Oregon needs to grow and protect our care workforce.

Oregon is facing a critical shortage of care providers while our state is projected to see a 36% increase in demand over the next decade. The Legislature has an opportunity in its 2022 session to pass a bill that will help build a sufficient, supported workforce to address the needs of our seniors and people with disabilities while providing transparency to consumers and their families. Please contact your legislators today asking them to support Senate Bill 1556 and share this link with your coworkers to do the same.

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Help end Oregon's care staffing crisis

Dear [elected official]

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Please support SB 1556 to provide the safe, highly skilled, and certified workforce Oregon’s seniors and people with disabilities need to care for them. Oregon’s long-term care sector is in the midst of a severe workforce shortage that's only been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. It's unbearable for workers like me to not have the time to take care of people in need. We're stressed, we're quitting, and it just continues to get worse.

While the Legislature made key investments in workforce development in the sector during the 2021 session to address short-term needs, a recent New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/opinion/unions-oregon-assisted-living.html) article shows that more must be done immediately. People are suffering today in our facilities. We also need to prepare for an estimated 36% increase in demand for long-term care for seniors and people with disabilities over the next decade. If Oregon does not take additional action soon to invest in our professional development and retention, the crisis will only get worse.

SB 1556 will create and phase in certification for caregivers like me in community-based care settings (assisted living, memory care, and residential care facilities) and homecare workers and establish a publicly accessible registry so consumers and others can confirm that a caregiver’s certification is current. It will help end our staffing crisis by laying the foundation for a career ladder to encourage job mobility and advancement for caregivers, helping to reduce turnover and recruit new staff.

Please support this critical piece of legislation to address Oregon’s need for a care ecosystem with a sufficient, supported staff that our consumers and their families can rely on. Please vote “YES” on SB 1556.

Sincerely, [Your information here]