New York Times (free access)By Tammy LaGorce, September 15, 2023 On Wednesday afternoon, 20 couples gathered in front of a stage at the National Mall in Washington to recite their commitment vows. Some brides had on white gowns while grooms wore top hats. Others donned orange T-shirts printed with the words “Disability Rights Are Human […]
Category: Spotlight
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 […]
By Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times Ethicist columnistNew York Times (free access), July 28, 2023 Five years ago, I began volunteering as a bill payer for a legally blind, 95-year-old woman on public assistance. The job involved handling paperwork that clients could no longer handle themselves, thus helping enable them to remain at home. […]
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. […]
Opinion by Richard T. Moore, former Massachusetts State Senator and Chair Dignity Alliance Massachusetts Legislative Workgroup, July 17, 2023FYI: Dignity Digest 145 contains the footnotes for this article. In the Pacific Northwest, “As records toppled, lives were lost. Early investigations suggest that nearly one thousand people died as a direct result of the Pacific Northwest […]
With the Word ‘May’, ACIP Leaves Seniors Vulnerable to RSV This Winter July 5, 2023, By Richard Hughes IV and Spreeha Choudhury Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a dangerous disease for vulnerable and older adults. Last winter, RSV spiked significantly and continues to cause between 60,000-160,000 hospitalizations and 6,000-10,000 deaths each year in older adults. And yet, […]
Scandal in Plain Sight – Virginia’s Failed Regulation of Law-Avoiding Nursing Home Owners Bacon’s RebellionJune 10, 2023by James C. Sherlock Scandal in Plain Sight – Virginia’s Failed Regulation of Law-Avoiding Nursing Home Owners One of the most important and heart-wrenching decisions families make for their elderly loved ones is whether they are able to keep […]
Why Is This Happening? (Podcast and transcript)May 31, 2023 Every day in the United States, 10,000 people turn 65, according to the UN Population Division. We are about to have the largest older population ever. At the same time, nearly 4 million babies are born every year, leaving many Americans juggling caring for young children […]
A Woman of Valor: Arlene Germain Disability Issues, Spring 2023 Vol.43 No. 2 By Sandy Alissa Novak 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 […]