Franklin's Remarks at Press Conference

Good morning. I'm Deborah Franklin, Vice Chair of the Florida Health Care Association.  FHCA is the state's first and largest advocate for long term care providers and the frail elderly we are privileged to serve.

Six years ago the Legislature passed landmark legislation which greatly improved the quality of nursing home care in Florida.  It implemented a series of quality care programs, including making Florida nursing home staffing standards the highest in the nation.

One year ago, the law raised the minimum daily CNA care requirement to 2.9 hours per patient per day.  One year later, the Medicaid funding for these programs is gone as part of a $75 million funding cut.

This cut was not a decrease in the rate of increase, it was a hard-dollar cut in the daily per-patient amount we receive in reimbursement.  Think about it: the legislature passed the law requiring we improve quality - including adding more staff - and the nursing homes hired the additional staff.  We kept our end of the deal.

Now legislators must keep their word.  They must give us back the money to fund our quality of care programs that we provide to the frail elderly seniors under our care.  If we don't have adequate Medicaid funding, we simply can't do the kind of job everybody expects...and our seniors deserve.

There are no options, either for us or for those we serve.  It's not like we can close on the weekends, or automate, or have fewer meals, or just not accept Medicaid patients. It's people who do the 24/7 work of long term care and we have to be able to pay them if we expect them to stay.

The bottom line is good care costs good money.  We call on our legislators to reaffirm their support for dignified, quality nursing home care for our "Greatest Generation."

Today, FHCA is announcing the formation of a new public education and advocacy effort aimed at helping Floridians remember the commitment our state made seven years ago to improved elder care.  It's called "Our Florida Promise," and over the next two weeks will sponsor television commercials to run in Tampa, West Palm, Pensacola and Tallahassee.

"Our Florida Promise" will also remind Florida legislators and our fellow citizens that nursing home quality has dramatically improved over the past seven years because the funding has been there.  Now is not the time to pull the plug.

I can think of nothing that is more important - nothing that should have a higher priority - than the care of our state's most vulnerable elderly.  We call on our legislators to do the right thing and support our nursing homes.