Just weeks before the Legislature convenes, lawmakers and consumer groups are already gearing up for a major push to reform state laws aimed at protecting seniors from abuse and neglect. On Thursday, Sen. Karin Housley, the chairwoman of the Senate Family Care and Aging Committee, renewed her call for strengthening protections for the roughly 85,000 Minnesotans who live in senior care facilities across the state. As Housley was outlining her proposal, leaders of a group representing families of abuse victims were busy working the hallways of the State Capitol, pushing their own package of changes to the state’s system for regulating senior homes. Their efforts are being supported by AARP Minnesota, the state’s largest senior advocacy group, which this week launched an online petition urging leaders in both houses of the Legislature to make elder care reform a top priority.
Source/more: Star Tribune