Two Federal and One State Agency offered opportunities for the public – both individuals and organizations, such as Dignity Alliance, to make suggestions for update strategic plans to serve a guidance from 2025 – 2030. They asked, Dignity Alliance answered! Here is a summary of what was requested and our answers based on input from […]
Category: Facilities
Statement of Senator Patricia Jehlen, Co-Chair, Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, regarding the passage of H 5033, the long-term care reform bill. This statement was made during the Senate session held on August 29, 2024. Sen. Jehlen of Somerville was recognized to speak remotely. Around a minute of silence passed before her voice came over […]
Governor Signs Long Term Care Legislation On September 26, Governor Maura Healey ceremonially signed milestone legislation reforming the long-term care sector in Massachusetts. On September 6, she officially signed into law H 5033, An Act to improve quality and oversight of long-term care, as Chapter 197 of the Acts of 2024. DignityMA released statement: Milestone […]
Why not find a way to pay frontline workers more? The Provincetown IndependentBy Donna Cooper M.D., August 24, 2024Donna Cooper is a retired internist with a master’s degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. She worked at Outer Cape Health Services and Mass. General Hospital and lives in Provincetown. I had just returned from […]
*The Provincetown IndependentBy Jack Styler, August 7, 2024Despite latest failure, 3 lawmakers say long-term care legislation is not dead Massachusetts politicians at both the state and federal level have made recent moves toward tightening regulation of the long-term care industry, especially as private-equity firms continue to buy up nursing homes across the country. On Beacon […]
NYT (free access) By Jordan Rau, July 12, 2024 Jordan Rau has been writing about nursing homes for a decade. For this story, he analyzed 1.3 million records of daily nursing home staffing levels and interviewed dozens of people, including residents, their relatives and nursing home workers. For hours, John A. Pernorio repeatedly mashed the […]
After reports of dismal conditions, nursing homes need more staff — and more oversight Boston Globe, By The Editorial Board, July 28, 2024 Homes need help recruiting and retaining staff. They also need stricter regulation to ensure revenues that could go to patient care aren’t diverted to owners At Highview of Northampton nursing home, residents […]
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Oversight of Nursing Homes
In addition to concerns on staffing and finances at nursing homes, which has led directly to neglect of residents, DignityMA is also perplexed at the seeming lack of oversight and enforcement from the state. Download, or scroll to read, a letter to the Commissioner of the MA Dept of Public Health, Robert Goldstein. The Provincetown […]
The Connecticut MirrorBy Jenna Carlesso and Dave Altimari, July 21, 2024 Athena nursing home workers say medical bills still going unpaid [Jamie] Iszczak, 45, said the problems started after Athena Health Care Systems — one of the largest nursing home chains in the state and the company where she has worked as a certified nursing […]
Mass Live, By Greta Jochem, July 14, 2024 ‘A dog pound would be better.’ Inside one of the most-fined nursing homes in Mass. This article details the poor living conditions and care provided at Highview of Northampton, a nursing home in Massachusetts. Here are the key takeaways: Highlights from the report: