May 31, 2006
Helping Seniors and People with Disabilities Live at Home:
Deb Goldberg Supports Quality Home Care Bill

Boston, MA — Deb Goldberg, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, today expressed her enthusiastic support for the PCA Quality Home Care Bill (H. 4758). When this bill becomes law, it will better enable personal care attendants (PCAs) and consumers to work together to ensure that seniors and people with disabilities receive the care they need to live comfortably at home. The legislation is currently before the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The PCA Quality Home Care Bill calls for the creation of a Quality Workforce Council, which would match available attendants with consumers in need; provide services and respite care when regular caregivers are unavailable; and set wages, benefits, and working conditions for PCAs. The council would include both consumers and advocates.

“I urge all legislators on Beacon Hill to pass the PCA Quality Home Care Bill now,” Goldberg said. “Massachusetts has a health care and workforce crisis on its hands. Turnover rates in home care average between 40 and 60%. Far too many talented PCAs leave the field because they can’t get the training, benefits, and wages they need. Without enough experienced PCAs on the job, seniors and people with disabilities cannot get the best care possible. Retaining qualified home care workers will be even more critical as the baby boomer generation ages.”

Massachusetts families are struggling to recruit and retain home care workers. The bill will provide relief by creating a workforce directory and incentives for home care workers to stay in the field. The bill is supported by over one hundred senior and disability advocacy groups from across the state and has been praised by the Boston Globe, which wrote:

"The economy has many high-tech needs, but as people live longer, human needs are also increasing. By setting up a workforce council, Massachusetts can systematically protect the well-being and dignity of both personal care workers and their clients.” – The Boston Globe 11/24/05

“The elderly, people with disabilities, and their families should not have to go it alone when they need to find qualified PCAs; arrange substitute or respite care workers; and resolve employment issues,” Goldberg added. “I think consumers in our state deserve better, and the PCA Quality Home Care Bill is a critical step in the right direction.”

Deb Goldberg, a fifth generation Massachusetts resident, has the skills and experience to help get the state moving again. Goldberg, whose family founded Stop & Shop, learned how to run a company with 50,000 employees who needed dependable jobs to support their families. Even with a small 1% profit margin, they still managed to give quality health insurance to all employees—full-timers and even part-timers.

Goldberg was elected to the Brookline Board of Selectmen in 1998. Her first priority was revitalizing the town’s three commercial areas. She was a key player in working with developers, neighborhoods, and local government to attract appropriate development that did not negatively impact town services. As Chairman from 2002 until 2004, she was responsible for the town’s $190 million annual budget. Under her leadership in tough economic times, Brookline, with a population of 58,000, maintained a strong financial position and was the only community in the state to add fire fighters and police each year without costly overrides. Deb Goldberg, 52, lives in Brookline with her husband, Michael Winter, and their two teenaged children, Evan and Meredith.