Dignity Alliance MA is effecting change for people with disabilities and older adults in MA living at home and in facilities. This influence is possible through our members’ work at identifying, discussing, and publicizing existing issues in long term care. DignityMA follows up by educating government officials and recommending specific changes.
Members have also published books! Scroll down.
Published Articles
DignityMA has become a resource for media, both through opinion pieces as well as expert sources in articles. Below are published articles by, or quoting DignityMA members starting mid-July 2024.
The newest articles are listed first, but the table can be resorted using the up/down arrow icons associated with each heading.
| Title | Date | Publisher | Members | Topics | Download | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| When grandparents become the safety net | 2026-02-25 | Daily Hampshire Gazette | Jim Lomastro | Grandparents as parents to their grandchildren | When children enter foster care, Massachusetts provides stipends, allowances, and case management. But when grandparents step in through guardianship petitions or informal family arrangements, as more than 90 percent of kinship caregivers do, support drops sharply. The labor is identical. The compensation is not. This disparity does not come from explicit prejudice. No statute says older adults deserve less. The bias is subtler. | |
| Levito Madre: The Resurgence of Multigenerational Families | 2026-02-19 | American Society on Aging, Generations Journal | Jim Lomastro | Multi-generational homes compared to the nuclear family | Bridging traditions between the United States and Campania. Economic factors have accelerated the return to multigenerational living in the United States. |
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| Will vulnerable elders be forced into nursing homes? | 2026-02-10 | American Society on Aging, Generations Journal | Margaret Morganroth Gullette | Home Care Crisis and Nursing Homes | The main method to help people age in place is the state’s Enhanced Community Options Program (ECOP), which serves low-income older adults, if they clinically qualify for MassHealth–funded nursing-home care. These individuals are most often ... eligible for nursing facilities but could stay in their own homes—where they prefer to be—if they could get some small amount of help for bathing, shopping, or cleaning. Soon after Trump was inaugurated for the second time, however, long before anyone knew how his Medicaid cuts would affect any state, the first notice appeared of cuts to the ECOP home care program. |
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| Mutual aid is everyday resistance | 2026-02-06 | WBUR | Jim Lomastro | Mutual aid in communities | "Charity assumes stability: someone has resources, someone else lacks them, and the broader system still works. Mutual aid emerges when that assumption collapses; when people recognize that the system itself has become part of the problem. It is grounded in reciprocity, proximity and urgency. Mutual aid is less about generosity than sustaining." | |
| We’re failing the most vulnerable when we scrimp on guardianship | 2026-02-01 | Boston Globe | Paul Lanzikos | Guardianship | We’re failing the most vulnerable when we scrimp on guardianship | Letter to the Editor: "Massachusetts is one of only 14 states without a state-organized public guardianship service." |
| Does Long-Term Care in America Need a Wellness Check? | 2026-02-01 | American Geriatric Society | Richard T. Moore | Long-term Services and Supports | Does Long-Term Care in Massachusetts Need a Wellness Check? | when it comes to long-term care, older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers actually live day to day—the system shows clear signs of distress. |
| The Missing Middle: Why Aging Policy Needs Congregate Living Models | 2026-01-27 | American Society on Aging, Generations Journal | Jim Lomastro | Congregate living arrangements that combine independence with community. | The Missing Middle: Why Aging Policy Needs Congregate Living Models (pdf) | Existing policy frameworks frequently regard congregate living as a less preferable option, pursued primarily when aging in place is no longer feasible. |
| Why Baby Boomers Are Protesting Again—And Why It Matters | 2026-01-15 | American Society on Aging, Generations Journal | Jim Lomastro | Older adults showing up at protests and rallies, in force. | Why Baby Boomers Are Protesting Again—And Why It Matters | Lists things that older activists bring: 1. Moral Authority 2. Skills 3. Time 4. Financial Resources 5. Connections 6. Memory |
| Winter Edition 2026 Disability Issues | 2026-01 | Disability Issues | Sandy Novack | Catalog Dreams - A Poem by Sandy Novack | How catalogs help a woman with little money and mobility and strength issues. | |
| Winter Edition 2026 Disability Issues | 2026-01 | Disability Issues | Penelope Ann Shaw | Liberated by a Wheelchair - An essay by Penelope Ann Shaw | Instead of being "confined to a wheelchair", Penny's wheelchair liberates her. | |
| My Turn: Massachusetts at 250 — A promise deferred for elders and disabled | 2026-01-07 | Greenfield Recorder | Jim Lomastro | State shortcomings for elderly and disabled | My Turn: Massachusetts at 250 — A promise deferred for elders and disabled (pdf) | The ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness slip further from reach for the commonwealth’s most vulnerable residents: older adults, people with disabilities, and those who care for them. |
| How to Keep an Anti-Profiteering Law from Undermining Civil Rights Today | 2025-12-03 | Non-Profit Quarterly | Jim Lomastro | Nonprofits Under Pressure | How to Keep an Anti-Profiteering Law from Undermining Civil Rights Today | The False Claims Act is being mobilized to restrict civil rights... The new initiative creates profound uncertainty for organizations receiving federal funds. |
| Two Faces of the Same Crisis | 2025-12-02 | American Society on Aging | Jim Lomastro | Opioids and Psychotropics, Overmedicalization | Two Faces of the Same Crisis | How opioids and psychotropics became a symptom of overmedicalization in our care for the young and old. |
| State headed for a perfect storm on elder care | 2025-10-30 | The Salem News | Paul Lanzikos | Gaps in Elder Care | State headed for a perfect storm on elder care (pdf) | Now is the time for elected officials, local leaders and community members to demand urgent action: invest in home- and community-based services, support fair wages for care workers, and hold state leaders accountable to implement the Dignity Alliance plan. |
| Letter to the Globe: Overprescribing is a systemic ill that ails older patients | 2025-10-20 | Boston Globe | Jim Lomastro | Over prescribing medication to older adults | Overprescribing is a systemic ill that ails older patients | Older people, disproportionately affected by chronic illness, are more likely to be prescribed multiple medications, sometimes without adequate consideration for their individual needs, preferences, or vulnerability to side effects and harmful interactions. This is not just a clinical oversight but also a reflection of systemic biases that see aging patients as passive recipients rather than partners in their own care. |
| Opinion/Guest column: State headed for perfect storm on senior care | 2025-10-19 | Worcester Telegram and Gazette | Richard T. Moore | Nursing home shortages, Home and Community Based Services shortages, and more | State headed for perfect storm on senior care | The current system wasn't built for today's older adults, and care is declining. |
| Guest columnist James A. Lomastro: Western Mass. can’t wait — The long-term care crisis is here | 2025-10-13 | Daily Hampshire Gazette | Jim Lomastro | Long Term Care and Western MA | Western Mass. can't wait — The long-term care crisis is here | The long-term care system meant to help us as we age is failing, and MA western counties are set to face the worst of the coming crisis. |
| Medical Parole | 2025-10-07 | Non-Profit Quarterly | Jim Lomastro | Why Expanding Compassionate Release Is a Moral and Fiscal Imperative | Why Expanding Compassionate Release Is a Moral and Fiscal Imperative (pdf) | As the prison population rapidly ages, medical costs skyrocket, and compassionate release systems remain dramatically underutilized, states face a growing crisis both fiscal and humanitarian in nature. Thousands of elderly and seriously ill incarcerated people who do not present a threat to society die behind bars at enormous public expense. The need for better policies that encourage compassionate release for older Americans is clear. |
| The Age-Friendly Paradox | 2025-10-07 | American Society on Aging | Jim Lomastro | Age-Friendly programs | Age-friendly programs are policy theater that can impede more substantial reforms by creating the appearance of comprehensive action. | |
| AI Robs My Students of the Ability to Think | 2025-08-12 | Wall Street Journal | Alex Green | Artificial Intelligence and it's effect on students | AI Robs My Students of the Ability to Think | For all its promise, AI is being developed and used in ways that are disabling. Students report that they find their ability to write, speak and conduct basic inquiry is slipping away. |
| SNF validation program — a necessary quality assurance measure | 2025-08-08 | McKnights Long-Term Care News | Jim Lomastro | Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ skilled nursing facility validation program | SNF validation program — a necessary quality assurance measure | Many SNFs are still operating with outdated, disconnected systems in an era when seamless integration should be standard. straightforward: In 2025, MDS assessments, clinical documentation and quality reporting should be automated and integrated. |
| The Philanthropic Trap: How Charity Can Legitimize Systemic Problems | 2025-08-07 | Non-Profit Quarterly | Jim Lomastro | A complex analysis of the results of philanthropy vs. government programs | The Philanthropic Trap: How Charity Can Legitimize Systemic Problems | |
| A Trillion-Dollar Debacle: How Trump’s Budget Bill Codifies Healthcare Apartheid | 2025-07-31 | Non-Profit Quarterly | James A. Lomastro Margaret Morganroth Gullette | Medicare, Medicaid | A Trillion-Dollar Debacle: How Trump’s Budget Bill Codifies Healthcare Apartheid | |
| At Salisbury Beach, a lifetime of returns | 2025-06-24 | Boston Globe | Jim Lomastro | Travel and Memories | At Salisbury Beach, a lifetime of returns | |
| Still Marching After All These Years | 2025-06-21 | Boston Globe | Margaret Morganroth Gullette | Parents, Protests | Still Marching After All These Years | |
| The Unjust Silence: Why Are We Forgetting Our Most Vulnerable While Others Prosper? | 2025-06-26 | Richard Moore | Personal Needs Allowance | The Unjust Silence: Why Are We Forgetting Our Most Vulnerable While Others Prosper? | The rationale for increasing the Personal Needs Allowance | |
| Private Equity and Wheelchair Services: How to Address a National Crisis | 2025-05-19 | Non-Profit Quarterly | Jim Lomastro | Private Equity and Wheelchairs | Private Equity and Wheelchair Services: How to Address a National Crisis | Private equity in wheelchair and DME industries have created a troubling landscape for wheelchair users across the United States who sometimes must wait up to three months for a single repair. |
| How My Mind Helps Me Thrive | 2025 Spring | Disability Issues | Penelope Ann Shaw | Disabilities | How My Mind Helps Me Thrive | I am more aware of the many ways my mind benefits me. I notice how often I journey inward to a different world where I have incredible skills. In this world, I have the ability to plan, analyze, make decisions, remember, reflect, observe, organize, recognize people, identify patterns and make sense of them. |
| Self-care During Challenging Times | 2025 Spring | Disability Issues | Sandy Novack | Self-care | Self-care During Challenging Times | Life can feel overwhelming at times. Whether you're balancing work, family, health concerns, or unexpected setbacks, it's easy to put your own needs at the bottom of the list. |
| How one man kept Mass. from sterilizing the disabled | 04-01 | WBUR | Alex Green | Fernald | How one man kept Mass. from sterilizing the disabled | In spite of Supreme Court support, Walter Fernald kept MA from legalizing sterilization of the disabled. |
| Don't lose sight of the struggles of veterans in nursing homes | 2025-04-01 | Boston Globe, Letters to the Editor | Jim Lomastro | Veterans in Nursing Homes | Don't lose sight of the struggles of veterans in nursing homes | Veterans in nursing homes are at risk. The Healey administration could help. |
| Some Budget Cuts Won't Make Older Adults and People with Disabilities Healthier | 2025-04-01 | Richard Moore | Federal Budget Cuts | Some Budget Cuts Won't Make Older Adults and People with Disabilities Healthier | Efforts to "Make America Healthy Again," may harm older adults and people with disabilities, who are the fastest growing part of America's population. | |
| The Triple Threat Facing Nursing Homes—And How to Overcome It | 2025-03-17 | NonProfit Quarterly | Jim Lomastro | Nursing Homes as Profit Centers | The Triple Threat Facing Nursing Homes—And How to Overcome It | Nursing Home crisis due to the commodification of elder care through what one investigator termed the “gray gold” phenomenon, equity firms’ aggressive entry into the care field, and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Brave New World: What Does the Digital Age Portend for Health Justice? | 2025-02-24 | NonProfit Quarterly | Jim Lomastro | Healthcare and AI | Brave New World: What Does the Digital Age Portend for Health Justice? (pdf) | During the COVID-19 pandemic, health justice advocacy groups adapted their strategies to the digital realm, leveraging social media platforms, virtual events, and other online resources to raise awareness and organize their efforts. This magnified the digital divide that plagues society, exposing deep disparities in access to technology and digital literacy. |
| Raising personal needs allowance 'right thing to do' | 2025-02-23 | Worcester Telegram and Gazette | Richard Moore | Personal Needs Allowance | Raising Personal Needs Allowance | Ask state legislators to co-sponsor the following bills: SD.2385, SD.401 and HD.830. |
| Communication to Yvonne Abramson at Boston Globe | 2025-02-12 | Boston Globe | Wynn Gerhard | Adult Guardianship | Letter to the Globe on Guardianship | Guardianship and conservatorship, while not well known or understood, present important issues for individuals and families, society, the Commonwealth and the courts. |
| Honest Brokers, Technology, and Health Justice: What Are We Learning? | 2025-01-27 | NonProfit Quarterly | Jim Lomastro | DAO: decentralized autonomous organization | Honest Brokers (pdf) | In healthcare and social services there is a growing need for honest brokers who can build trust and balance the conflicts of competing parties. |
| Dignity in Action: From Institutional Failure to Decentralized Empowerment | 2025-01-06 | NonProfit Quarterly | Jim Lomastro | Dignity Alliance MA | Dignity in Action: From Institutional Failure to Decentralized Empowerment (pdf) | A history of DignityMA, how it works, and why it has been an effective advocate. |
| A good old age is something to wish for, but for many it can be out of reach | 2024-09-30 | Boston Globe | Margaret Morganroth Gullette | Aging | A good old age is something to wish for, but for many it can be out of reach | Not everyone has a choice in how they age. |
| A step toward ending nursing home horror stories | 2024-08-30 | Boston Globe | Paul Lanzikos | Long Term Care Bill, Legislation | A step toward ending nursing home horror stories | Editorial encourages Governor Healey to sign the Long Term Care Bill |
| 3 Blupoint nursing homes in Massachusetts taken over by outside company after I-Team reports | 2024-08-30 | WBZ News | Paul Lanzikos | Nursing Home Oversight | 3 Blupoint nursing homes in Massachusetts taken over by outside company after I-Team reports | After I-Team Report, BluPoint paid workers. |
| Guest column: Nursing home reform bill overdue on Beacon Hill | 2024-08-11 | Worcester Telegram and Gazette | Richard Moore, Jim Lomastro | Long Term Care Bill | Guest column: Nursing home reform bill overdue on Beacon Hill | Long Term Care bill postponed until next year |
| The shame of the state’s nursing homes | 2024-08-04 | Boston Globe | Jim Lomastro | Nursing Home Staffing, Nursing Home Oversight | After reports of dismal conditions, nursing homes need more sta — and more oversight | Homes need help recruiting and retaining sta. They also need stricter regulation to ensure revenues that could go to patient care aren’t diverted to owners. |
| Facilities without air conditioning should not be tolerated | 2024-08-04 | Margaret Morganroth Gullette | Nursing Home Air conditioning | Facilities without air conditioning should not be tolerated | Nursing home residents are particularly vulnerable to dehydration, heatstroke, and even death from overheating. | |
| Lack of effective oversight on nursing homes poses serious concerns | 2024-08-02 | Salem News | Paul Lanzikos, Richard Moore | Nursing Home Oversight | Concern about the oversight of a number of nursing homes in the Commonwealth and the well-being of their residents and staff. | |
| Novack & Moore: Mass. has chance to help nursing home residents | 2024-07-28 | Boston Herald | Sandy Novack, Richard Moore | Personal Needs Allowance, Legislation | Novack & Moore: Mass. has chance to help nursing home residents (pdf) | Urges governor and legislature to increase the Personal Needs Allowance in the 2025 budget |
| Reforms promising greater oversight and regulation of nursing and long-term care facilities pass Senate | 2024-07-24 | Boston Globe | Paul Lanzikos | Long Term Care Bill, Legislation | Reforms promising greater oversight and regulation of nursing and long-term care facilities pass Senate (pdf) | Long Term Care bill would bring "sweeping reforms" to MA |
Published Books
American Eldercide: by Margaret Gullette
American Eldercide: How It Happened, How to Prevent It by Margaret Gullette: A book reading and discussion Scroll down to ...
A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America’s Disabled
By Alex Green From the moment he became superintendent of the nation’s oldest public school for intellectually and developmentally disabled ...