AARP Honors Rep. Ritter For Advocating For Seniors

State Rep. Betsy Ritter (D-Waterford, Montville) has received the AARP Connecticut 2014 Legislative Leadership award in recognition of her support for stronger consumer protections for individuals and families utilizing home care.

Here's what the AARP said in its statement:

“AARP commends Representative Ritter for her outstanding advocacy on behalf of older adults that supports an individual’s decision to age independently at home,” AARP Connecticut Director Nora Duncan said. “As a result of her leadership, seniors and their family caregivers can now rely on new contract protections and strengthened consumer laws to ensure they are receiving high quality home care.” 

Jean Caron, an AARP volunteer, and Advocacy Director Claudio Gualtieri presented the award to Ritter last week at the state Legislative Office Building.

Ritter said she was inspired to work for stronger protections for consumers after a “particularly sad case” had been brought to her attention by a constituent.

“We worked together to bring better protections to consumers through clear disclosure in the contracting process, required notice of changes in levels of care and charges, and guaranteed rights to end contracts. These measures all were taken with the intent to keep our residents needing care in their homes for as long as they want,” Ritter said.  

“Strong and effective protections for consumers of home care are critical if we are to continue to successfully build reliable and safe systems of care,” Ritter said.

Ritter’s primary role in the legislature is deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. She is also a member of the Appropriations, Human Services and Energy and Technology committees.