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As we celebrate the 200th issue of the Dignity Digest, we ask readers to share their understanding of “dignity”. Learn how to contribute at The Meaning of Dignity post.
Heard this week (Visit Quotes page for more)
“We seem to be putting the most burden on the people least equipped to deal with it.”
Steve Adams, president of the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts, commenting on the impact of the closure the Nashoba Valley Community Hospital, Closed Steward hospitals leave ambulance services scrambling to cover gaps, *Boston Globe, September 13, 2024
“If you take government money and you’re taking it to care for people, and you don’t provide the basic care in terms of answering the call bells or changing their bed sheets … isn’t that fraud?”
Michael Burgess, the former director of New York’s Office of the Aging, ‘Living in fear’: Nursing home residents reckon with widespread neglect, Times Union (free access), September 15, 2024
Mission
Dignity Alliance Massachusetts is dedicated to transformative change to ensure the dignity of older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers. We are committed to advancing new ways of providing long-term services, support, living options, and care, while respecting choice and self-determination. Through education, legislation, regulatory reform, and legal strategies, this mission will become reality throughout the Commonwealth.
As a grass-roots coalition of aging and disability service and advocacy organizations and supporters, Dignity Alliance Massachusetts works to secure fundamental changes.
MANHR – a Program of DignityMA
Massachusetts Advocates for Nursing Homes has essential information on nursing homes in MA.
Upcoming Events
- 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm, September 18, 2024 – Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Day at the State House
- 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm, September 18, 2024 – HOUSING ACCOMMODATIONS
- 6:00 pm, September 19, 2024 – Filing for Social Security: Sometimes Timing is Everything
- September 25, 2024 – September 26, 2024 – Globe Summit 2024
- 9:00 am, September 26, 2024 – Discuss the 2024 PCPID Report focused on HCBS
- 2:00 pm, October 1, 2024 – Systemic and Individual Advocacy to Reduce Restraint Use in Nursing Facilities
- 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm, October 16, 2024 – October 17, 2024 – 2024 AARP Livable Communities Workshop: Designing for People of All Ages
- 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm, October 29, 2024 – Let's Talk about Dementia and Culture
- 2:00 pm, November 6, 2024 – Longevity Book Club with Debra Whitman
- 1:30 pm, November 19, 2024 – Advocacy for MA DDS Self-Directed Services as envisioned by the 2014 Real Lives Law
- 3:00 pm, December 11, 2024 – A Conversation with Natalie Foster
Educate
Participate
- Take Action
- Advocacy
- Subscribe to the Dignity Digest
- Attend Bi-weekly Meetings
- Study Sessions and Workshops
- Join a Work Group
- Donate
Urgent Action Items
Visit the TAKE ACTION page for our current priorities.
In the News
2024 Legislative Candidates
DignityMA Responds to State and Fed Plans for Aging
2024-09-15 Spotlight: AI and longevity
09-03-2024 Spotlight: Senator Patricia Jehlen on H5033, the long-term care reform bill
Visit News and Views for more.
- The MA Senate released a report in response to COVID-19. Read more, including the DignityMA response, on the Policies page.
- Join our Work Groups.
- Learn to use and leverage Social Media at our workshops: Engaging Everyone: Creating Accessible, Powerful Social Media Content.