BAYADA has used public affairs efforts throughout the past several years. That is—in states where GAO and state leadership knew that increased public awareness and engagement would reinforce a strong lobbying message, GAO deployed these efforts, which resulted in increased legislative & regulatory pressure on BAYADA’s key issues. This was particularly true where BAYADA, home care recipients, and the industry needed rate increases to stay sustainable and to be able to recruit and retain enough caregivers to meet clients’ demand.
2019 was the first year that BAYADA invested in a full-time public affairs program. Here, public affairs staff executed several state-specific campaigns to further BAYADA’s legislative agenda, as well as an “umbrella” campaign to highlight the challenges seen regularly on the national home care and home health care front.
GAO enlisted public affairs firm Regan Communications Group (RCG) full-time to put clients’ and caregivers’ stories in the spotlight. No easy task, especially as media and newsworthy issues tend to change minute-by-minute, RCG regularly delivers by getting GAO’s legislative message out via broadcast, print, and non-traditional media outlets. As a result of full-time public affairs efforts in 2019, state governments heard us loud and clear, and often made policy changes in order to help alleviate the issues BAYADA staff, clients, and families faced.
Below, see a list of media that BAYADA’s GAO was able to gain through its partnership with RCG in 2019:
Federal/Industry-Wide
Home Health Care News: Immigration Reform, Minimum Wage Increases Top of Mind for BAYADA
Home Health Care News: Medicaid legislation introduced in Congress
STAT News: Health aides’ low wages threaten home health care, a necessity for millions
Modern Healthcare: More middle-income seniors face financial insecurity
Home Health Care News: Industry Insiders: Don’t Overlook CMS’s Dual-Eligibles Directive
Home Health Care News: Immigration “Pathways” Vital to industry’s future
Home Health Care News: BAYADA Hits 1M Clients Served. Here’s Why Hitting 2M Will be More Difficult
Modern Healthcare: Nursing home staffing levels often fall below CMS expectations
Everyday Health: Demand on the Rise for Home Healthcare
Authority Magazine: The Future of Healthcare: “First and foremost, reprioritize long-term care into the home setting” with David Totaro of BAYADA Home Health Care
Delaware
Delaware Public Media: Advocates call on state lawmakers to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates
Delaware State News: BAYADA Pediatrics director awarded national honor for advocacy work
Indiana
RTV 6: Hoosier families want more resources for home health care
WTHR 13: Gasping for Care: Indiana families desperately seek care amid home nursing shortage
New Jersey
NJTV & NJ Spotlight: Shortage of Home Care Nurses on Horizon
My Central Jersey: NJ’s shortage of private duty nurses taking toll on families
NJ 101.5: A home health care nursing shortage is looming in NJ
NJ Star Ledger: Prefer to age at home in N.J.? It will soon be even harder | Editorial
Pennsylvania
Bucks County Courier Times: BAYADA Home Health Care’s Langhorne office recently nominated Melissa Husted, of Morrisville, and Winnie Gittens, of Philadelphia, for the Pennsylvania Home Care Association’s 2019 Direct Care Worker of the Year Award
PennLive/Patriot News: Advocates call on lawmakers to make home-based care services more accessible for seniors and disabled
Generocity: BAYADA transitions from for-profit to nonprofit to save its mission-driven culture
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: An old refrain: Better wages, conditions a must for direct care workforce
PennLive/Patriot News: An opportunity to do the right thing for vulnerable Pennsylvanians: Raise home health aides’ wages
WXPI & WPGH: Lack of home health care aides impacting local patients
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Increase funding for home care providers
Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Donna Pierantoni: Home care crisis’ impact on disabled adults, seniors
Rhode Island
Valley Breeze: Aging Out: Local family says vulnerable son fell through state’s cracks
Valley Breeze: Family frustrated after near-miss on losing care hours
Providence Business News: Anxious R.I. families await decision on special medical coverage
South Carolina
Post & Courier Gazette: Lowcountry home health care experts speak on the need for more workers in the field
Summerville Journal: Helping Mason: Family of Police Officers with Sick Child Loses Home Nurse Right Before the Holidays, need to raise Medicaid Reimbursement Rates in SC for 2020
