Paternalism: A Wake-Up Call Lifeline, a publication of the National Continuing Care Residents Association, Volume 2, 2025, By Charles F. Finley Charlie Finley has lived in independent living at a CCRC near Richmond, Virginia, for the last five years. Email: charfinley@mindspring.com. Doubtless, there has never been a book like this written expressly for us senior […]
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Editor’s note At the request of Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, a public hearing has been scheduled on the proposed change of ownership of eight facilities owned by Bear Mountain (Bear Mountain at Andover; Belvidere Healthcare Center, Lowell; Chestnut Hill of East Longmeadow; Bear Mountain at Reading; Sixteen Acres Healthcare Center, Springfield; Bear Mountain at Sudbury; Bear […]
By James A. Lomastro, PhDJames Lomastro is Chair of DignityMA’s Facilities Workgroup and a member of the Coordinating Committee. The senior housing and care industry is trying to reinvent itself. Leaders are moving away from “end-stage living” language and pushing “next-stage living” instead — a more aspirational model centered on engagement, autonomy, and health span. […]
Editor’s note: This statement is the personal expression of the author. It does not necessarily reflect the position of Dignity Alliance Massachusetts or any other DignityMA participant. DignityMA is a non-partisan organization and welcomes statements from all parties who support older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers. About the Author: Richard T. Moore of Uxbridge […]
MGL Chapter 197 of 2024 (also known as the Long Term Care Act) established a number of commissions and task forces. The final reports from several of them have recently been released which are listed below along with commentary by DignityMA participants. Long Term Care Task Force Final Report (pdf) Massachusetts General Law Chapter 197 […]
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Rest Homes
Rest Homes are another type of facility in MA. April, 2025: EOHHS updated the Rest Home Task Force Report. Jim Lomastro response Response to the April 2025 Rest Home Task Force Report. Summary of Rest Home Taskforce Strengths: The report is comprehensive in scope, addressing licensing, regulatory structures, bed inventory, service areas, closures, federal funding […]
From Boston Center for Independent Living: On July 23, over 1,400 people—we did a count—rallied at City Hall Plaza in Boston and then marched en masse down Tremont Street to The Embrace on Boston to mark the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. As promised, attendees spoke out loud and clear for civil […]
Media Release Calls for Executive Action and Legislation to promote cooling for older adults and people with disabilities As another heat wave with temperatures in the nineties begins this week, Dignity Alliance Massachusetts is calling on state government to protect older adults and people with disabilities from the dangers of extreme heat. In a letter […]
By Richard T. Moore, Chair, DignityMA Legislative WorkgroupCommonwealth Beacon, July 19, 2025 The smell of smoke should never be the last thing a person experiences in their own home. Yet for residents of the Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River, that nightmare became a reality this week. The fire that tore through their […]
Globe Reports on Assisted Living Residences Commission July 23, 2025: Boston Globe: Fall River fire prompts reconsideration of how Mass. regulates assisted living by Jason Laughlin and Kay Lazar. “The blaze at Gabriel House, which killed 10 people and sent around 30 to hospitals, is prompting a state commission to address questions raised by the […]