December 2025
As we turn the page on 2025, I’ve been reflecting on just how extraordinary this past year has been. If it felt fast, intense, and full of change…that’s because it truly was. Our long term care community navigated month after month of disruption, uncertainty, and challenge—and yet we moved through it with resilience and purpose.
Now, 2026 arrives just as quickly, and with it comes a moment of historic transition for both the country and the District.
At the national level, major changes in Medicaid and other essential supports for low- and middle-income families are beginning to take shape. Here in Washington, DC, we are preparing for the most significant political realignment in more than 30 years. June will bring our first citywide election using ranked-choice voting, and nearly every corner of the government will feel its impact.
Long-serving Councilmembers Brianne Nadeau and Anita Bonds are stepping aside. Councilmember Trayon White faces serious charges. We may also see a new Mayor—possibly Kenyan McDuffie or Janeese Lewis George—vacating their current council seats. After more than three decades of leadership, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton’s tenure is almost certainly coming to a close as well. And with Police Chief Pamela Smith’s recent resignation, the District enters this election year with even more movement at the top.
All of this unfolds amid continued budget pressures and looming federal intrusion into the District’s criminal justice system—developments that raise very real concerns for home rule and for the communities we serve.
In short, 2026 will be historic for reasons we can already name—and for many we cannot yet predict.
But amid this turbulence, there is an anchor: our Coalition has been steady, strong, and deeply productive. This past year, we demonstrated what determined, collaborative advocacy can accomplish. Because of your commitment, your expertise, and your willingness to show up again and again, we made real progress:
- Pressed for implementation of the Certified Nurse Aide Amendment Act—including the long-awaited consolidation of CNA and HHA credentials
- Secured a dedicated Long Term Care Coordinator to bring agencies and Deputy Mayors together in a unified, problem-solving approach
- Strengthened philanthropic partnerships with the Health Equity Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation and The Washington Home
- Launched a completely redesigned website
- Built a stronger, more visible digital footprint with new LinkedIn and Bluesky accounts
- Submitted more than 40 testimonies to the Council and District agencies
- Formalized governance structures, membership processes, and expectations for the Steering Committee
- Led a highly successful Advocacy Day at the Wilson Building—meeting with every councilmember or senior staff
- Logged more than 50 engagements across the District and on Capitol Hill
- And much more.
This is not symbolic progress—it is real impact. It is what coordinated advocacy can achieve. And it forms the foundation we will rely on as we navigate the year ahead.
Yet our work is far from complete. Some of our most important battles still lie ahead—especially the fight for higher wages, meaningful benefits, and true economic dignity for the workers who make long term care possible.
So as we step into this new year, I want to extend my gratitude for your passion, your grit, and your belief in the mission of this Coalition. We are entering a period of enormous change, but we are entering it together—aligned, energized, and ready.
Let’s get to work.
— Neil
Neil Richardson
Coordinator, DC Coalition on Long Term Care
ltccoalition@homecarepartners.org