May 4, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE….
Contact: Candace Ouillette Gaumond: 413.599.4785

CANDARAS ANNOUNCES THAT THE LEGISLATIVE JOINT COMMITTEE ON HEALTHCARE IS COMING TO WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS

Springfield – State Representative Gale D. Candaras (D-Wilbraham) announces today that the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Health Care will be holding a public hearing on May 14, 2001 from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Western New England College School of Law’s Institute for Legislation and Government Affairs in Room A of the S. Prestley Blake Law Center. The event is open to the public.

The Health Care Committee will hear testimony on legislation relating to staffing levels of health care facilities’ and the current state of the health care workforce. The following bills are scheduled to be heard during the May 14th public hearing at the Western New England College School of Law’s Institute:

SENATE 480 An Act Requiring Nursing Homes To Maintain Safe Staffing Levels To Protect The Health And Safety Of Residents.”
SENATE 542 “An Act Requiring Nursing Homes To Maintain Safe Staffing Levels To Protect The Health And Safety Of Residents.”
SENATE 579 “An Act To Require Nursing Home Corporations Operating Within The Commonwealth To Maintain Safe Staffing Levels.”
HOUSE 1593 “An Act Requiring Nursing Homes To Maintain Safe Staffing Levels To Protect The Health And Safety Of Residents.”
HOUSE 1186 “An Act Relative To Sufficient Nurse Staffing To Ensure Safe Patient Care.”
SENATE 482 “An Act To Establish A Health Care Labor Shortage Task Force.”
SENATE 564 “An Act Creating A Special Task Force To Make An Investigation And Study On Issues Related To The Health Care Workforce.”
SENATE 558 “An Act Establishing The Direct Care Workers Insurance Assistance Program.”

State Representative Gale D. Candaras (D-Wilbraham), an advocate for improving the quality of care of residents in health care facilities and upgrading the conditions of the health care workforce, was instrumental in coordinating the event at the Western New England College School of Law’s Institute. “I am pleased that the Health Care Committee will be holding hearings at the Law School on May 14th,”stated Candaras. “At a time when quality health care for seniors is on everyone’s agenda, hearings on these bills are essential. Recent events regarding the quality of care for the elderly in Western Massachusetts only underscore the need for these hearings in Springfield. I wish to thank Co-chairs Representative Harriet L. Stanley (D-West Newbury) and Senator Richard T. Moore (D-Uxbridge) for bringing the Committee here. As Speaker of the House Thomas M. Finneran has noted, the Legislature needs to be visible in all parts of the Commonwealth,” Candaras concluded.

Western New England College School of Law’s Institute for Legislation and Government Affairs was established in the spring of 2000. Its purpose was to provide opportunities to its students to participate in activities relating to the legislative process. One of the Institute’s goals was to bring live action policy making to Western Massachusetts by hosting Legislative Committee hearings.

“One of the goals of the Legislative Institute is to bring committees of the General Court here to Western Massachusetts,” stated Professor Art Wolf, Director of the School of Law’s Institute for Legislation and Government Affairs. “Holding legislative hearings in Springfield gives our students and other residents of the four counties in Western Massachusetts the opportunity to observe the workings of our Legislature and to participate as witnesses in the hearings. The presence of the Committee also gives area voters and residents, together with our students, the chance to meet and speak with members of the Legislature,” Director Wolf observed.

For further information regarding the Joint Committee on Health Care’s public hearing at Western New England College School of Law’s Institute of Legislation and Government Affairs or if you are interested in testifying on any of the proposed legislation scheduled to be heard on May 14th please contact the office of State Representative Gale D. Candaras and speak with Candace Ouillette Gaumond, District Aide. The telephone number is (413) 599-4785.