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During the last legislative session, my colleagues and I fought hard for a significant infusion of funding into our long-term care system statewide. We’ve seen countless nursing homes close because the state government has been operating off of reimbursement rates from 2020 instead of keeping up with the increase in cost of living, labor expenses, and inflation.

After five months of the majority party refusing to act while Minnesota long-term care facilities were desperate for help, House Republicans were finally able to accomplish our goal providing a financial lifeline: a onetime appropriation of $300 million of state funding to nursing homes across the state.

While funding is a step in the right direction and will hopefully pull many nursing homes back from the brink of closure, there is still more work to do.

One of our most important responsibilities is to make sure that our most vulnerable Minnesotans are taken care of. I’ve heard from numerous nursing homes and countless constituents who are concerned about the lack of funding for nursing homes and the staffing crisis that has resulted, especially after the stress they were under during the pandemic.

Families are waiting months for an opening in a facility in their own town, which then forces them to find to find a safe place for their loved ones multiple hours away from home. Because of increased operating costs and a dire workforce shortage, many of the nursing homes that have managed to stay open are still operating at less than full capacity.

The funding allocated this past session is critical and will provide the needed support so that long-term care facilities in our district can keep their doors open, providing care for seniors and vulnerable adults in our community.

In addition to this needed funding, I will continue to work with our local nursing homes and representatives from across the state towards long-term, structural solutions to address these dire staffing and funding problems.

Because of Republican leadership on this issue, our district’s nursing homes will receive the following amounts:

Good Sam Society,

Austin

Total Payment: $405,743

Aug. 1, 2023: $202,872

Aug. 1, 2024: $202,872

Sacred Heart

Care Center, Austin

Total Payment: $461,974

Aug. 1, 2023: $230,987

Aug. 1, 2024: $230,987

St Mark’s Lutheran

Home, Austin

Total Payment: $453,941

Aug. 1, 2023: $226,971

Aug. 1, 2024: $226,971

Prairie Manor

Care Center,

Blooming Prairie

Total Payment: $369,594

Aug. 1, 2023: $184,797

Aug. 1, 2024: $184,797

Meadow Manor,

Grand Meadow

Total Payment: $329,429

Aug. 1, 2023: $164,715

Aug. 1, 2024: $164,715