August 18, 2021 – WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that his administration will require that nursing home staff be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. Biden unveiled the new policy Wednesday afternoon in a White House address as the administration […]
Category: Covid-19
Dignity Alliance Massachusetts endorses the petition letter of the Vaccine Equity NOW! Coalition and demand that Governor Baker take immediate action to prioritize access to the vaccine for the communities hardest hit by the pandemic. Download the entire statement: DAM-VEN-Petition.docx. The Black, Latinx, and immigration communities have suffered a disproportionate burden in COVID-19 rates, hospitalization, […]
Dignity Alliance Massachusetts has endorsed the following Advocacy to add to listing of disability conditions to qualify for vaccination priority. Download the entire statement: DAM Disability Vaccine Letter.docx. People with quadriplegia, cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and intellectual and developmental disabilities, among other many disabilities and health conditions, are not getting […]
Call for Compassionate Care Visitation Policy for Nursing Home Residents Download the full resolution which includes references: Nursing Home Compassionate Care Visitation for Nursing Home Residents Dignity Alliance Massachusetts.docx. March 13th marks the tragic one-year anniversary of banning visitations for nursing home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dignity Alliance Massachusetts is writing for your help […]
Download Dignity Alliance’s comments on the renewal of the Commonwealth’s 1115 Renewal: 1115 Waiver Renewal DAM.docx. Comments regarding the Renewal of the 1115 Waiver Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, a grass-roots coalition of aging and disability service and advocacy organizations and supporters, is dedicated to securing fundamental changes in the provision of long-term services, support, and care. […]
The Joint Committee on Covid-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management will hold its first in a series of oversight hearings on the state’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan on Thursday, February 25, 2021. The hearing will be held by the newly created Joint Committee and will seek testimony from the Baker Administration on the state’s COVID […]
Whereas, Older Adults and People with Disabilities in Massachusetts and all Americans age fifty or overs are already on edge about their financial and retirement security: The one-two punch of the pandemic and the economic crisis puts millions of people in our community in danger; and Whereas, Social Security is the largest source of retirement […]
The hearing was held on October 13. For more information, including video testimony, visit: https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/3580. Paul Lanzikos can be seen and heard around the 30 minute mark in the first video. Unfortunately, closed captions are not included. From State Senator Becca Rausch: “As the Senate Vice-Chair of the Elder Affairs Committee, on Tuesday I participated […]
We call for further legislative inquiry to determine why and how residents and workers disproportionately incurred the worst impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and to identify and develop strategies, policies, and procedures to address any resurgence of Covid-19 or the spread of influenza and other infectious diseases in nursing homes and other congregate living settings.
We strongly advocate appropriations to ensure the universal availability of necessary supports, including, but not limited to, sufficient and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and of livable wages and benefits for frontline workers confronting the current coronavirus outbreak as well as anticipating future needs.