Testifying for Consumer Choice: A Direct Care Worker’s Perspective

My name is Ted Rippy. I am a direct care worker, a consumer advocate, and a union organizer for Local 771 MSEA-SEIU, a union for direct care workers here in Maine.

It is my pleasure to work with Helen Hanson. I met Helen through Local 771 – she’s the president and I’m the secretary. One of my favorite stories about Helen is what happened when I first met her. I asked her to keep me busy and the next thing I knew, I was on a jet plane to Chicago!

I’ve been working with Helen and other direct care workers on some of the bills before the Maine senate, legislature, and Department of Health and Human Services. I was at the meeting with Hannah Pingree about LD1059, the health care for health care workers bill. I also helped advocate for LD1364, the bill to increase hourly wages to $12 for home care workers. But what I’d like to share with you today is my testimony on behalf of a bill I advocated for along with Helen, other union members, members of AARP, and health care consumers.

I feel good about my testimony in support of LD 1078 because I just recently got started on this kind of activity, and because I felt like we were heard — the bill was signed into law by Governor Balducci on June 8 with just one small change.

LD 1078 gives consumers of log-term care control over the kind of care they receive. One of the best things about it was the presentation of the bill by Representative Matt Peterson, a healthy consumer himself, who rolled ito the state house in his wheelchair. As I told the committee in my testimony (PDF): “We need a system that is accessible and responsive to the needs of Maine people and can serve our citizens in the way they deserve. We also need a system that respects and rewards the work of direct care workers just like me and others here today for the skilled work and service we deliver.”

By the way, Helen recommended me for the second class of the Voices Institute’s National Leadership Program and I was accepted. I am very excited about what we ca do together. I can’t wait to make our next move!

Ted Rippy, direct care worker

This is 771's own Ted Rippy! Way to go Ted!!

This post originally appears on the Direct Care Alliance's website