PUBLIC POLICY
Kick Start Your Own Grassroots Campaign: Invite a Legislator Over
Ed Corbeil had a goal: To get state legisla- tors to meet the people and experience the communities of senior living, so they would better understand the realities of policy and legislation. So Corbeil, the senior vice president
of operations at Commonwealth Senior Living, in partnership with the Virginia Assisted Living Association (VALA), where he is vice chairman of the board, started planning tours. As of this writing, a dozen Commonwealth communities have hosted state senators and members of the House of Delegates. The guests met associates, had one-on-one conversations with executive directors, and had a chance to discuss issues with residents. “These visits marked the first time several
members of the Virginia General Assembly had ever visited an assisted living community,” Corbeil says. “It’s been a learning process.” The idea arose when he was at VALA’s
spring conference in Roanoke, Va., and talking to a delegate who had a background in health care. “A lot of people here don’t understand
the nuances of assisted living,” he recounts the delegate saying. “Some of my colleagues don’t have any idea what you do.” The visits also opened legislators’ eyes to
the diversity in the world of senior living, as Commonwealth presented signature programs for veterans, memory care, and farm-to-table dining. And the current workforce issues in senior
living netted strong engagement. “What could be more nonpartisan than workforce development?” Corbeil points out. Com- monwealth presents talking points and workforce and economic impact data from Argentum and from its own sources to evoke “aha moments.”
“They learn that we use a good system
to evaluate compensation,” he says. “Our competition for workforce is not just the senior living community down the street, it’s at the mall.” One legislator vowed to look at improving
the bus routes after direct care associates lobbied her for a bus stop. “Our teams can really articulate these issues,” Corbeil says. “We talk so much about turnover and
how to increase retention rates. They live it, every day.” A promise to follow up can be a way to keep the doors open and the relationship
Advocates Argentum For You
going. Corbeil can call, for instance, and ask about that bus stop, recalling senior living to a legislator’s mind. Guiding and coordinating was VALA’s
legislative partner, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, a bipartisan lobbying firm that offers state and local lobbying. “I don’t hon- estly know if we could have done it without them,” Corbeil says. “They know who to call, when to call, and who’s in what office.” Commonwealth is the largest provider
of senior living services in the state. From its founding, in 2002, has been interwoven with the Commonwealth of Virginia, where
While visiting Commonwealth Senior Living at Kilmarnock, Virginia state Del. Margaret Ransone met residents, employees, and managers including maintenance director Brent Hart, business director Kimberly Curry, and executive director Lara Kelley.
48 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
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