Caring Across Maryland Coalition Honors AARP Advocacy Director Tammy Bresnahan with 2024 Care Champion Award

Please join us in congratulating Senior Associate State Director for Advocacy Tammy Bresnahan upon receiving the 2024 Care Champion Award from the Caring Across Maryland Coalition. This prestigious award recognizes Bresnahan’s decades of tireless advocacy for long-term care reform in Maryland.

For over 13 years, Bresnahan has been a leading voice in advocating for comprehensive reforms to Maryland’s long-term care system, which includes 227 licensed nursing homes, 1,650 licensed assisted living facilities, and thousands of seniors receiving in-home care. Her work has been instrumental in pushing for greater oversight and accountability in these facilities, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Tammy Bresnahan’s dedication to improving the lives of Maryland’s elderly population has touched many lives,” said AARP Maryland State Director Hank Greenberg. “Her tireless efforts have brought about significant changes in our long-term care system, ensuring that our seniors receive the care and respect they deserve. Tammy’s work is a testament to her instinctive ability to bring parties together in pursuit of a goal, backed by decades of experience in the workings of the legislature and personal connections to those who serve there. We are incredibly proud of her achievements and this well-deserved recognition.”

Caring Across Maryland is a broad coalition of advocates, workers and patients in nursing homes, assisted living, and home care advocating for a more effective healthcare system.

Over the course of her career, Bresnahan’s primary focus has been on increasing transparency, improving care quality, and ensuring the safety and well-being of Maryland’s elderly population. Her advocacy efforts have resulted in significant legislative proposals aimed at requiring nursing homes to:

• Report communicable infections.
• Maintain adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff and visitors.
• Establish safer visitation protocols.
• Raise staffing levels in all long-term care settings, whether in facilities or in homes.

Recognizing the critical need for better-trained personnel in assisted living facilities, Bresnahan has fought to ensure that these facilities — often managed by non-nursing staff — be required to have licensed administrators and more certified medical staff, such as nursing assistants.

Bresnahan also champions the need for regular, thorough inspections of all long-term care facilities, pushing for state-mandated annual inspections. Her work helped drive accountability, resulting in more than 50 nursing homes being fined for failing to conduct weekly COVID-19 testing for both residents and staff.

Despite the progress, Bresnahan emphasizes the ongoing need for vigilance and reform. She continues to advocate for:

• Stronger elder-abuse laws to protect older adults from physical and financial harm.
• Expanded access to affordable high-speed internet, crucial for telehealth services, online education, and connectivity in long-term care settings.
• Increased home health care services and staffing to support the growing number of Americans opting to age in place, rather than in institutional care.

In collaboration with the AARP National Office, Bresnahan has worked with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to strengthen home health programs. Those recommendations focus on:

• Improving access to existing services.
• Expanding available home health services.
• Increasing education and outreach to ensure more beneficiaries take advantage of home health care options.

 As the aging population continues to grow, Bresnahan knows that the advocacy community cannot be complacent – this work becomes ever more critical in ensuring that Maryland’s elders receive the quality care they deserve. There is still much to do—her advice, stay vigilant.

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