Nursing Home Staffing has been an issue for some time. Insufficient staffing results in a poor quality of life for residents, resident safety and staff retention issues. DignityMA has compiled current information on the topic. There are a number of reasons for inadequate staffing. DignityMA is focusing on what the standard should be, problems achieving […]
Category: Facilities
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ServicesSeptember 1, 2023 Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), issued a proposed rule that seeks to establish comprehensive staffing requirements for nursing homes—including, for the first time, national minimum nurse staffing standards—to ensure access to safe, high-quality […]
By Paula Span, New York Times (free access), August 19, 2023 The first terrifying wave of Covid-19 caused 60,000 deaths among residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities within five months. As the pandemic wore on, medical guidelines called for promptly administering newly approved antiviral treatments to infected patients at high risk of […]
To: Anne Klibanski, MD, President and CEO, Mass General Brigham Dear Dr. Klibanski, Dignity Alliance Massachusetts is a statewide, non-profit coalition of individuals and organizations advocating for older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers. By way of introduction to Dignity Alliance, we have attached a copy of our most recent annual report. We recently […]
Editor’s note: This is a provocative essay. It includes a reference to the Worcester (MA) Recovery Center, a facility for 320 long-term patients with private rooms and “a recovery-inspired residential design” which opened in 2012. If you have observations or comments regarding the essay which you would like to share, please send them to Digest@DignityAllianceMA.org. […]
A Woman of Valor: Arlene Germain Disability Issues, Spring 2023 Vol.43 No. 2 By Sandy Alissa Novack I recently had the privilege of interviewing Arlene Germain, co-founder of Dignity Alliance Massachusetts. The following interview has been edited to fit in Disability Issues. Sandy Novack: Arlene, please tell us your first introduction to concerns about disability […]
Senate Special Committee on Aging Report: Nursing Home Survey Agencies are Severely Understaffed As reported by The Consumer Voice, May 19, 2023 Today, the Senate Special Committee on Aging, led by Chairman Bob Casey, released a new report, “Uninspected and Neglected: Nursing Home Agencies are Severely Understaffed, Putting Residents at Risk.” The report details a […]
CMS eager to leverage new nursing home ownership data, leader confirms McKnight’s Long Term Care, April 26, 2023 By Kimberly Marselas A top Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services enforcement official said Tuesday that the agency is eager to use data collected under a proposed ownership transparency rule to “scrutinize how certain ownership types correlate […]
SJC reinstates criminal charges against managers of Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, where 76 died early in pandemicBoston Globe, April 27, 2023By Ivy Scott and John R. Ellement Families of the veterans say the decision offers ‘a glimmer of hope’ as they prepare for the upcoming trial.The state’s highest court reinstated criminal charges on Thursday against Bennett […]
Assisted-living homes are rejecting Medicaid and evicting seniors *Washington Post, By Christopher Rowland, April 6, 2023 Some residents who drained their nest eggs to cover private-pay rates have been evicted after turning to Medicaid to pay their bills. A recent spate of evictions has ousted dozens of assisted-living residents in Wisconsin who depended on Medicaid […]