Last week, State Representative Kelly Morrison of District 33B paid a visit to Hammer’s Holdridge home in Wayzata. On this visit, Rep. Morrison was able to meet with individuals who reside at Holdridge, some of which have family and support staff who live in her district.
This year marks Morrison’s first term as a Minnesota Representative. However, Rep. Morrison’s background as a physician makes her familiar with community-based disability services. She is also knowledgeable about Medicaid and service payments. When she was in high school, Rep. Morrison even volunteered for Hammer!
State Representative Kelly Morrison with Hammer Board Member, Kevan, and his son, Travis, a Holdridge resident.
In a conversation with Hammer’s CEO John Estrem, Rep. Morrison stated her awareness of the 7 percent cut to disability waiver rates and expressed that there should be a priority to fix it. She also asked what things legislators could do to save money without compromising the quality of care. She displayed an understanding of the cost of 24/7 care and posed additional questions with regard to staffing. It is evident that Rep. Morrison cares about the disability service community.
Arrange Your Own Site Visits
Providing tours of facilities for new legislators is a great way to introduce them to the direct support professionals’ workforce and home and community-based services as a whole. Your staff members deserve attention and so do your residents! The opportunity to interact with all Senators and Representatives is a great way for you to highlight your services and discuss issues that concern your communities.
Are you interested in organizing a site visit for a legislator? For assistance, contact Madeleine Lerner, ARRM’s Grassroots Organizer, at mlerner@arrm.org.