U.S. Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA), who serves as the Ranking Member on the U.S. House of Representatives Rules Committee, recently visited with residents and staff of The Residence at Orchard Grove, an LCB Senior Living community in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.

In addition to the opportunity to meet with residents, Congressman McGovern also spoke with staff as well as representatives from the Massachusetts Assisted Living Association (MASS-ALA) and Argentum about issues of importance to senior living providers. Topics discussed included workforce development and ensuring quality of life for senior living residents. Congressman McGovern has been a consistent champion for senior living and we appreciate LCB Senior Living and MASS-ALA leadership for coordinating this tour and visit with Congressman McGovern and his staff.

Now it's your turn.

Congress is in session for the next three weeks, but will be back in their districts all of October until after the November elections. Over the next three weeks, we need your help to schedule and plan visits with lawmakers so we can tell our story of senior living.

To get started, please download our toolkit which contains a step-by-step guide on how to host lawmakers. Want to hear from those who have already executed events? Watch this testimonial from Tana Gall, President of Merrill Gardens, and Michael Queene, General Manager of The Pines of Newmarket, as they shared their experiences in meeting with and hosting lawmakers for visits at senior living communities.

On August 28, the California Assisted Living Association (CALA) hosted its first ever "Federal Day in Your District" where CALA members met with Congressional Representatives in their district offices to cultivate relationships, help shape discussions at the federal level, and share the voice of Assisted Living. Notably, Rep. Julia Brownley joined the 21st Century Long Term Care Caucus just a few hours after her teams’ Federal Day in Your District meeting.

PICTURED: Dana Stansel, Atria Rocklin; U.S. Representative Kevin Kiley; Cheryl Martin, Prairie City Landing in Folsom; Cynthia Bazin, Prairie City Landing in Folsom; James Dial, Oakmont of Roseville.

PICTURED: CALA members with U.S. Representative Mike Thompson.

30 CALA members met with the following Representatives and their staff:

Everyday, prospective residents and their families tour senior living communities as they decide where they next want to call home. But it's not just prospective residents who need to see our communities. We also need lawmakers—those who are best positioned to advocate for senior living policies—to see our communities so they understand how we differ from other long-term care settings and how they can best support our policy priorities like addressing our workforce needs and making our communities more affordable.

The good news is that with Congress now out on its August recess, it is a perfect time to get on lawmakers schedules, offer them a tour, and show them what we do!

Recently, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), who serves as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, visited the Hickman Friends Senior Community of West Chester to meet with residents and staff and learn about their daily lives. As Senator Casey considers legislation to address our long-term care challenges, this tour helps to put a face on what we do every day in our communities so policies can be most impactful.

Now it's your turn.

Please download our toolkit which contains a step-by-step guide on how to host lawmakers. Want to hear from those who have already executed events? Watch this testimonial from Tana Gall, President of Merrill Gardens, and Michael Queene, General Manager of The Pines of Newmarket, as they shared their experiences in meeting with and hosting lawmakers for visits at senior living communities.

Congress is on recess until September 9. Will you make a pledge to host lawmakers for a tour and tell your story of senior living?

Last week, Tana Gall, President of Merrill Gardens, and Michael Queene, General Manager of The Pines of Newmarket, shared their experiences in meeting with and hosting lawmakers for visits at senior living communities, relaying how important it is for lawmakers to see how senior living cares for its residents and how they can help support senior living through public policy (recording available, appx. 40 minutes).

Now it's your turn.

We know that one of the most effective ways to tell the story of senior living—and to help advance public policies to support senior and caregivers—is by hosting lawmakers in a community.

Telling our story about the value of assisted living, the impact on the lives of the seniors you serve and their families, is an opportunity to put a “face” to the senior living industry. These visits allow policymakers to hear directly from you, your employees and your residents, so they can better understand the challenges you face and see, firsthand, why strengthening the senior living model is so important to our nation’s aging population.

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.

The Community Visits with Lawmakers Toolkit provides you with the tools you need to set up effective conversations with legislators at one of your communities.

It includes sample invitations you can send to lawmakers, a sample itinerary or tour structure, best practices for preparing for your visit, how to make your request for support of legislation and continue your conversation after the event concludes, and information on how to get started and work with Argentum and your State Partners in setting up these events.

Earlier this week, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) visited The Pines of Newmarket, a Merrill Gardens community in Southern New Hampshire.

The visit provided an opportunity for Senator Hassan to meet with residents and staff and to discuss several policy issues, including the Care Across Generations Act, the SENIOR Act, the Veterans Assisted Living Pilot Initiative, the need for foreign born workers, and issues with staffing agencies.

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

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!