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Home and Community Based News Spotlight

2023-09-25 Spotlight: For Disabled Couples, a Plea for Marriage

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 […]

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Advocacy News Study Session

DignityMA Study Session: Using Class Actions to Promote System Change

Steven Schwartz, Legal Director, Center for Public Representation, was the featured guest for a DignityMA Study Session on September 22, 2023. His topic is Using Class Actions to Promote System Change. Additional Information: Steven J. Schwartz currently is the Center’s Legal Director, after founding the Center in 1976 and then serving as its Executive Director […]

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News Study Session

DignityMA Study Session – ReFraming Aging

Presenter: Melissa Donegan, LSW,  Director, Healthy Living Center of Excellence, AgeSpan Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 10:00 a.m. Join ReFraming Aging Zoom MeetingMeeting ID: 856 6669 8185Passcode: 394342One tap mobile:+13052241968,,85666698185#,,,,*394342# US

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News Study Session

DignityMA Study Session – PACE Program 101 and More

PACE – Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly Presenter: Candace Kuebel, LCSW, MSW, MBA, Executive Director,MassPACE Association Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 10:00 a.m. Zoom link for PACEMeeting ID: 817 9848 3893Passcode: 334338One tap mobile:+13052241968,,81798483893#,,,,*334338# USTelephone: +1 305 224 1968 US

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Facilities Housing News Study Session

DignityMA Study Session – The Future of Nursing Homes: Navigator Homes of Martha’s Vineyard – A case Study

Wednesday, September 27, 2023, 2:00 p.m. Embracing the core values in the disruptive concept for nursing home design, the “Green House” model, Navigator Homes of Martha’s Vineyard, opening this fall, will house 70 people in 5 homes with 14 residents each. Each resident has a private room with bathroom. Residents will share a living room, […]

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Facilities News Study Session Worker Support

Nursing Home Staffing

This important topic was not a DignityMA Study Session, but this post attempts to be a compilation of current information on the topic. CMS has released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) that would implement a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes. DignityMA is following this top closely, and will continue to provide opinions. […]

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Facilities News Spotlight

2023-09-11 Spotlight: HHS Proposes Minimum Staffing Standards to Enhance Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes

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 […]

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Housing News Study Session

DignityMA Study Session with Secy. Edward Augustus

DignityMA Study Session with Secretary Edward Augustus, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Wednesday, September 13, 2023 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. The captions below are auto-generated by Vimeo. Secretary Augustus has served as Chief of Staff for Massachusetts Congressman James McGovern, City Manager for Worcester, and Chancellor for Dean College. In May 2023, […]

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News

2023-08-21 Spotlight: Graying of Massachusetts prisons cries out for a dose of compassion

*The Boston Globe, By The Editorial Board, August 27, 2023 (updated) That starts with increased use of medical parole for those with dementia and Alzheimer’s. D.B., as his lawyers refer to him, was 87, suffering from dementia and other age-related illnesses. Doctors had already confirmed he was both terminally ill and permanently incapacitated. But he […]

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Covid-19 Facilities News Spotlight

2023-08-21 Spotlight: How Nursing Homes Failed to Protect Residents from Covid

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 […]