Virgin Islands Passes CARE Act

En Español After almost a year of interaction with first-time Senator Kurt Vialet, the Virgin Islands Caregiver Advice, Record and Enabling Act also known as the CARE Act unanimously passed the Committee of the Whole and went to the Governor for signature into law.

During the hearing 14 of the 15 Senators present for the bill’s final discussions spoke strongly in favor of the new law which aims to incorporate caregivers into their loved one’s care plan upon admission to VI hospitals and informs them on how to continue caring for the patient at home.

“Legislative support on the CARE Act was almost immediate,” stated Denyce Singleton, AARP VI State Director. “We initially expected some pushback from stakeholders who may have felt that the time spent educating the caregiver on their loved one’s discharge plan and specific medical procedures unique to the patient, might have been viewed as time intensive and costly. However during the initial hearings our two hospitals, government clinics and other stakeholders saw the importance of the legislation and strongly supported all of the bill’s concepts”.

“Furthermore,” stated Singleton, “While we fully expected legislative support during the initial hearings, we were a bit surprised when Senators immediately added an amendment to provide additional help to Caregivers. The amendment, added during the first round of discussions legislatively provides Caregivers with time off for Caregiving tasks similar to the two hours of time off legislatively given to parents seeking to visit their child’s school each month.”

“During the remainder of 2016, we had plan to work on securing a tax credit for Caregivers.” continued Singleton, “We have great confidence that that work will continue and passage of that companion will hopefully follow soon.”

It is expected that passage of the CARE Act will help provide a continuum of quality care when the patient returns home, and therefore will reduce unnecessary and costly hospital readmissions. This is especially important in the Territory where coveted nursing home space is extremely limited.