Dear Congressional Leaders: 

Long‐term care and housing facilities around the country have seen the devastating effects of the  coronavirus impacting the life and health of their residents and staff. As an industry, we look to you in this  time of national crisis and greatly appreciate your timely response to shore up and strengthen the nation’s  healthcare system.  

Skilled Nursing facilities, like all post‐acute care providers, understand they play a significant role in  flattening the curve and reducing the peak impact on hospitals. Like hospitals that suffer financially while  reducing and eliminating elective surgeries, the post‐acute providers lose short‐term rehabilitative stays  that they rely on to drive necessary revenues to operate their facilities. The results of this reduction are  up to 80 percent of short‐stay rehabilitative rooms. Some states have, over the last several years,  witnessed skill nursing facility closures, specifically but not exclusively in rural areas of the country.  Increasing cost to facilities coupled with reduced revenues will result in additional closures in critical  geographic regions of our country. Full letter

Questions?

Contact:

Deb Murphy, MPA, J.D., President/Chief Executive Officer

LeadingAge Washington

DMurphy@LeadingAgeWA.org