Rep. Houlahan was also asked for support of the Veterans assisted living pilot program, the forthcoming SENIOR Act, and the 21st Century Long-term Care Caucus.

Lawmakers are preparing to embark on a five week recess, meeting with constituents and holding community events back in their states and districts. We need your help to be part of these discussions and to tell the story of senior living!

U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL) visited Bowman Estates of Danville, a Gardant Management Solutions affordable assisted living community in Danville, Illinois.

Rep. Kelly had the opportunity to tour the community and talk with residents. They discussed the benefits of the Illinois Supportive Living program; the challenges of operating assisted living communities, especially staffing, the impact of inflation; and unrealistic rules being proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid; and our support of legislation designed to expand veterans long-term care options.

Congresswoman Kelly represents the Eastern Illinois based 2nd District, and is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, including the Health subcommittee.

Last week, U.S. Representatives Tom Cole (R-OK) and Stephanie Bice (R-OK) visited communities in their respective Oklahoma City-based districts.

Representative Cole, who serves as Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Vice Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, visited Legend at Rivendell, a Legend Senior Living community located in southern Oklahoma City. During his visit, he met with residents and staff, including a resident who ran against him in an election for Congress many years ago! Congressman Cole was able to discuss his priorities, including efforts to secure funding for Alzheimer’s related initiatives, for which he has been a longtime champion.