Adult day health advocates gathered at the Capitol today in support of Rep. Eric Pettigrew and his recent comments about the life-threatening effects of not approving additional revenue for health care. “Rep. Pettigrew, among all of the legislators, is the one who has paid the most attention to these issues,” said Jerry Reilly, chairman of the Eldercare Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to providing care services to older adults. “He had the courage to speak the truth.”
Reilly and other advocates shared the potential impacts of not approving an additional revenue package. Patti Dahlman from ElderHealth in Kent spoke about an insulin dependent diabetic who required continuous monitoring by her ElderHealth nurse. “There are serious consequences for these people,” Dahlman said.
Pettigrew’s HB 2377 would help fund these kinds of health care services, as well as the Working Families Tax Rebate, with a temporary, voter-approved sales tax increase.
