WHEREAS, many Delawareans
receive, and have benefitted from, long-term services and supports in their homes, group homes, assisted living residences, and nursing homes; and
WHEREAS, the long-term services and supports workforce includes: certified nurse aides, personal care workers, nurses, food services staff, housekeepers and homemakers, laundry and maintenance workers, administrators, social services staff, activities staff, marketing and admissions staff, and administrative support personnel; and
WHEREAS, the long-term services and supports workers have been serving older adults and people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the long-term services and supports workforce was already in high demand all across Delaware before the pandemic of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, long-term services and supports workers have been responsible for providing care to older adults and people with disabilities in this challenging pandemic of COVID-19 despite limited personal protective equipment (PPE) and the need for ongoing infection control training in an ever-changing landscape; and
WHEREAS, staff members have not only put their lives at risk in Delaware, some have lost their lives; and
WHEREAS, long-term services and supports workers have come together as a team to provide physical, emotional, and behavioral health services during this pandemic of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, long-term services and supports workers have worked closely with their hospital partners to limit overcrowding; and
WHEREAS, long-term services and supports workers developed COVID-19 centers of excellence, with resources specially designed for resident care and to limit the spread of the virus in other facilities; and
WHEREAS, long-term services and supports workers in Delaware have voluntarily participated in a sixteen week online training program in Infection Prevention and Control using a national curriculum and worked on a nationally certified Infection Prevention online course; and when traditional training was not available because of the pandemic, over 400 individuals took advantage of complimentary online training to enable them to join the long-term care workforce as temporary nurse aides/assistants; and
WHEREAS, the long-term services and supports workers have helped those they provide care to maintain family and community contacts in this time of isolation and quarantine during the pandemic of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, the long-term services and supports workers have continued to support those they care for, even when the caregivers themselves risk becoming ill doing their jobs, have lost loved ones, and grieved over the loss of those they provided care to during this pandemic of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, long-term services and supports workers have taken important and often difficult steps to minimize the spread of COVID-19, thereby reducing the infection, hospitalization, and death rates in residential care settings; and
WHEREAS, the State of Delaware has greatly benefited from the personal commitments that have been made by these extraordinary long-term services and supports workers who have worked throughout the pandemic of COVID-19 despite great risk to themselves and to their families and other contacts.
NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the 151
st
General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, recognizes the important work of Long-Term Care Workers and Facilities in Delaware and hereby designates May 9 through 15, 2021 as Skilled Nursing Care Week in Delaware.
