Gray Panthers NYC Meets with Senator Ron Wyden

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Michelle Arnot Gray Panthers NYC michelle@graypanthersnyc.org 917 816 7226

Gray Panthers NYC president Jack Kupferman, vice president Michelle Arnot, and volunteer Rachel Bennett, founder of The Nursing Home Card Project, met with Senator Ron Wyden (Dem./Oregon) and members of his staff to discuss the burning issue of nursing home transformation on Valentine's Day. They were joined on Zoom by Joanne Rader of the Live Oak Project and NYS Assembly Member Ron Kim (Dem/Queens). Jack Kupferman presented Sen. Wyden with a photo of Maggie Kuhn, Gray Panthers Founder, whom Wyden greatly admired, and a 1978 Gray Panthers newsletter to acknowledge and honor the Senator as co-founder of the Gray Panthers Oregon chapter. Proudly donning the Gray Panthers pin, the Senator confirmed his commitment to improving the quality of life for nursing home residents. Joanne Rader submitted a three-tiered plan that would allocate needed funds for staff training among other improvements. NYS Assembly Member Ron Kim spoke of enforcing transparency among nursing home operators. Wyden staffers Kripa Sreepa, Health Policy Advisor, and Ally Crha, Health Policy Fellow, will set up further meetings with other members of the Senate to address next steps. Since 2021 Gray Panthers NYC has been hosting free monthly webinars under the umbrella of Transformation Tuesdays to address key issues for nursing home transformation with advocates, elected officials and residents. Recordings are available on the Gray Panthers NYC website. Nursing home transformation is much discussed, but few legitimate plans of action have been developed to alleviate the ongoing tragedies of care and quality of life for residents so brutally highlighted by the COVID pandemic. Voices are now being heard with the Live Oak Project's three- tiered demonstration plan, gathering of passionate advocates at the New York State Assembly, and GPNYC's webinar series. ### Gray Panthers is an intergenerational, multi-issue advocacy organization working for social and economic justice and peace. Our vision is to help create a society that puts the needs of people over profit, responsibility over power and democracy over authoritarianism.

Watch as Senator Wyden explains why he's a Gray Panther!