Extend emergency funding for long-term care

The pandemic has challenged all of us.

My son is a resident of Alpha Services and I live here in Spokane Valley. My family relies on his care team every day at Alpha Services, a nonprofit founded by parents in 1974 that today still has families leading on its board. In addition to providing care, the well-trained staff helps my son grow and learn so that he may contribute to our community. It gives us peace of mind to know that he is well-cared for and views his care team as members of our extended family.

My son has lived in a supported living community in Spokane since 2014. I know that the pandemic has made this critical care as necessary as ever, but also far more expensive. Whether it is PPE, food or just searching for care providers in a time of hyper-competitive hiring, I know that costs for needed care are going up. And it’s not just here in Spokane – care providers serve about 4,600 people in supported living across our state, requiring about 21 million service hours each year so that the people in their care have the support that they require.

Our government acknowledged the need for emergency funding for long-term care during the pandemic, but that funding (already allocated by the federal relief package) will cease if not extended. I hope that they continue to see that the crisis continues and so emergency funding should continue into 2022.

Kathy Tabbert

Spokane Valley