RICHMOND, Va. — A group of advocates took its concerns over nursing home quality to the state capitol on Tuesday, hoping to catch the attention of lawmakers.
One of their top priorities is for Virginia to establish a minimum staffing standard, something certified nursing assistant Victoria Jackson said would protect not only residents, but also staff.
Jackson used to work in nursing homes but left the industry due to what she called burnout, poor conditions, and fear of retaliation for speaking out about the issues. She believes a staffing requirement could force better workplace culture and lead to improved retention.
“We don't want to work in toxic work environments," Jackson said. "We need to be compensated fairly for what we do, because we're charged with keeping people alive and safe, and we get treated like we're disposable."
Del. Rodney Willett (D-Henrico) did introduce a bill this session that would have set a staffing standard in Virginia, but it was turned into a study by the time it passed the House. In a previous interview with CBS 6, Willett attributed the change to funding constraints, since a staffing minimum would lead to increased Medicaid reimbursements for facilities to hire staff. It's not clear exactly how much that increase would amount to, but Willett estimated it would've been significantly less than $20 million annually.
The Virginia Health Care Association, which represents nearly all of the state's nursing homes, said it was grateful that the General Assembly acknowledges "that it is critically important that any staffing mandate be funded." Meanwhile, LeadingAge Virginia, which only represents non-profit nursing homes, said it was concerned that the staffing mandate was dropped from the bill and called on lawmakers to reconsider.
Sam Kukich, who founded the advocacy group Dignity for the Aged in response to her mother-in-law's experience in a facility and who served on Governor Youngkin's nursing home advisory board, said she's disappointed by the development to the legislation but not surprised.
“Pass a bill. Pass a bill now. What do we need to study? What are you studying?” Kukich said. “I just feel like it's a constant. That's the procedure. They’re never going to establish ratios. I have no idea why."
The advocates argue one of the reasons for perceived legislative inaction is because consumer voices don't have the same lobbying power as the industry.
“It's disturbing that our legislators would rather listen to the people that they're supposed to be regulating rather than actually do their jobs and represent the people who elect them to serve," Jackson said.
There have been numerous bills introduced in the 2026 General Assembly session to address nursing home oversight, some of which have advanced, and some of which have failed.
Sen. Glen Sturtevant (R-Colonial Heights) carried one bill that he said sought to prevent facilities, particularly those that are for-profit, from diverting public dollars away from direct care through related-party rent transactions. He introduced another bill that would have increased the presence of physicians in nursing homes. However, the first bill failed to advance this session and the latter was "watered down."
“There have been a lot of efforts to reform the nursing home system in the General Assembly. They oftentimes meet a lot of hurdles as a result of the industry and the lobbying community who push back very hard, and they have a lot of influence here at the General Assembly unfortunately," Sturtevant told CBS 6.
But Delegate Willett told CBS 6 many meaningful measures aimed at strengthening nursing home oversight are in fact successfully moving through the General Assembly.
That includes a bill from Del. Delores McQuinn (D-Henrico) that directs a comprehensive study of industry quality, operations, finances, and access, a bill from Del. Elizabeth Guzman (D-Prince William) to streamline nurse aide training programs, and a bill from Sen. Christopher Head (R-Roanoke County) that directs the state health commissioner to improve nursing home quality and continue hiring more inspectors.
Willett also pointed to one of his own bills that would require nursing home operators to disclose ownership information. The bill directs the health commissioner to review specific aspects of an operator's record for the past five years when determining whether to approve an ownership change application.
“You're going to see more accountability. You're going to see more transparency. And as I said, there has never been a brighter spotlight on what's happening here. So maybe folks were able to sort of stay under the radar, cut some costs, cut some care. That's not going to be tolerated going forward," Willett said.
When asked for Jackson's message to lawmakers, she said, "One day, they're going to be the ones in the bed pressing that call light and hoping that somebody comes. And I just want to know that when that day comes, what are they going to hope that they had done today?”
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