Our 6 Beds 2019 Annual Advocacy Day and trip to the California State Capitol may be over, but your advocacy must continue throughout the year if it is to be effective. The only way for us to achieve our collective advocacy goals is for us to make our voices be heard individually on an ongoing basis. Successful advocacy efforts are rarely, if ever, one-time events. They are built on shaping public policy through consistent messaging and relationship building over time.
What should you advocate for?
Each time you have the opportunity to meet with, or interact with, a leader or influencer, there are three important messages to relay:
6 Beds and its members support safe and affordable, quality residential care.
6 Beds and its members’ facilities play a critical role in our state’s healthcare structure.
6 Beds and its members support commonsense legislation that protects seniors and allows facilities to continue providing the level of safe and affordable care our customers expect.
Who should you be advocating to?
Advocacy is simply equipping those in positions of influence with the information they need to affect good public policy. Your target audiences should include:
State legislators – who can enact legislation that positively supports our work or negatively impacts the work we do.
Local elected officials – who can pass local regulations and ordinances that affect our facilities and those we serve. (Don’t forget, many local elected officials later run for the state assembly or senate.)
Key opinion leaders – These are the influencers in your communities whose voice has the ability to shape the opinions of others.
Public – Don’t forget the public helps shape policy too through their votes and support or opposition to candidates and policies.
Advocacy Day 2019
Our thanks go out to the legislators and agency staff who made our 2019 Advocacy Day such a learning opportunity for all involved. However, if our advocacy efforts are going to result in good public policy that supports our facilities and our clients, we must all work together to deliver these consistent messages to those in positions of influence. Let’s make our voices be heard!
6Beds has a great lineup of workshops planned during Advocacy Day 2019 including Mapping ARF and RCFE Funding Sources Workshop.
This workshop is perfect for operators who are migrating from one program to another and/or need help enhancing their current program to improve revenue streams as minimum wage increases. You don’t want to miss this workshop! The 2019 Advocacy Day Agenda includes the full line up of speakers and times.
REGISTER TODAY
Seating is limited so don’t delay, register today!
6Beds Annual Advocacy Day is right around the corner. This year’s line up of speakers includes key legislators, the Department of Social Services – Community Care Licensing Division (DSS/CCL), the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and Alta California Regional Center (ACRC). The 2019 Advocacy Day Agenda includes the full line up of speakers and times.
EVENT DETAILS
2019 Annual Advocacy Day April 10, 2019, Wednesday
Esquire Plaza 1215 K Street, 14th Floor Sacramento CA 95814
During the day 6Bed operators will:
Learn about bills that are being introduced that may impact our ARF and RCFE homes and the delivery of housing and care to those we serve – the frail elderly, Californians with developmental disabilities and or mental illness.
Learn how to make your voice heard in the Capitol by visiting your elected representative.
Learn how you can help end California’s homeless crisis.
You don’t want to miss this event! Click here for the detailed agenda.
REGISTER TODAY
Seating is limited so don’t delay, register today!
Yes, it’s that time of the year again! 6Beds is hosting the 2019 Annual Advocacy Day Conference in Sacramento on Wednesday, April 10th.
Learn about legislative issues that may impact our ARF and RCFE homes and the delivery of housing and care to those we serve — frail elderly and Californians with development disabilities and/or mental illness.
Learn how to make your voice heard by visiting your elected representative on Advocacy Day to share your ideas and concerns on the bills being introduced that may impact our residents who permanently live in our ARF and RCFE homes.
Learn how you can help end homelessness in the State of California.
Join us in support of these much needed initiatives to protect as well as provide housing and care to our residents, especially with the growing need for our services in the midst of California’s daunting housing crisis.
REGISTER TODAY
Seating is limited so don’t delay, register today!
by Ferdinand Ebio
6Beds 2018 Advocacy Day, on April 11th, was a great success and serves as a new benchmark for this trailblazing organization—in terms of guest speakers presenting, new membership sign-ups and renewals, as well as putting the must-have Wage and Hour Guide in the hands of operators.
Now in its fourth year since its meteoric inception in mid-2014, 6Beds has proven its ability to affect categorical, positive change in the residential care industry and, in the process, has garnered high praises and respect from the Department of Social Services (DSS), Department of Developmental Services (DDS), Department of Labor (DOL), Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement (DLSE), numerous politicians, residential care operators and the countless communities 6Beds serves throughout California.
6Beds’ stellar lobbyists, Robert Naylor and Roxanne Gould kicked off the event—welcoming over 140 attendees and introducing this years’ 6Beds sponsored bill, AB2744:Referral Agency, as the centerpiece to 6Beds’ Grow the 6! theme for this year’s advocacy day.
Both Naylor and Gould reinforced 6Beds’ well-seasoned volunteer leadership’s vital role in protecting and advancing the residential care industry to ensure housing and care for California’s frail elderly and adults with developmental disabilities. Watch clips below:
Naylor and Gould then fielded questions about AB2744 and detailed the steps we still need to take before the bill lands on the Governor’s desk.
They were followed by Ron Simpson, 6Beds Director, Southern California President and Compliance & Membership Director, who gave an overview of how 6Beds came about in sponsoring AB2744 and the important roles 6Beds’ lobbyists played in authoring the bill. Watch all four clips below:
The attendees then had the pleasure of hearing from the primary author of AB2744, Assemblymember Eloise Reyes (D-Inland Empire), who dropped in to express her support and reason for authoring this very important bill. Watch clip below:
PHOTO (L-R): Gina Wasdyke, Linda Armas, Ron Simpson, Assemblymember Eloise Reyes, Dorie Paniza, Olivia Deanda
In addition to sponsoring AB2744, Cyndy Minnery, 6Beds Director and Senior Vice President of Clinical Affairs & Compliance, and George Kutnerian, 6Beds Director and Senior Vice President of Public Policy & Legislation, are collaborating on a forthcoming medication management training bill — to train RCFE caregivers on how to administer medications to residents during their end-of-life phase.
Watch the clip below as Minnery explains the significance of this forthcoming bill:
Next, Kutnerian provided an update on last year’s 6Beds sponsored bill, AB1437:Modernizing Regulations. Learn how this bill will simplify the way you obtain caregiver security clearance for the multi-facilities you operate. Watch clip below:
This year, 6Beds had the privilege of having two top officials from the DSS participate in a round table discussion, moderated by Kutnerian, to talk about the latest issues surrounding our industry. They are Pam Dickfoss, Deputy Director, DSS, Community Care Licensing and Ley Arquisola, Program Administrator, Adult and Senior Care Program. Since topics covered are significant in content and length, we will provide each in a separate blog. Be on the lookout for these in the coming days.
Below are clips of Dickfoss and Arquisola affirming the significance of 6Beds as a stakeholder and partner of DSS, as a key instrument to shape care home policies and regulations from the direct perspectives of residential care operators.
PHOTO (L-R): Roxanne Gould, Ley Arquisola, Cyndy Minnery, George Kutnerian, Pam Dickfoss, Ines Otbo, Angie Marinda, Ron Simpson, Tess Misa
DDS’s Jim Knight, Assistant Deputy Director for the Community Services Division, also graced our event with top news surrounding the ARF communities. Be on the lookout for these must-know topics in our upcoming blogs, as well.
PHOTO: Jim Knight, Assistant Deputy Director for the Community Services Division
Taking time off from their impacted schedules, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), co-author of last year’s 6Beds sponsored bill, AB1437, as well as Senator Joel Anderson (R-San Diego), staunch supporter of small business and 6Beds, dropped by to give their support to 6Beds and to all care home operators throughout California. Watch their clips:
With a short time in between, Attorney Roberta Mendonca presented 6Beds Foundation — 6Beds’ sister organization. Watch Mendonca’s presentation below to learn more about this exciting new non-profit organization whose purpose is to utilize existing residential care homes to solve California’s housing crisis for the frail elderly and adults with developmental disabilities.
Rounding out the day was a joint DOL/DLSE Labor Training session. This was yet another rare occasion where we had both federal and state representatives provide a comprehensive perspective on the federal and state labor laws that govern our caregivers.
PHOTO:Jamika Lopez, Community Outreach Resource & Planning Specialist, DOL with DLSE Representative
Click the links below to download the DLSE’s Wage Order 5, as well as DOL’s Power Point presentation and their latest live-in caregiver models.
For 6Beds members, however, the day was far from over. Gina Wasdyke, 6Beds Director and Founder, shared her industry-know-how to encourage and inspire both veteran and newly-initiated ARF and RCFE operators with a range of untapped and under-utilized opportunities, as well as funding sources in the residential care industry.
PHOTO: Gina Wasdyke, 6Beds Director and Founder, ARF Operator
6Beds’ 2018 Advocacy Day was made possible by the generous contributions of our vendor sponsors. Connect with them and see how they can help operate and grow your care homes. They are as follows:
EXCELL HOME CARE, INC LANI ROJAS · (562) 569-5568 · lani@excellhc.net · www.ExcellHomecare.com
REAL TIME SENIOR LIVING STEVE HOYT & STEVE GILBERT · (925) 368-7514 · shoyt@realtimesl.com · www.RealtimeSL.com
S3 SOLAR ALEX ALINO · (714) 600-4915 · aalino@s3solar.com · www.s3solar.com
6Beds also expresses its gratitude to members, Lillian and Sonny Sisayan, for their generous contribution to defray members’ parking fees.
Lastly, but by no means the least, we are truly and sincerely grateful to the many 6Beds volunteer officers, along with their friends and family members whose time and selfless contributions powered this event. They are:
Dorie Paniza, 6Beds Northern California President, RCFE Operator
Ines Otbo, 6Beds Sourthern California Senior Vice President, RCFE Operator
This workshop is perfect for operators who are migrating from one program to another and/or need help enhancing their current program to improve revenue streams as minimum wage increases. You don’t want to miss this workshop! The 
