News

DignityMA editor’s note: This is a provocative article about aging and longevity. The Post has received over 800 comments online. We welcome comments from Dignity Digest readers which can be submitted via info@DignityAllianceMA.org. Comments may be posted in future issues of The Digest. ‘Aging is a disease’: Inside the drive ...

*The Boston Globe, By The Editorial Board, October 27, 2023 (updated) Unnecessary segregation in nursing homes ‘has been linked to accelerated mental, emotional, and physical decline’ when residents have little autonomy and little ability to engage in outside activities, a lawsuit says. For many people with disabilities, living in a ...

Elderly and Imprisoned: ‘I Don’t Count It as Living, Only Existing.’ New York Times (free access), October 21, 2023, Text by Carmilla Floyd, Photographs by Joseph Rodriguez On a clear day in March 2023, the snowy peaks surrounding the California Institution for Men in Chino were visible. Cleveland Lindley stood ...

Only 6% of REIT Nursing Home Assets Meet Proposed Federal Staffing Mandate Skilled Nursing News, October 20, 2023, By Amy Stulick Only 6% of real estate investment trust (REIT) assets are in compliance with the federal minimum staffing proposal for nursing homes, compared to the industry average of 19%. This ...

EOHHS (Executive Office of Health and Human Services) held a public hearing on October 20, 2023 to hear comments on proposed amendments to 101 CMR 206.00 implement Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget requirements. Both Dignity Alliance Massachusetts and Pete Tiernan of HCBS Solutions responded. DignityMA and HCBS agree with each ...

October 2023
By Former Senator Richard Moore, Chair DignityMA Legislative Workgroup While the abuse of residents with intellectual disabilities in state institutions cries out for reform, residents of nursing homes appear to have even fewer rights. Despite improvements brought about by the federal 1987 Nursing Home Reform Act and state laws ...

AARP’s Long-Term Services and Supports State Scorecard 2023 Edition
September 2023
By Susan Reinhard, Ari Houser, Carrie Amero, Paul Lingamfelter The 2023 LTSS State Scorecard (the Scorecard) is a compilation of state data and analysis based on a new vision of a high-performing state long-term services and supports (LTSS) system. Released every ...

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 ...

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:

• Motion for Class Certification (pdf)
• Using Class Actions to Promote System Change (Power Point)

Steven ...

November 8, 2023 This interactive webinar covered how ageism harms us all, how to counter ageism, and how to be an agent for change. Additional Resources

• Reframing Aging Slides (as seen in the video) (pdf)
• Fact Sheet on Rethinking Aging and Ageism (pdf)
• InfoGraphic on the Story of Reframing ...
  
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The Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is an evidence-based care model for older adults who meet a nursing-home level of care but live in community settings. These organizations blend funding from Medicare and Medicaid to integrate preventive, acute, and long-term care as well as services to ...

Wednesday, September 27, 2023 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 ...

Nursing Home Staffing has been an issue for some time. Insufficient staffing results in a poor quality of life for residents, resident safety and staff retention issues. DignityMA has compiled current information on the topic. There are a number of reasons for inadequate staffing. DignityMA is focusing on what the ...

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
September 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 ...

Secretary Edward Augustus, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities September 13, 2023 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, he was appointed the inaugural Secretary of the Executive Office of Housing ...

*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 ...

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 ...

By Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times Ethicist columnist
New 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 ...

Read More about Trapped

(Scroll down to read DignityMA testimony for this proposal.) The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has issued proposed amendments to regulations for long term care facilities and other providers aligning the flu and COVID-19 vaccine requirements for personnel, eliminating the mandate that all personnel be vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine. Under ...

Report of the DignityMA Legislative Work Group 7/31/2023 Download the FY 2024 DignityMA Supported Budget Items (pdf). The following items, under consideration by the Conference Committee, were all approved in the final budget that is being presented to the House and Senate today. 28 Dignity Advocates "took action" by contacting ...