This week Senators Ron Wyden and Bob Casey released a new report, Left in the Dark, that examines the impact of the 2021 Texas blackout on long-term care facilities. The report makes eight recommendations, including requirements for emergency power for long-term care facilities, transparency in emergency plans, and improved staffing for nursing facilities. (source: Justice in Aging) The report’s recommendations call for developing more inclusive disaster planning and management; improving the transparency related to nursing home emergency preparedness plans; and ensuring adequate staffing of nursing homes and the state agencies that oversee them.  CANHR has long promoted better emergency planning for long term care facilities, including AB 1207 (Jackson 2020), sponsored by CANHR and Long Term Care Ombudsman Services of San Luis Obispo County,  which would have required a skilled nursing facility to have a backup power system that maintains safe temperatures and power to all critical systems for resident health and safety for no less than 96 hours during any type of power outage. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.