Contacts: Lynn Breedlove (608-577-0468) Tom Frazier (608-770-0605)
Aging and disability advocacy organizations and other long-term care stakeholders responded positively to Governor-elect Evers’ nomination of Andrea Palm to serve as Secretary of the Department of Health Services.
“Long-term care advocates greatly appreciate Secretary-designate Palm’s commitment to
involving stakeholders in the development of her agency’s plans. We look forward to working with her and Governor-elect Evers to ensure that Wisconsin’s long-term care system continues to be one of the best in the nation,” said Wisconsin Long-Term Care Coalition Co-Chair Lynn Breedlove.
The Department of Health Services provides critical long-term care services to Wisconsinites, including the 70,000 older adults and people with disabilities and more than 6,000 children with disabilities living in the community who use Family Care, IRIS, Partnership, PACE and the Children’s Long-Term Support Program. Wisconsin’s long-term care system is currently ranked 6th in the nation by AARP and the SCAN Foundation. The state is well-positioned to move up the rankings as it will soon become one of the first in the nation to end waiting lists for both its children and adult long-term care systems.
“Long-term care stakeholders hope to work with Secretary-designate Palm and Governor-elect Evers to build on the strengths of our current system. A top priority for stakeholders is ensuring access to community-based long-term care services by addressing the direct care workforce crisis in the upcoming state budget” said Wisconsin Long-Term Care Coalition Co-Chair Tom Frazier.
