To: Governor Glenn Youngkin, Attorney General Jason Miyares, and Members of the Virginia General Assembly:

Ah, priorities.

Governor Youngkin has once again found time to order flags to half-staff—this time for Peace Officers Memorial Day. A solemn and worthy gesture, no doubt. We should always honor the fallen who have sacrificed for our safety and freedoms.

But here’s a thought: how about showing the same energy for the living?

For two months now, I—and others—have sent email after email detailing horrific abuse, neglect, and systemic failures in Virginia’s long-term care facilities. We’ve called for urgent reforms. We’ve asked for emergency action. We’ve pleaded with you to pass Dale’s Law, which would establish enforceable staffing standards and protections for nursing home residents. We’ve received no replies, no legislative movement, and absolutely no indication that the suffering of these vulnerable citizens matters to you.

But you can find time to lower a flag.

Well, let me update you on something you’ve chosen to ignore: Dale Painter died yesterday.

He died after months of neglect in a system you continue to prop up through silence, complacency, and—let’s be honest—complicity.

While you lower flags and line your pockets with lobbyist donations, real people are dying in these facilities—many of which are profiting off Medicare and Medicaid fraud. That’s not just morally bankrupt—it’s criminal. But since you’re the ones who decide what gets signed into law, you seem perfectly comfortable with that.

Maybe it’s because the elderly aren’t headline material. They don’t bring in campaign cash. They don’t pose for ribbon cuttings. They just suffer quietly—until they don’t.

We are told to honor the dead—absolutely. But maybe, just maybe, we should start by protecting the living. That is, if anyone in Richmond still knows how.

Election season is coming. And we will remember who lowered flags—and who lowered their standards.

If you want to truly honor Dale Painter’s memory, stop pretending you don’t know what’s happening in this state. Do your jobs. Pass Dale’s Law. Enforce accountability. End the abuse.

Because right now, history will remember you not as leaders—but as enablers.

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