Melinda Magdalene Wings: Protecting Her Parents Final Chapter

Melinda Magdalene Wings is a retired hospice nurse who knows the value of compassionate care. Today, she’s advocating not for her patients, but for her own parents, Ivan and Kay both 86 years old, who live in a care facility in Newton, Iowa, the town where they were born and raised.

“They’ve been in love since they were 17,” Melinda shares. “They’re still together today, in the same facility. But without Medicaid and Medicare, they wouldn’t be.”

Kay, who suffers from advanced dementia, lives in a secured memory unit. Ivan, a Marine Corps veteran, lives in assisted living just down the hall. Both need around-the-clock care that quickly exhausted their life savings in under a year.

It was Melinda’s tireless work that finally secured their Medicaid coverage after six months of navigating complex paperwork, red tape, and denials. And that coverage has proven lifesaving.

When Kay fractured her hip, she required surgery and extensive therapy. Thanks to Medicaid, she now walks again pain-free. When Ivan fell seriously ill with pneumonia, the family braced for the worst. “We thought we were going to lose him,” Melinda remembers. “But with hospitalization and a month of skilled care, he recovered.”

Today, both parents continue to receive critical services. Melinda’s father is supported through the Iowa Total Care Elderly Waiver Program, which provides monthly check-ins by a caseworker. Her mother’s care is monitored by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.

“These programs don’t just keep my parents alive they protect their dignity,” Melinda says.

She is deeply alarmed by proposed threats to Medicaid and Medicare. “Without them, care centers couldn’t pay their staff. Primary doctors and hospitals couldn’t continue offering the care our elders need.”

Ivan and Kay, like millions of Americans, paid into these programs their entire working lives. “They believed like we all do that those contributions would mean they’d be taken care of when the time came.”

Melinda is clear, “Medicaid and Medicare aren’t handouts. They’re earned, essential protections for the most vulnerable our aging parents, people with chronic illness, and individuals with disabilities. I’m asking you to please contact your representatives and tell them: protect these programs. Our loved ones’ lives depend on them.”