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Advocacy Facilities News

Letter to DPH re: Nursing Home Closures

Paul Lanzikos, on behalf of DignityMA, has sent the following letter to the Department of Public Health regarding the closure of four nursing homes in western Massachusetts. A letter was also sent to the Attorney General. The Boston Globe reported on the story on March 9. Download the nursing home closures letter to the DPH […]

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Advocacy Facilities News

Letter to AG re: Nursing Home Closures

Paul Lanzikos, on behalf of DignityMA, has sent the following letter to the Attorney General on March 8, 2023, regarding the closure of four nursing homes in western Massachusetts. A letter was also sent to the Department of Public Health. The Boston Globe reported on the story on March 9. Download the nursing home closures […]

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Facilities News Spotlight

2023-02-26 Spotlight on Nursing Home Closures in Western MA

‘It’s flooding an already completely congested market.’ Nursing home closures in Western Mass. leave families and hospitals scrambling. Boston Globe, February 26, 2023, by Kay Lazar The abrupt announcement that four nursing homes in Western Massachusetts will be closing this spring has forced hundreds of people to scramble to find alternative facilities for their fragile […]

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Facilities News Spotlight

2023-02-20 Spotlight on Nursing Homes Owners Drained Cash While Residents Deteriorated

Nursing home owners drained cash while residents deteriorated, state filings suggest. NPR Shots, January 31, 2023 New York state records show nearly half the state’s 600-plus nursing homes hired real estate, management and staffing companies run or controlled by their owners, frequently paying them well above the cost of services. Meanwhile, in the pandemic’s height, […]

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Actions Advocacy Facilities

Recruitment – MassHealth members who have been stuck in nursing facility for 60 days or more

Simmons v. Healey: An ADA Class Action Seeking to Compel Massachusetts to Stop the Unnecessary Institutionalization of People with Disabilities On October 11, 2022, the Center for Public Representation (CPR), a national disability rights law firm in Easthampton, Massachusetts; Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS), a local legal services program; Justice in Aging, a national advocacy […]

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Actions Advocacy Facilities

Recruitment – Nursing Home residents who lived with more than 2 people in a room

Seeking Current or Former Nursing Homes Residents who lived in room with more than two residents could help this care. River Terrace Operator LLC, et al. v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts et al. Civil Action 2284CV01024 Dignity Alliance is assisting the Attorney General opposing about 30 nursing homes that don’t want to limit their facilities to […]

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Advocacy Facilities Home and Community Based News Resolution

Healey should settle, not litigate, disability lawsuit

Avoid unnecessary institutionalization in nursing homes. January 27, 2023 by Alex Green and Bill Henning EVERY DAY, thousands of Massachusetts residents with disabilities are admitted to segregated nursing facilities, be it to recover from medical procedures, to receive respite and care because they’re homeless, or because of a lack supportive services that are needed to […]

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Covid-19 Facilities News

BU Alum Calls for a COVID Day of Remembrance in Massachusetts

Bostonia, October 31, 2022 Paul Lanzikos (Questrom’80), cofounder of Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, says the occasion could have public health benefits.It’s estimated that more than one million Americans have died of COVID since 2020, according to Our World in Data, and across the nation, grieving families of COVID-19 victims are demanding the designation of an annual […]

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Advocacy Facilities News

Short of guardians, advocates could help patients navigate system

*Boston Globe, January 4, 2023Letter to the Editor by James Lomastro Editor’s note: James Lomastro is Chair of Dignity Alliance’s Veteran Services Workgroup. Kay Lazar’s article “Stranded in a hospital bed, with no guardian and little recourse” (Page A1, Dec. 27) brought a focus to an issue that does not receive much attention: the plight […]

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Facilities News

Require Full Disclosure and Accountability for Nursing Home Reimbursement

Center for Medicare Advocacy, January 5, 2023, by T. Edelman Editor’s note: Richard Moore is the Chair of Dignity Alliance’s Legislative Workgroup. Owners and operators of nursing homes and their trade associations argue that they will need more money when mandatory staffing ratios promised by the Biden Administration are implemented. Don’t believe them. In “Are […]