Though the Democratic congresswoman also toured the Wesley Health Care Center, which provides comprehensive, full-time care for approximately 350 elderly residents, the chief purpose of her visit was to discuss senior related issues with the assembled crowd.

Following a well-received speech, Gillibrand fielded questions from a number of residents. After the Q and A period, she stuck around to speak with people one-on-one.

Gillibrand considers healthcare the biggest issue for seniors. As the cost of healthcare continues to climb, it has a trickledown effect which puts a strain on people’s wallets and also limits the number of aids a place like Wesley can hire. In addition, she said the country, particularly the Northeast, is facing a nursing shortage.

“Healthcare in America is absolutely broken,” Gillibrand said. “This directly affects seniors. It’s a life and death issue for them.”

Gillibrand believes a number of reforms need to be made. She said more preventative care is needed, stressed the importance of interesting more young people into medical professions, and advocates an affordable alternative option to the current private health care system so everyone can be covered. She also views electronic health records as a vital medical investment.

“It will save money and limit mistakes. I think it’s essential. I fully support it,” she said of EHR.

Another major issue that seniors are interested in is the war in Iraq. Gillibrand believes American soldiers should be combating terrorism, not policing Iraqi streets, and said the majority of troops there should be leaving.

“We need to keep America safe. We need to leave,” she said.

With a huge amount of debt amassing and pressing concerns in other areas such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, Gillibrand wants a timeline for troop removal to be put into place and a strategy for redeployment. She said they have a majority in Congress for such action, but not quite two-thirds yet.

One of the recurring themes of her speech to residents was that Congress moves slowly. As far as the issue of energy goes, Gillibrand said the progress has been gradual, but there have been steps in the right direction. She is hoping the next president will invest significantly in it and aim to become energy independent within the next ten years.

“The country’s oil dependency is very risky,” Gillibrand said. She believes it affects everything from national security to the economy to the environment.

Gillibrand is a big proponent of nuclear energy as part of the solution to the energy problem. She also mentioned the need for more fuel efficient cars, for the United States to join the Kyoto Protocol, and for more public transportation.

The Congresswoman referred to the residents and to seniors in general as “extremely well-informed voters.” She believes they care about all the issues facing the nation, whether they directly affect them or not.

Wesley CEO Brian Nealon said Gillibrand’s visit went very well. He believes it was the first time that a representative has been brought in to talk with the residents.

Nealon said the visit was a wonderful opportunity for the residents to voice their concerns, as well as a chance for the congresswoman to hear what issues are important to seniors in Saratoga Springs. He added that she was dead on about the cost of energy and of healthcare, issues he deals with all the time.

“As a nonprofit organization, we have a limited amount of revenue. It’s a real issue for us to balance our budget when those two costs are practically changing on a daily basis,” Nealon said.

Saratoga Springs City Supervisor Joanne Yepsen was in attendance for Gillibrand’s speech and enjoyed it thoroughly. Yepsen praised the congresswoman for her efforts to continuously gather new feedback and ideas from constituents in order to represent them better.

“She doesn’t just talk. She walks the walk. She listens well. She’s not just there giving a speech,” Yepsen said.