Menorah Park Among Delegation to White House

Representatives from Menorah Park and about 20 other nursing homes around the country have been invited to the White House next week to discuss possible Medicare and Medicaid cuts.

Menorah Park Administrator Richard Schwalberg has been to D.C. twice already to talk about the cuts, said Menorah Park spokesperson Beth Silver, but this is the first invitation.

Menorah Parks receives about 75 percent of its funding from Medicare and Medicaid, said Schwalberg.

Schwalberg gathered this delegation from other not-for-proft and faith-based senior care providers and from associations such as the Association of Jewish Aging Services of North America, Jewish Federations and Leading Age. The invitation came last week, and Schwalberg said President Obama’s administration wants to hear “human impact stories” about how the cuts could impact patients in these facilities.

“They really want to hear from the people who touch the elderly,” said Schwalberg. “They want to hear from me, yes, but they also want to hear from [an active volunteer and board member].”

Silver said Thursday that the group is unsure who they will meet with July 19.