Massachusetts needs a system to pay guardians for indigent adults.Boston Globe, August 31, 2026By The Editorial Board Massachusetts should establish a public guardian program through which qualified people are paid to be guardians for indigent clients. The heartbreaking scenario occurs daily: A patient is ready to leave the hospital for a nursing home or rehabilitation […]
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The “$72.80 Project” is an advocacy campaign conceived and produced by Noah Daube-Valois, a 20 year old Vassar College student who lives in Northampton, MA. He has spent this summer working with residents at Rockridge Retirement Home, many of whom he says, “now feel like family”. Only a month ago did he realize that most […]
The National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) published a new NORC website (www.ltcombudsman.org) which now offers a modern design, improved navigation, and easier access to the information and resources that support the work of Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs across the country. Whether you’re an Ombudsman representative looking for resources or a resident, family member, […]
Aging in America: Survive or Thrive PBS, Now Streaming Aging in America: Survive or Thrive, narrated by Martin Sheen, is a one-hour documentary that celebrates the promise of increased longevity while addressing crucial and unprecedented public policy challenges. Using Dr. Robert Butler’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, Why Survive? as a guide, the film explores critical […]
Forbes, July 31, 2026 By Peter Ubel, a physician and behavioral scientist at Duke University Community hospitals and nursing homes face an insidious threat: “related-party earnings,” where owners deliberately bankrupt facilities for profit. This involves private equity firms buying a hospital, then selling its land to a related company at a discount, only to rent […]
JAMA Health Forum, July 31, 2026 By Joohyun Chung, PhD, MStat, RN; Michael Lepore, PhD; Tingzhong Xue, PhD; Rachel Broudy, MD; Hyeyoung Park, PhD, RN; Raeanne LeBlanc, PhD, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, CHPN; David L. Chin, PhD Editor’s note: Joohyun Chung and Michael Lepore are currently collaborating with Dignity Alliance Massachusetts and the Center for Health Information […]
The New Bedford Lightby Grace FergusonJuly 28, 2026 Five years after the state introduced staffing standards to improve care in nursing homes, 51% of facilities are out of compliance, a New Bedford Light investigation found. Resident advocates say state penalties are too low.Summary:The Light’s monthslong investigation uncovered: A monthslong investigation by The New Bedford Light […]
Below are some key sections from the report. Download the complete Study and Report on the Need and Feasibility of Qualified Professional Guardians (pdf). Executive Summary The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s (DPH) Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality contracted with Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG) to conduct a study to evaluate the need […]
The Social Model of Disability National Library of MedicineThe medical model views disability as a problem that exists within an individual and focuses on diagnosis, treatment, or cure. The social model offers a different perspective. It suggests that people are often disabled not by their bodies or minds, but by the inaccessible environments around them, […]
The Landscape of Elder Care in the United States: Part 1—Where Older Americans Live and Why It Matters By Kelli Marquardt, Aryan Safi, and Anthony Lo Sasso In the first installment of a three-part research series, economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago analyze the macroeconomic impacts of the United States’ shifting demographic landscape, […]