Quality nursing home care is a crucial component of the framework that supports Maine’s health care system and our nation’s senior citizens. Nursing homes provide these elderly with a safe, low-stress environment for rehabilitation and recuperation after taxing medical tests and procedures. They also provide excellent long-term care and are a haven for those who need a trained professional nearby.

Without the current standard of affordable, high-quality nursing home care, many seniors would be without the opportunity to recover from illness and would lack the professional attention and treatment necessary for their well-being.

Nursing home care is largely affordable and effective because of the stability of current Medicare funding levels. I saw the importance of quality nursing home care when my own father went through a series of injuries and illnesses and relied on Maine nursing homes to maintain his health and quality of life. I still see this importance every day, both as a physician and as a private citizen involved with local nursing home facilities.

Through both this professional and personal involvement with the industry, I have seen a strong correlation between the level of Medicare funding and quality of nursing home treatment. This is not to say Medicare provides perfect coverage, but it does elevate a nursing home’s ability to meet and exceed staffing needs. Government programs (Medicare and Medicaid), in fact, provide some support to roughly 80 percent of residents in nursing homes. As the gap between the cost of nursing home care and the amount provided by Medicaid continues to grow, more of the burden falls on Medicare.

The shrinking levels of Medicaid funding make it even more important to avoid cuts to the Medicare benefit for nursing homes. From 1997 to 2001, the quality of care in nursing homes was dramatically lower than it is today, and this can largely be attributed to lower government funding levels.

Since 2001, with increased and more consistent Medicare funding, nursing homes have become more financially stable. And it is no accident that this financial stability has coincided with dramatic improvements in the quality of nursing home care.

It is our duty to watch out for Maine’s senior citizens. We must urge Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to vote against any reduction in Medicare funding to nursing homes. Many of us will one day require the care provided by a nursing home, and when that time comes, we certainly will not want that facility to be operating at anything less than the highest level of care.

Protecting Medicare funding is the first step in ensuring continued quality in nursing homes in Maine and across the country.

Mary A. Warner, M.D., of Holden, specializes in ultrasound and teaches at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. During her 20 years as a radiologist at Eastern Maine Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor, Dr. Warner has become acutely aware of the needs of Maine’s seniors for skilled nursing facilities. She also serves on the board of directors at the Phillips-Strickland House which provides three levels of care for the elderly.