MARTINSBURG — Thanks to the state’s investment in long-term care facilities in its previous budget, establishments like The Village at Morrisons Cove have been able to address various infrastructure and operational needs on their grounds.

In a press conference Friday from The Bistro at The Village Green, state officials and The Village’s Long-Term Care Administrator Bonnie Robison touted the benefits of the Health Department’s Long-Term Care Transformation Office and its Long-Term Care Quality Investment Pilot program, from which The Village received a nearly $200,000 grant in 2023.

“This Quality Investment Pilot helps our facility to prepare for the future of long-term care,” Robison said. “Through the professional development tracks, our managers are able to pursue further education on infection control, emergency preparedness and nursing management. Two of our CNAs are able to pursue their LPN licenses.”

Robison said that thanks to the grant, The Village was able to invest in its visitation grounds, telehealth kiosks and internet connectivity, among other infrastructure needs.

In March 2023, the DOH announced that “127 long-term care facilities in 43 counties” would be given a portion of “$14.2 million in federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding to help sustain quality care as the Commonwealth’s population ages and residents’ needs change,” according to Megan Barbour, director of the LTCTO.

Acting Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen said that what the LTCTO is doing is “transformative” and that the Shapiro administration believes in the work.

“Which is why Governor Shapiro has proposed the necessary funding in his 2024-25 budget to make the office permanent,” Bogen said. “With the proposed $10 million in state funding, we can continue to directly support our long-term care communities, and, in turn, the residents they care for — even after our federal funding expires this summer.”

Staff retention and burnout were also addressed, with Chuck Quinnan, LeadingAge PA senior vice president and chief of government affairs, saying that senior care providers “care deeply about their residents” and that they can become closer than family.

“We need to stop villainizing aging service providers and instead recognize the care and dedication so many of them, like Morrisons Cove, have demonstrated to persevere through unimaginable challenges and give their residents positive life affirming experiences,” Quinnan said.

Bogen echoed this, saying that recruitment and retention is a structural problem and that “for too long staff has received limited resources while operating in an increasingly complex environment.”

“Pennsylvania’s 10-year plan for older adults, Aging Our Way, PA, will refresh the blueprint developed by our Long-Term Care Council to improve wages, benefits and training and establish a career ladder for care workers so they can continue to support others,” said Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.