Objectives

Dignity Alliance Massachusetts has formed to address the structural and systemic deficiencies which have created this public health crisis.  We are committed to implementing and expanding access to essential care improvements and living alternatives that will make the Commonwealth a model of care and living choices.  

Dignity Alliance Massachusetts is a broad-based group representing a wide range of stakeholders, including nursing home resident advocates, disability rights organizations, legal service entities, mental health organizations, health policy experts, faith-based groups, and labor organizations, and those representing the voices of older adults and individuals with disabilities.

Our aim is to advance policies that revolutionize long-term care, putting the dignity of individuals first, ensuring affordable options for community living, and providing living wages and benefits for caregivers and service workers in facilities and home and community-based settings.

Objective: Single-Occupancy Rooms

The immediate creation of an initiative to demonstrate the efficacy of nursing facilities operating exclusively with single-occupancy rooms.  This addresses consumer demand and expectations for privacy, dignity, and choice as well as optimizes infection control protocols.

Objective: Oversight on the Effects of Covid-19

Legislative oversight hearings to determine why and how residents and workers disproportionately incurred the worst impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and what strategies, policies, and procedures are being developed to address any resurgence of Covid-19 or the spread of influenza and other infectious disease in nursing homes and other congregate living settings.

Objective: Frontline Worker Support

Immediate and comprehensive enhancement of supports, including, but not limited to, sufficient and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), testing, paid sick time, and compensation for frontline workers confronting the current coronavirus outbreak as well as anticipating future needs.

Objective: Affordable and Accessible Housing

Increase support for affordable and accessible housing, especially with service availability.  Many people remain in a facility long after they have recovered from an illness or injury because they cannot find suitable living accommodations.