pushing for nursing home change
Lawmakers joined voices and forces to call for change in nursing homes.
Senator joe griffo, assemblymembers john salka, marianne buttenschon and brian miller are calling on people to call the governor's office and support the essential caregivers act.
The act would allow a designated family member to go into nursing homes and help care for their loved one.
36:37 "what the essential caregiver does is the family then can have somebody go in and they can actually help do things staff do there with the shortages of staff, maybe helping to feed, things of that nature" .
None .
None 18:59 "one of the most tragic aspects of this pandemic has been what we're seeing with this sensory deprivation that we're subjecting residents in nursing homes to" 19:08 > the lawmakers are urging citizenstos office with support for the essential caregivers act.
Lawmakers advocating in their home districts and albany are one thing.
Daughters, kept from their mothers, who are in failing health, are another.
As newschannel two's joleen ferris reports....today, all those voices became one very loud one.
Karla stand up .
None "the plea came from the state office building today, and any change will have to be at the state level, but it will trickle down to nursing homes around the state, including local ones where the mother's of some advocates who spoke today, live" 21:47 "i just want to take a moment and let you know what isolation and failure to thrive look like.
This is my mother.
She was used to us being at the nursing home every single day" now, karla abraham- conley can't see her mother at all, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
And she is convinced her mother has suffered, gravely, for it.
22:02 "she walked into the building september 12 and i say she walked.
She can no longer walk.
She has atrophied.
She has lost a ton of weight" 22:30 "there's not enough staff in there to feed her properly.
I'm not allowed to go in.
My father is not allowed to go in.
My mother will die from isolation and failure to thrive.
I have been advocating for the essential caregiver plan.
It is important.
It doesn't cost us anything" lawmakers met loving daughters on the 3rd floor deck of the state office building in downtown utica today, to push for passage of the essential caregivers act, that would allow a designated family member to step in and provide some of the basic care, like feeding, that many understaffed nursing homes are hard-pressed to provide.
And, the love and connection only family can provide 13:10 "because this is all a part of the healing process, being able to connect with your family" senator griffo hopes to grow the voices asking for change to the point where they're too loud to ignore 34:06 'flood the governor's office, call the governor's office, let your voices be heard.
Call the department of health.
Let you rvoices be heard.
At some point, i'm hoping there will be such a crescendo, where they'll be forced to addess this issue,as > a covid exposure at a local polling site.