To Improve Nursing Home Care in the Wake of COVID-19, AGS Calls for U.S. Government to Focus on Three Critical Areas

Abstract

In response to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance's hearing on "A National Tragedy: COVID-19 in the Nation's Nursing Homes," the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) submitted a written statement for the record, calling on committee members to focus on three critical areas where attention can help achieve the AGS' vision for a United States where we can all contribute to our communities and maintain our health, safety, and independence as we age; and where older people have access to highquality, person-centered care informed by geriatrics principles. These three areas are: (1) investing in the U.S. direct care workforce, the backbone of our health and longterm care system; (2) increasing funding for geriatrics health professions programs under Title VII and ensuring that these programs are included in public health planning efforts; and (3) preparing for public health emergencies with attention to the needs of older Americans.