DUNCANSVILLE, Pa. (WJAC) -- In a message shared to Facebook, State Senator Judy Ward announced a recently passed Senate bill would provide hundreds of millions of dollars to nursing homes and assisted living communities.
Timothy Coughlin, co-owner of The Winds at Mattern Orchard, a licensed assisted living community, said the Senate Bill would not give his facilities any assistance, despite their need.
“We are virus free at this point in time and since the very beginning,” Coughlin said. “We still have significant challenges”
Ward says Senate Bill 1122 would give $507 million to nursing homes, personal care and assisted living communities allowing them to continue providing care to senior citizens.
Coughlin says his facility and the more than 1,200 other assisted living and personal care centers would be left out.
“As we read this bill we think there’s a lot of good things in here in terms of helping a lot of important people,” he said. “We see assisted living facilities as completely absent in this bill.”
The bill states federal relief funds will be allocated to several Pennsylvania Department of Human Services programs.
Coughlin said he and the Pennsylvania Assisted Living Association reviewed the bill.
“The assisted living communities and personal care homes aren’t part of any of those systems,” Coughlin said. “We have no knowledge and [we see] nothing in the language that were reading in Senate Bill 1122 that speaks to any support to us.”
Coughlin said the association is looking for ways to show legislators that assisted living centers need assistance too.
While The Winds at Mattern Orchard has not seen any cases of Coronavirus, Coughlin said his facility is taking on additional costs, providing necessary protective equipment not normally needed in assisted living homes.
“We need personal protective equipment,” Coughlin said. “We were very fortunate that we were proactive at the time this all began and we were able to secure adequate supplies initially.”
Coughlin said he brought on additional staff to help ensure the health and safety of residents.
“We have increased personnel costs that we hope is temporary,” Coughlin said. “It could be an assistance to us, and not a burden financially to our residents or our families.”
Coughlin said the biggest need is access to testing for staff and residents, even for those without symptoms.
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and Senator Judy Ward did not respond to 6 News’ request for comment on this story.
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