To the Members of the Virginia General Assembly,

While many Virginians gathered with loved ones this past Easter weekend, residents in too many of Virginia’s long-term care facilities spent the holiday alone, neglected, or worse—suffering from preventable abuse in underfunded, understaffed institutions.

You had the luxury of celebration. They did not.

This reality is not inevitable. It is the direct result of your failure to act.

The petition to revoke the license of Harrisonburg Health & Rehabilitation Center now continues to gain signatures daily. But the outcry is no longer confined to one facility. It is spreading. Virginians are connecting the dots between political donations, legislative inaction, and the human cost that falls on our elderly and disabled neighbors.

Every holiday missed. Every wound untreated. Every death unacknowledged.
The public is watching—and remembering.

Make no mistake: this isn’t an isolated outrage. It is the boiling point of years of anger, betrayal, and grief that you have chosen, again and again, to ignore. And now that the suffering can no longer be hidden behind lobbyists’ smiles and corporate press releases, you are running out of excuses.

You were elected to serve the people—not the corporations that bankroll your campaigns.
You were entrusted to protect the vulnerable—not to abandon them for political convenience.

And yet, despite the stories, the petitions, the damning inspection reports, and the clear need for action, many of you continue to side with the industry that profits off suffering. You continue to protect the status quo while Virginians die in conditions no one would find acceptable for their own family members.

We are renewing our demands:
 • Enact mandatory, enforceable staffing standards.
 • Overhaul long-term care admissions to prevent profiteering at the expense of patient care.
 • Empower real oversight that cannot be bought or bullied into silence.
 • Immediately revoke the licenses of facilities found guilty of systemic abuse and neglect—starting with Harrisonburg Health & Rehabilitation Center.

You had the chance to act before Easter. You chose not to.
How many more holidays, how many more lives, will be lost before you find your conscience?

You have a decision to make. You can keep betting that Virginians aren’t paying attention.
Or you can finally do your job and stand for those who can’t stand for themselves.

We are watching. We are organizing. We are voting.

Choose wisely.

Sincerely,
Victoria Jackson
Constituent | CNA | Long-Term Care Advocate
Author of Dale’s Law: The Virginia Long-Term Care Quality and Nursing Admissions Reform Act of 2025