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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 ...