Sen. David Perdue Fights for Senior Care Facilities

ATLANTA, Georgia, April 16 -- Sen. David Perdue, R-Georgia, issued the following news release:

U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) is working to secure critical resources for skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, which have been particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 crisis.

In a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar, Perdue and 26 Senate colleagues asked that long-term care facilities be made eligible for financial relief programs available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act's Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund.

"As you set your guidelines for this program, we request that those who care for our nation's most vulnerable not be overlooked," wrote the Senators. "We believe that the essential providers that serve our nation's seniors within our nursing homes, skilled nursing centers, assisted living facilities, as well as those within senior living communities should be included in the category of facilities that receive allocated funds made available by Congress in the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund."

"Allocating a meaningful level of support from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to this industry is critical to the seniors who call these facilities home as we continue to take steps to reduce COVID-19 spread and support our health care providers on the front lines," concluded the Senators.

"The GHCA Board and membership applauds Senator Perdue for his efforts to ensure long-term health care providers that care for our nation's most vulnerable citizens get the resources and support they need to keep their residents safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic," said Georgia Health Care Association (GHCA) President & CEO Tony Marshall. "Long-term care providers are facing significant staffing and PPE shortages, and funding is needed to help address these deficits so they can best protect their residents. We thank Senator Perdue for his ongoing partnership and commitment to the health and safety of elderly Georgians."

The CARES Act included $100 billion to reimburse hospitals and health care providers for the care of COVID-19 patients and to make up for lost revenue. Georgia's providers received $792 million of the initial $30 billion that was released by HHS.

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April 16, 2020

To: The Honorable Alex Azar, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201

Dear Secretary Azar,

We are writing to express our support for all of our nation's deserving health care providers who will in short time begin to apply for the much-needed financial relief programs of the CARES Act, specifically the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF). As you set your guidelines for this program, we request that those who care for our nation's most vulnerable not be overlooked. We are specifically referring to the millions of our nation's seniors who are cared for by the hardworking men and women who work in facilities such as nursing homes, skilled nursing centers, as well those serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In addition, we must not overlook those individuals who work within the senior living community, such as those working in independent living, assisted living, memory care and continuing care retirement communities.

Together, these critical providers care for millions of seniors living in the United States. During the COVID-19 emergency, these health care workers provide care for the population most susceptible to COVID-19 infection and least likely to recover. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released on March 26, 2020 found that "[o]verall, 31% of cases, 45% of hospitalizations, 53% of ICU admissions, and 80% of deaths associated with COVID-19 were among adults aged 65 years with the highest percentage of severe outcomes among persons aged 85 years." The average age of individuals within nursing homes and residents of senior living communities is 85 years old, and residents are typically affected by multiple comorbidities, making them significantly more vulnerable to further complications from COVID-19 exposure.

As you know, our nursing homes and senior living facilities are experiencing serious shortages of needed staffing and protective equipment during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Significant investment is needed to stave off both of these shortages. We are hearing from providers in our respective states that they are unable to order basic medical supplies, including but not limited to protective masks, gowns, gloves, hand sanitizer, and face shields. We must ensure these supplies are flowing to the providers who are on the front lines of caring for some of our nation's most vulnerable - our seniors.

We believe that the essential providers that serve our nation's seniors within our nursing homes, skilled nursing centers, assisted living facilities, as well as those within senior living communities should be included in the category of facilities that receive allocated funds made available by Congress in the PHSSEF.

Allocating a meaningful level of support from the PHSSEF to this industry is critical to the seniors who call these facilities home as we continue to take steps to reduce COVID-19 spread and support our health care providers on the front lines.

Sincerely,

See signatories here (https://www.perdue.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HHS_Senior_Living_Letter%20(002)%5B1%5D.pdf)