Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

Health Care -- I believe access to high-quality physical and mental health care is a basic human right, and we must provide the resources and support to take on issues like the opioid crisis.

Every member of our community deserves access to high-quality and affordable health care. Massachusetts has been a leader in health care access and we must continue to this important work.

As your State Representative, I will advocate for a single payer government sponsored health care program. I will promote policies that increase affordability, and also reduce its overall cost. I will support increased access and quality in physical and mental health services for our veterans, who so often have barriers with access to care.

Moreover, I will work hard, so that mental health becomes just as important as physical health. Like so many families in our community, I have seen the damage addiction causes, not only for the individual, but their families and the community. We need to increase access to community based mental health and addiction recovery services.

Too often, our nurses are forced to care for too many patients at once, which can lead to preventable errors, avoidable complications, increased lengths of stay and readmissions. As State Representative I will support safe staffing legislation in our hospitals.

Health professionals are often burdened with significant student debt compared to their earning potential. I have witnessed so many Leominster residents struggle to access physical and mental health providers, often forced to settle for long waiting lists. As State Representative, I will advocate for loan repayment programs so that we can begin to address shortages of health care providers in our community.

For the last decade, I have been an advocate in the movement to end sexual and domestic violence. I have worked for more than seven years as a rape crisis counselor at centers in Western and Central Massachusetts. As a teen counselor, I saw how difficult it was for my clients to access basic mental health services. Just last year, I was elected Vice President of Pathways for Change, where I am proud to continue my advocacy work to prevent sexual violence and increase access to mental health care.

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