July 20, 2020 — Bring the Vote Home Rhode Island
By: Nicholas Oliver, Executive Director

I am a "home care voter"! This means that I, along with tens of thousands of voters across Rhode Island, consider issues impacting the optimal delivery of healthcare services to homebound patients and clients and the advocacy toward meaningful and sustainable wages for all frontline home care workers when I cast my ballot during the September 8, 2020 primary election and the November 3, 2020 general election. Supporting home care, such as homemaking, personal care attendant services, home health, home infusion, palliative care and hospice, are apolitical on the surface. However, our association, its members, their patients and clients, as well as their families and our direct care workforce, have learned over our thirty year history that funding and resources controlled by our elected officials are absolutely political and impacts our ability to expand access to healthcare services in the home, stability in care hours delivered each week and dignified wages to those 7,800+ Rhode Islanders serving on the frontline delivering healthcare daily in over 20,000 homes across the Ocean State. 

Because funding to support patient and client care has become political, the Rhode Island Partnership for Home Care Political Action Committee officially launched its "Bring the Vote Home Rhode Island" campaign today to educate candidates for the Rhode Island General Assembly on issues impacting home care. Over the next couple of days, 239 candidates for the 75 House of Representatives seats and the 38 Senate seats will receive the 2020 Candidate Survey that identifies pressing issues impacting their constituents that utilize home care or work in our industry. Regardless of a candidate's political affiliation, it is our hope that we learn more about all 239 candidates, their experiences with home care and their level of commitment to support our industry, our patients and clients, their families and our workforce.  

There will be more information posted about the "Bring the Vote Home Rhode Island" campaign once the Rhode Island Partnership for Home Care Political Action Committee receives responses from candidates for State Senator and State Representative.