I want to talk about something that’s not getting enough attention: the way people are funneled into nursing homes like Harrisonburg Health & Rehab (HHRC), and how that system is built to fail residents, staff, and families from the start.

A former coworker recently reminded me of something we all used to witness firsthand:

 “When I was working at the hospital, I would hear those heels coming and run into the room she was heading for and tell them to tell her to get out.”

That “she” was the admissions rep from HHRC—pushing hospital discharges into that facility, often uninvited, sometimes walking into rooms without consent. Just to get another body in a bed. Another reimbursement check. And honestly, this method of obtaining admissions is akin to grimy lawyers chasing ambulances.

This isn’t about one person in heels. It’s about a broken pipeline—a system where corporate profit and reimbursement cycles dictate admissions, not patient needs or staffing readiness.

My husband is a long-term care nurse. He’s been in the trenches of this system, and he said something when we were discussing this situation that really struck me:

 “You’re being asked to empathize not with a person, but with a situation—and the situation is usually already f***ed up.
And no one who has the power to change it really cares, because the way they’re doing it keeps the doors open. So when it all falls apart, they don’t blame the system. They blame the caregiver. The only person who could have made it better, but didn’t.”

He’s right. And I want to be clear: licensed caregivers who are actually guilty of abuse or neglect must be held accountable. There is no excuse for harming vulnerable people. But the truth is, the way this system is designed, it puts all of us with healthcare licenses at risk—forcing us into unsafe environments, understaffed shifts, and impossible caseloads where something will go wrong. And when it does, the system protects the corporate executives while scapegoating the people closest to the bedside.

So I’m pushing for legislation to fix the admissions process in Virginia nursing homes. Here are a few key proposals:

 1. Staffing Readiness Certification: Facilities must prove they have enough staff before accepting hospital discharges.
 2. Transition Audits: Independent oversight of every hospital-to-nursing-home transfer.
 3. Acuity-Based Admissions Cap: No more admitting complex patients to unsafe facilities.
 4. Safe Placement Rights: Families deserve full transparency before agreeing to a nursing home transfer.
 5. Corporate Accountability: Public reporting on staffing, denied admissions, and protocols.
 6. Incentives for Care-Based Admissions, Not Just Cash-Based Ones.

This is how we stop more abuse, neglect, and death. Not by blaming workers who are drowning or shutting down one building —that ABSOLUTELY should be closed, and i will forever maintain that—but by holding systems and CEOs accountable for the floods they caused.

If you’ve ever seen something like this—or lived it—I invite you to speak up. We deserve better. And we can demand better.