Sample Comment Letter

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Feel free to use all or parts of this sample letter to write and send your own letter to the DPW and IRRC.  Simply cut and paste into an email message or a Word document.

 

Sample Letter

 

Gail Weidman

Department of Public Welfare

Office of Long-Term Care Living

P.O. Box 2675

Harrisburg, PA 17105

 

Arthur Coccodrilli, Chair

Independent Regulatory Review Commission

333 Market St, 14th Floor

Harrisburg, PA 17101

 

 Dear Ms. Weidman and Chairman Coccodrilli:

I am a [please describe who you are and why you are concerned about the proposed regulations].

The proposed assisted living regulations #14-514 do not ensure that Pennsylvania’s elderly and persons with disabilities can be safely served in a home-like setting.

The proposed assisted living regulations begin with the personal care home rules and overlay some changes to account for some of the differences between personal care homes and assisted living residences and some of the care needs of the residents they are intended to serve.  The changes made thus far are critical and must be, by all means, preserved in the final regulatory package; they alone, however, are not enough to deliver on the promise of safely serving our loved ones in assisted living facilities.    

Many more changes must be made to ensure that assisted living facilities are equipped, enabled, and accountable for providing all residents with quality care, provided by appropriate amounts of adequately trained staff, in a home-like setting that is safe, accessible, and stimulating.  

Some ways in which the proposed regulations must yet be changed before becoming final rules for assisted living facilities include:

  • Adding fundamental consumer protections that all Assisted Living residents and applicants deserve.

  • Requiring consumers to have their needs assessed and a full picture of what the facility can or cannot do to meet the consumers’ specific assessed needs - along with how much this will cost – prior to moving in to the facility and being made to sign a contract for residency and services.

  • Mandating that all direct care staff complete a minimum amount of training hours (no less that the 77 hour core competency curriculum developed by the State Department of Labor and Industry) and be trained in first aid or CPR. 

  • Requiring all facilities (including buildings that exist as of the day the regulations take effect) to meet the best available standards or practices for fire safety and accessibility.

  • Requiring enough direct care staff to ensure that at least 2 hours of care can be delivered to each resident each day but that the actual amount of direct care staffing to be based on the individual needs of the residents.

  • Requiring all living units to be wheelchair accessible with no less than 250 square feet of living space, with no exceptions.

  • Providing consumers with a right and a process to challenge a facility’s decision to kick them out.

  • Assuring the resident has a right to continue to use or otherwise choose their own healthcare providers, such as their doctor or psychiatrist. 

I am very concerned that [please express additional concerns here].

Thank you for considering my comments on this important matter.

 

Sincerely,

Your name

Street address

Town, State, ZIP code