(Alexandria, Va.) – Argentum today relaunched the Standing With Seniors website (standingwithseniors.com) that includes a “Seniors Can’t Wait” counter, highlighting the length of time senior living providers have been waiting for greater allocation of federal Provider Relief Fund dollars. The website also includes up-to-date information on how senior living providers have responded to the pandemic, and the extraordinary and uncompensated costs they have incurred.
“As our nation’s senior living providers continue to grapple with new variants of the COVID-19 virus, we’re still waiting for the Biden administration to deliver funding that was first approved more than 500 days ago,” said Argentum president and CEO James Balda. “This website underscores how long seniors have been left waiting, and how much providers need this critical funding.”
In March 2020, the CARES Act, which established the Provider Relief Fund (PRF), was enacted into law. The intent of the PRF was to assist providers with the extraordinary losses they were absorbing due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the start of the pandemic and continuing today, senior living providers have incurred nearly $30 billion in expenses and losses from COVID-19 due to PPE, staffing needs, overtime, and hero pay combined with record-low occupancy rates. However, less than 1 percent of PRF funding has been allocated to helping these senior living providers.
Argentum is in the midst of a five-week campaign to highlight the unmet needs of seniors and senior living providers and call on the Biden administration to finally #ReleasethePRF.
About Argentum
Argentum is the leading national association exclusively dedicated to supporting companies operating professionally managed, resident-centered senior living communities and the older adults and families they serve. Since 1990, Argentum has advocated for choice, independence, dignity, and quality of life for all older adults.
Argentum member companies operate senior living communities offering assisted living, independent living, continuing care, and memory care services. Along with its state partners, Argentum’s membership represents approximately 75 percent of the senior living industry—an industry with a national economic impact of nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars and responsible for providing over 1.6 million jobs. These numbers will continue to grow as the U.S. population ages.
Argentum’s programs and initiatives are driven by its membership. For more information about joining Argentum, please visit argentum.org/membership. Learn more at argentum.org.
