This page has quotes from the 2024 Dignity Digest issues, beginning in January, ordered by newest first.
For previous quotes, visit:
December 17, 2024
“We are quite hopeful the Trump administration would see [the staffing mandate] as one of the federal regulations that is overly burdensome and unrealistic and get repealed very early on.”
Linda Couch, senior vice president of policy and advocacy for LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, Nursing home staffing rule in limbo as Trump 2.0 approaches(Roll Call, December 4, 2024)
“[Ending the staffing mandate] means people are going to get harmed and they’re going to die. We’ve had years of talking about how important staff is, and if they don’t have enough staff to take care of them, they don’t get their needs met.”
Toby Edelman, senior policy attorney for the Center for Medicare Advocacy, which advocates the rights of nursing home residents, Nursing home staffing rule in limbo as Trump 2.0 approaches(Roll Call, December 4, 2024)
“An Act to Improve Quality and Oversight of Long-term Care” [Chapter 197] law includes sweeping changes for both long-term care and assisted living facilities. Importantly, the law includes provisions that will support the long-term care workforce, protect the rights and well-being of LGBTQ+ residents of long-term care facilities, and expand state oversight to ensure safe, high-quality care in assisted living and long-term care facilities.
Justice Department Releases Sixth Annual Elder Justice Report, U. S. Department of Justice, October 31, 2024
[From July 1, 2023, through June 30,], the [U. S. Department], working with local, state, Tribal and federal partners, pursued over 300 enforcement actions against over 700 defendants charged with stealing nearly $700 million from over 225,000 older victims.
Justice Department Releases Sixth Annual Elder Justice Report, U. S. Department of Justice, October 31, 2024
President Joe Biden has commuted the sentence of a former Indiana health care executive who led a $19.4 million fraud scheme involving nursing homes.
Biden grants clemency to Indiana nursing home CEO who led $19 million fraud scheme(IndyStar, December 13, 2024)
“These aren’t cattle that you load on the back of a truck and take up to a higher pasture. And that’s the current model they’re using.”
Florida Attorney Jim Wilkes, Florida nursing home patients were ‘side by side, head to toe’ with no air conditioning, food(Abcactionnews.com, December 10, 2024)
“They discovered residents on cots smaller than many of the residents’ bodies side by side, head to toe with little room to walk between them.”
Florida Agency for Health Care Administration report, Florida nursing home patients were ‘side by side, head to toe’ with no air conditioning, food(Abcactionnews.com, December 10, 2024)
In 2023, UnitedHealth’s denial rate of claims was 32 percent, compared to an industry average of 16 percent. Nonprofits had a far better record than for-profits. . .In Massachusetts, where I live, a supplemental Medicare policy from UnitedHealth costs $251 a month. An identical policy from Blue Cross, which has the state’s best record in not denying care, costs $212.
Robert Kuttner, How AARP Shills for UnitedHealthcare (American Prospect, December 11, 2024)
“Except for the active adult rental market, for the most part, senior housing communities cater to older adults who are 80-plus. That isn’t to say that there aren’t people aged 75-plus or even 65-plus in some communities, but in general, the majority of residents that reside in senior housing communities are 80 and older.”
Lisa McCracken, head of research and analytics at the National Investment Center, Senior Housing’s Supply-Demand Question, Multi-Housing News, December 9, 2024
“People may prefer to age in place—don’t want to leave their home, limited financial resources, little appetite for the current product, more services available in home, among other (reasons).” Better tech-enabled platforms support this trend, as well as an array of home care-related options.
Nancy Swanger, founding director of the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living at Washington State University, Senior Housing’s Supply-Demand Question, Multi-Housing News, December 9, 2024
By 2030, all 73 million Baby Boomers will have turned 65. By 2040, the number of people aged 85 and older will have doubled in less than two decades.
Senior Housing’s Supply-Demand Question, Multi-Housing News, December 9, 2024
But what’s most interesting, and has attracted surprisingly little comment, is the intersection of these two phenomena: Our planet is growing hotter and greyer at the same time. These twin phenomena, I submit, cannot be considered in isolation from one another.
They are not, I should note, problems of the same kind. Global warming is a disastrous reality and one that we should try to halt at all costs. An aging population is not a problem in that same sense. It is in fact a marker of social progress.
James Chappel, Our planet is growing hotter and greyer at the same time, *The Globe and Mail, November 16, 2024
“This year’s Climate Ready Housing funding will enable energy retrofit improvements of nearly 1,000 homes across the state. This funding will lower costs for low- and moderate-income residents, improve indoor air quality for our residents and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Massachusetts Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus, Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $16 Million to Decarbonize Affordable Housing, Office of Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, December 10, 2024
“We want Massachusetts residents to be able to access qualified behavioral health professionals when and where they and their families need them, and that will only happen if we lift barriers for entering this field. One crucial step to creating a strong behavioral health workforce is making earning a degree financially feasible for students driven to fill the roles.”
Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $12.4 Million to Support Behavioral Health Workforce(Office of Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, December 12, 2024)
“This was a massive scam, perpetrated for years. These individuals (the owners) were able to amass a fortune by pretending to be independent parties. In reality, they operated as one unit, providing terrible care to the sick, the elderly, and the poor, so they could make big profits.”
Acting New Jersey State Comptroller Kevin Walsh, N.J. nursing home ‘scam’ highlights host of problems | Editorial, NJ.com, December 15, 2024
At the federal level, if President-elect Donald Trump and his government efficiency office, headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, really want to root out waste, fraud and abuse, start with Medicare and Medicaid scams, which eat up critical taxpayer resources and deny quality care to those depending on it. Within that realm, the private nursing home business deserves special scrutiny.
N.J. nursing home ‘scam’ highlights host of problems | Editorial, NJ.com, December 15, 2024
“This investigation shows that [nursing home operators] Krausman and Konig’s broader business model was to funnel as much money as possible to themselves — from a dedicated, taxpayer-funded funding stream — to support their other business interests, while providing low-quality nursing home care.”
An analysis by Truveta, a health care data and analytics company, shows that the rate of first-time A.D.H.D. diagnoses has been on the rise since 2021, but the increase has occurred only among people 30 and older. From January 2021 to October 2024, the rate of first-time diagnoses rose about 61 percent among those ages 30 to 44 and 64 percent among those ages 45 to 64. As a result, about 31 percent of first-time diagnoses are now among people ages 30 to 44, the largest proportion of any age group. (In 2018, younger adults took the top spot.)
A.D.H.D. Diagnoses Are Surging Among Older Americans, New York Times (free access), December 13, 2024 (updated)
In 2023, the number of renter households spending more than 30 percent of their incomes on rent and utilities hit an all-time high of 22.6 million. This included a record-high 12.1 million severely burdened households that spent more than half of their incomes on housing costs. The most recent count marks an increase of 209,000 households in the last year, 2.2 million since 2019, and 7.8 million since 2001. With this rise, half of all renter households were cost burdened in 2023.
Renters’ Affordability Challenges Worsened Last Year, Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies, December 16, 2024
Despite the modesty of the [minimum staffing] rule, it is a critical step in ensuring residents living in the most poorly staffed nursing homes in the country begin to receive better care. If the lawsuit is successful, it will place untold numbers of nursing home residents in harm’s way.
Consumer Voice Files Amicus Briefs in Support of Minimum Staffing Rule in Nursing Homes, The Consumer Voice, December 5, 2024
December 10, 2024
Despite the modesty of the minimum staffing rule, it is a critical step in ensuring residents living in the most poorly staffed nursing homes in the country begin to receive better care. If the lawsuit is successful, it will place untold numbers of nursing home residents in harm’s way.
Consumer Voice Files Amicus Briefs in Support of Minimum Staffing Rule in Nursing Homes, The Consumer Voice, December 2024
“[Edgar P. Benjamin Healthcare Center in Boston] has existed in the community for 100 years now, and our hope is that with additional time, additional stabilization, it will be able to exist for another 100 years and provide that quality care that it’s known for.”
Oren Sellstrom, Litigation Director, Lawyers for Civil Rights, 25 Investigates: Receiver unravels financial mess at Boston nursing home, 25News, December 4, 2024
“The public interest favors prompt implementation of the staffing rule,” the groups state in their brief. “The public has a compelling interest in having vulnerable nursing home residents – their family members, friends, neighbors – receive appropriate care and in having their tax dollars spent on resident care, not on excessive private profit for owners and operators.”
“Friend of the court” brief submitted by the National Association of Local Long-Term Care Ombudsmen along with organizations, Iowa Capitol Dispatch, December 4, 2024
In a survey published last year, AARP — which broadens the definition of older Americans to people 50 and beyond — examined those who live alone and don’t have living children. Ten percent of people 50 or older meet this definition, AARP estimates. An additional 11 percent have at least one living child but are estranged from them. And 13 percent have children who they believe can’t or won’t help them manage their finances and health care.
As more older adults live alone, resources are cropping up to help them, *Washington Post, December 8, 2024
There are only some 101,000 centenarians in the United States, according to the most recent Census Bureau data. Of this small group, 15 percent live independently or conduct their lives independently while living with someone . . . About 20 percent of centenarians are free of physical or cognitive impairments. . . An additional 15 percent have no age-related illnesses, such as arthritis or heart disease.
She’s 102 years old, thriving, active and living life on her own terms, *Washington Post, December 8, 2024
“The intent of these requirements is to ensure residents only receive psychotropic medications when other nonpharmacological interventions are clinically contraindicated. Also, residents must remain on psychotropic medications only when a gradual dose reduction and behavioral interventions have been attempted and/or deemed clinically contraindicated.”
CMS issues ‘significant’ survey changes for 2025 (McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, November 19, 2024)
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a distrust in leadership. Trust is earned. Accountability, transparency, honesty, and integrity will regain this trust. A future pandemic requires a whole of America response managed by those without personal benefit or bias. We can always do better, and for the sake of future generations of Americans, we must. It can be done.”
Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), a podiatrist and Chair of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, House Covid-19 panel releases final report criticizing public health response to the pandemic, CNN, December 2, 2024
[Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition] said that the alarmingly low covid vaccination rate is a symptom of larger issues throughout the industry. He hears from patients’ families about poor food quality and a general apathy that some nursing homes have toward residents’ concerns. He also cites high rates of staff turnover and substandard, even dangerous, care. . .“That has resulted in much lower care, much more disrespectful interactions between residents and staff, and there’s just that lack of trust.”
Nursing Homes Fell Behind on Vaccinating Patients for Covid (KFF Health News, December 4, 2024)
December 3, 2024
The [Department of Public Health] could better ensure that nursing homes in Massachusetts that participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs comply with Federal requirements for life safety, emergency preparedness, and infection control if additional resources were available. . . The identified deficiencies occurred because of frequent management and staff turnover at the nursing homes, that contributed to a lack of awareness of, or failure to address, Federal requirements. In addition, the State agency had limited resources (i.e., staff) to conduct surveys of all nursing homes, including those with a history of multiple high-risk deficiencies, more frequently than required by CMS (i.e., every 15 months).
Massachusetts Could Better Ensure That Nursing Homes Comply With Federal Requirements for Life Safety, Emergency Preparedness, and Infection Control, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, November 9, 2024
“Most nursing home residents have not been afforded the protection offered by vaccination against severe COVID-19, influenza, and RSV disease during the 2024-25 respiratory virus season. Addressing low coverage of vaccination against COVID-19, influenza, and RSV must be prioritized.”
Hannah E. Reses, M.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues, COVID-19, Flu, RSV Vaccine Coverage Low for Nursing Home Residents, Diabetes in Control, November 26, 2024
“For those of us who have to work these holidays, being away from our families while our bosses get to relax at home, it is frustrating that nursing home owners have chosen this path instead of trying to address the staffing issues we all agree are a crisis.”
Monyou Taye, nursing assistant and a member of SEIU Healthcare, Minnesota nursing homes sue to block state pay rule for workers. MPRRadio, November 26, 2024
“People with obesity deserve to have affordable access to medical treatment and support, including anti-obesity medications for this disease, just as a person with type 2 diabetes can access these medications to get healthy.”
CMS administrator Chiquita Brooks-Lasure, CMS’ obesity drug coverage implications for nursing home patients, McKnights Long-Term Care, November 27, 2024
Despite the public health importance of vaccination, there is suboptimal uptake of Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)–recommended vaccines among adults in the United States (US), especially adult Medicaid beneficiaries.
Factors impacting vaccine uptake among adult Medicaid beneficiaries: a systematic literature review, Health Affairs Scholar, November 12, 2024
Currently, 5 social determinants of health SDOH domains (i.e., food insecurity, housing instability, transportation needs, difficulty paying utilities, and interpersonal safety) have been introduced or proposed in 21 federal programs, initiatives, or guidance documents. These efforts reflect growing recognition of the importance of SDOH in driving optimal health and health care outcomes. Beyond the 5 SDOH domains, a growing body of literature demonstrates that social isolation has unfavorable health impacts independently of SDOH.
Charting new territory: the early lessons in integrating social determinant of health (SDOH) measures into practice, Health Affairs Scholar, November 14, 2024
We think that it is reasonable to believe that a disabled person’s level of functional limitations, in addition to their socioeconomic status, experiences of ableism, access to needed accommodations, and characteristics of their built environment, may be associated with their level of social participation and exclusion. . . Based on findings from this study, coupled with prior evidence that the Washington Group Short Set (WGSS) questions severely underestimate the overall disability population,3,4 we recommend that the use of the WGSS questions be halted in all US federal surveys until further research can identify the cause of this underperformance.
Performance of the Washington Group questions in measuring blindness and deafness, Health Affairs Scholar, October 15, 2024
As enrollment in Medicare Advantage (MA) continues to grow, and with MA currently providing coverage for the majority of Medicare beneficiaries, it is increasingly important to address “Medicare Advantage Trap”. . . To ensure Medicare coverage choice for high-need beneficiaries, state- and federal-level policies should make it easier for beneficiaries to switch between Medicare coverage.
Medigap-guaranteed issue associated with Medicare Advantage disenrollment for beneficiaries administered a part B drug, Health Affairs Scholar, October 23, 2024
“[Nursing home o]perators must assess returning residents at the time of their proposed return and there can be no determination that their needs cannot be met or that their return poses safety or health risks to others.”
Randi Hansen, director of corporate compliance with Health Dimensions Group (HDG),Last Gasp or Reckoning: Making Sense of 2025 Nursing Home Survey Changes, Skilled Nursing News, November 27, 2024
Simplifying Medicare is no simple task. But it would increase competition, save taxpayers money and protect the solvency of a critical government program. It’s also the right thing to do for the 65 million seniors who currently face a maddening array of ambiguous choices.
Good luck figuring out Medicare (Bloomberg Opinion via Salem News, November 29, 2024)
Sometimes, [Lauren] Doctoroff, [an internal medicine physician at Massachusetts General who splits her time between home visits and occasional hospital rounds,] spends more time driving to the homes of patients than seeing them. Patients get disappointed when their conditions deteriorate, forcing them back to the hospital. The program is not a great fit for people who need intensive treatment by specialists or extensive testing to diagnose their condition.
But Doctoroff has noticed that patients with dementia and other cognitive dysfunction find more solace in a familiar setting than a frenetic, destabilizing hospital. Some older patients warmly recall the days of doctors making house visits.
“Patients are much happier.’’
When a home turns into the hospital (*Boston Globe, November 29, 2024)
“It is crucial to acknowledge that many challenges persist for those [with disabilities] whose primary struggles remain unaddressed. In the coming years, it is imperative to rectify these policy shortcomings and continue building strides made in the fight for disability rights.”
National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, 2024, (National Council on Disability, October 31, 2024)
Investigators themselves couldn’t locate staff when residents asked for help.
State Moves to Pull License for Corvallis Nursing Home, Williamette Week, November 28, 2024
“This is not some slippery slope. We are shortening death, not life, for our patients. This is not life or death; this is death or death.”
Peter Prinsley, a British Labour lawmaker and surgeon, British Lawmakers Vote to Legalize Assisted Dying in Landmark Decision, *New York Times, November 29, 2024
Some lawmakers said they feared that some of those patients might end their lives prematurely to remove the physical or financial burden on their families.
“People often recognize coercion only after years have passed, yet within a month someone could be dead . Malign coercion cases may be few, but as a clinician working at the fringes of life, I heard my patients frequently say, ‘I don’t want to be a burden,’ or ‘I’d rather the money went to the grandchildren than on my care.’”
Rachel Maskell, a Labour lawmaker who worked as a senior physiotherapist in acute medical care, British Lawmakers Vote to Legalize Assisted Dying in Landmark Decision, *New York Times, November 29, 2024
“People with disabilities should not have to give up their lives in the community and be isolated in nursing facilities to get the services they need. This settlement agreement sends the message that people with disabilities deserve the same kinds of lives as others, and makes clear that our family members, friends, and neighbors with disabilities add value to our lives and strengthen our communities when they can receive the services they need right inside their own home.”
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, U. S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Justice Department Secures Settlement Agreement with Colorado to Ensure Opportunities for People with Physical Disabilities to Live at Home, U. S. Department of Justice, November 1, 2024
“For a long time, it was, ‘The poor blind guy.’ That’s the way it was in the 1800s and going way, way back. But we’ve proved that that’s not what it is. It’s not what it is for most disabled folks.”
Cory Kadlik, assistive technology manager at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Artificial intelligence is opening doors for people with disabilities, WCVB, November 14, 2024
Voting assistance machines for those with disabilities broke down, while main entrances and exits to some precincts could only be accessed by stairs, according to the report issued by the Massachusetts Election Protection Coalition.
Post-election report shows accessibility, ballot and registration issues, WBUR, November 21, 2024
“There are nearly 1 million family caregivers in Massachusetts who provide unpaid care to their loved ones. Being a family caregiver is often considered a full-time job in itself, and frequently leads to burnout, anxiety, and depression. Massachusetts is dedicated to supporting family caregivers.”
Governor Maura Healey, Healey-Driscoll Administration Awarded Nearly Half a Million Dollars to Support Family Caregivers, Executive Office of Elder Affairs, November 8, 2024
“Family caregivers play a critical role in the home- and community-based services system by helping thousands of older people and individuals with disabilities and special needs to live and thrive in the communities of their choice.”
Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Healey-Driscoll Administration Awarded Nearly Half a Million Dollars to Support Family Caregivers, Executive Office of Elder Affairs, November 8, 2024
From 2022 to 2060, the population of adults age 65 and older in the U.S. is projected to increase dramatically from 57.8 million to 88.8 million.16 The number of adults age 85 and older is expected to nearly triple over the same period from 6.5 million to 17.5 million.
Direct Care Workers in the United States: Key Facts 2024, PHI, September 2, 2024
In contrast to the rapid expansion of the older adult population, the population of adults age 18 to 64 is expected to remain relatively stable, which means that there will be fewer potential paid and unpaid caregivers available to support older adults. Currently, the ratio of adults age 18 to 64 to adults age 85 and older is 31 to 1, but that ratio is projected to drop to 12 to 1 by 2060.
Direct Care Workers in the United States: Key Facts 2024, PHI, September 2, 2024
“The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over. With this penalty, we are setting a new standard of accountability for airlines that violate the civil rights of passengers with disabilities.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, DOT Issues Landmark $50 Million Penalty Against American Airlines for Its Treatment of Passengers with Disabilities, U. S. Department of Transportation, October 23, 2024
“People with disabilities need strong federal laws, policies and programs that take their needs and aspirations into account. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plan would eviscerate these standards and push disabled people back to an earlier, shameful era of isolation, exclusion and institutionalization.”
Statement about Project 2025 from the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities, a coalition of national disability organizations, What Trump’s Win Could Mean For Medicaid, Disability Programs (disabilityscoop, November 8, 2024)
Regarding the 100% clawbacks, it’s “unconscionable that someone would find themselves facing homelessness or unable to pay bills, because Social Security withheld their entire payment for recovery of an overpayment.”
Social Security chief Martin O’Malley, Social Security Tackles Overpayment ‘Injustices,’ but Problems Remain, KFF Health News, November 18, 2024
There has been a crisis brewing in primary care medicine in the country for decades. Many physicians complain of working long hours with an ever-growing list of responsibilities but without an increase in compensation and resources.
Citing ‘burnout,’ nearly 300 primary care doctors at Mass General Brigham take steps to unionize (*Boston Globe, November 18, 2024)
“This station reconstruction will make Newtonville Commuter Rail station in Newton fully accessible with a state-of-the-art station supporting safety, security and comfort. This addresses a crucial need for riders with disabilities and others who have struggled with the existing station infrastructure. Finding ways to deliver projects like this go beyond infrastructure improvements—they’re also about fostering a more inclusive, accessible, and equitable MBTA for all who depend on public transit.
MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng, Healey, Healey-Driscoll Administration, MBTA, Congressman Auchincloss, Mayor Fuller Celebrate Commitment to Rebuild Newtonville Station, Office of Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, November 25, 2024
November 26, 2024
Last year, nursing homes provided an average of 3.43 nurse staffing HPRD on Thanksgiving, over 10% less than the weekday average for that quarter (3.86 HPRD). Will nursing homes be any safer this Thanksgiving?
As Americans Gather for Thanksgiving, New Federal Data Show Many Nursing Home Residents Endure Understaffed Facilities (Long Term Care Community Coalition, November 25, 2024)
“We are proud to appoint Robin Lipson to serve as Secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs. Her work has made Massachusetts one of the best places to age, as we prioritize meeting the needs of older adults, lowering costs, and helping people safely stay in their communities.”
Governor Maura Healey, Robin Lipson Appointed Secretary of Elder Affairs (Executive Office of Health and Human Services, November 20, 2024)
The criminal legal system disproportionately affects historically marginalized communities. For men born in 2001, one in five Black men will be incarcerated, compared to only one in 20 white men.
Five Ways Medicaid Can Improve Outcomes for People Involved in the Criminal Legal System, Center for Health Care Strategies, November 13, 2024
Roughly 11,200 people a day are turning age 65 in the U.S. By 2034, it is projected that there will be more older adults than children in the country for the first time in U.S. history.
An Aging America: Priorities and Policy Innovations, The National Academy for State Health Policy, November 11, 2024
Medicaid is the primary public source of coverage for long-term services and supports (LTSS), funding over half of these services in 2020.
An Aging America: Priorities and Policy Innovations, The National Academy for State Health Policy, November 11, 2024
November 19, 2024
“Residents at [Centers for Care’s] nursing homes endured years of tragic and devastating mistreatment and neglect, while the owners made millions of dollars in profit. Centers’ owners operated the nursing homes with insufficient staffing so that they could pocket tens of millions of taxpayer dollars meant for resident care. Now, Centers and its owners will pay for the harm they caused and will continue to make major reforms at their facilities to ensure residents receive the care they deserve.”
State Attorney General Letitia James, NY nursing home execs settle for $45M after stealing nearly double that through patient neglect, wretched conditions: AG, New York Post, November 15, 2024
“We’re not opposed to adequate staffing, but we’re not in favor of a one-size-fits-all.”
Brett Hoffman, director of public policy and communications with the South Dakota Health Care Association, Nursing home representatives hope Trump administration halts ‘impossible’ staffing rule, South Dakota Searchlight, November 16, 2024
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested that in 2022 roughly 6.9 percent of Americans had long COVID. But the algorithm developed by [Hossein] Estiri’s team [at the Center for AI and Biomedical Informatics at Mass General Brigham] estimated that 22.8 percent of those who’d tested positive for COVID-19 met the diagnostic criteria for long COVID in the 12 months that followed, even though the vast majority had not received an official diagnosis.
Long COVID may be far more common than previously known, new Mass General Brigham study finds, *Boston Globe, November 17, 2024
A study by the data analytics firm Kantar of nearly 50 million posts in the US found that more than two-thirds of posts about people with intellectual disabilities were negative, and nearly 29 million contained slurs — many using the word “retard” or “retarded” or other words combined with “-tard.”
‘I’m really terrified’: Disability rights advocates concerned about return of r-word, *Boston Globe, November 17, 2024
“I’m really terrified.”
Maura Sullivan, chief executive officer of The Arc of Massachusetts, ‘I’m really terrified’: Disability rights advocates concerned about return of r-word, *Boston Globe, November 17, 2024
“I just want the r-word to go away.”
Melissa Reilly, a Special Olympics Athlete and an advocate for people with Down syndrome, ‘I’m really terrified’: Disability rights advocates concerned about return of r-word, *Boston Globe, November 17, 2024
Wheelchair maintenance did not exist. In the gym, there was what we called the wheelchair graveyard. I saw at least three dozen power chairs of all makes and models sitting around, abandoned, covered in dust and mold, and slowly rotting away. — it was a place where wheelchairs went to die.
10 Years in Prison as a Wheelchair User, New Mobility, September 16, 2024
“This is the first step on a long journey towards change. Now, we call on all airlines to adopt this invocation and change the world for wheelchair users.”
Sophie Morgan, founder of the Rights on Flights campaign, Delta Air Lines, DOT update plans for adaptive wheelchair seats on future flights, *USA Today, October 30, 2024 (updated)
The recently opened Inclusive Care Clinic at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry is not your typical dental clinic. Its focus is to care for patients with physical, developmental, sensory, behavioral, cognitive or emotional conditions.
Inclusive dental clinic ‘a home’ for patients, UIC Today, August 13, 2024
“We have been struggling with a provider shortage for many years, and sadly it appears to be worsening and has resulted in a crisis in access to health care.”
State Representative Mindy Domb (D-Amherst), As number of health care workers in Valley dwindle, experts at UMass summit brainstorm ways to reverse trend,*Hampshire Gazette, October 29, 2024
In March, newly installed Social Security chief Martin O’Malley criticized agency “injustices” that “shock our shared sense of equity and good conscience as Americans.” He promised to overhaul the Social Security Administration’s often heavy-handed efforts to claw back money that millions of recipients — including people who are living in poverty, are elderly, or have disabilities — were allegedly overpaid.
Social Security Tackles Overpayment ‘Injustices,’ but Problems Remain, KFF Health News, November 18, 2024
“Understanding if you’re infected early can also more effectively help prevent transmission to others. Instead of walking around with an infection for several days wondering if you have flu or COVID you can know right away. It’s really a wonderful advancement for public health and for human health.”
Dr. Chaz Langelier, an infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Francisco, Is it the flu or is it COVID? One at-home test can tell you, NPR Shots, November 18, 2024
“The challenge in battling vaccine reluctance — misinformation, hesitancy and fatigue — is not unique to the long-term care community, and everyone has a unique perspective that contributes to their individual decision. Family members are often making healthcare decisions for LTC residents, so the attitude of the general public can very much have an impact on resident vaccination rates.
David Gifford, chief medical officer at AHCA/NCAL, COVID vaccination among community-dwelling seniors tops that of nursing home residents, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, November 18, 2024
“Some [Republicans] are looking at Medicaid and food stamps. When you talk about spending, that is the place they immediately go, but I’m not sure they want the headlines about paying for tax cuts by cutting those programs.”
A GOP policy adviser, Trump allies eye overhauling Medicaid, food stamps in tax legislation, *Washington Post, November 18, 2024
Republicans have long denied that they are trying to reduce benefits for low-income Americans on either Medicaid or food stamps. They have framed their efforts as an attempt to reduce wasteful and unnecessary spending, arguing that streamlining the programs would preserve government benefits, not penalize people who use them.
Trump allies eye overhauling Medicaid, food stamps in tax legislation, *Washington Post, November 18, 2024
“[Herlda Senhouse, a 113-year-old Massachusetts woman and the second-oldest person in the US who died Saturday,] never could say anything bad about anybody and was always so gracious and kind, and always saw the positive side of things. It was impressive and inspiring.”
Tom Perls, a Boston University researcher who has the largest study of centenarians and their families in the world, Massachusetts’ oldest resident dies at 113, *Boston Globe, November 18, 2024
November 12, 2024
We feel confident that we have identified the bottom of the bottom dwellers and need to bring them to the attention of other professionals and the public. We are curious about why a chain like the one described in this post [Reliant Care Management, LLC] is allowed to operate with impunity.
RELIANT HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT LLC: THE WORST NURSING HOME CHAIN IN AMERICA, Tallgrass Economics, November 10, 2024
Our 5-month investigation, including interviews with 18 former employees, competitors, and an analysis of 900+ detailed facility-level cost reports, revealed that PACS’ “turnaround” strategy largely boils down to systematically scamming taxpayer-funded healthcare programs.
In one key example, PACS abused a COVID-era waiver, inappropriately accessing skilled care Medicare benefits for thousands of patients across its national portfolio of facilities, according to our investigation.
We estimate the scheme drove more than 100% of PACS’ operating and net income from 2020 – 2023, enabling PACS to IPO in early 2024 with the illusion of legitimate growth and profitability.
PACS Group: How To Become A Billionaire In The Skilled Nursing Industry By Systematically Scamming Taxpayers, Hindenburg Research, November 4, 2024
A former PACS regional manager told us as little as one Covid case would be used to flip an entire building to Medicare: “… As soon as one person tested [COVID-19] positive in our building, boom, wildfire, every single person gets flipped [to Medicare], absolutely inappropriately”.
PACS Group: How To Become A Billionaire In The Skilled Nursing Industry By Systematically Scamming Taxpayers, Hindenburg Research, November 4, 2024
“They would pay a licensing fee of like $1,000 a month or $2,000 a month to hang someone’s license… It was very common to have people’s licenses covering multiple buildings and not having enough actual licensed people working. They also had the Regional Director’s licenses hanging in buildings also, even though they weren’t working in the buildings.”
PACS Group: How To Become A Billionaire In The Skilled Nursing Industry By Systematically Scamming Taxpayers, Hindenburg Research, November 4, 2024
A former administrator told us: “… part of the reason of hiring these really, really, young guys is that they don’t know better. They will do whatever the upper management tells them to do…”. Another said: “…they just hired young guys that had no experience in the business that didn’t even understand the risk or the regulations.”
PACS Group: How To Become A Billionaire In The Skilled Nursing Industry By Systematically Scamming Taxpayers, Hindenburg Research, November 4, 2024
Right now, what we desperately need to improve care in our nursing homes – to eliminate the scariness – are care givers who enjoy the work, get satisfaction from it, and want to stick with it. We should treat them like the professionals they are by hiring enough of them and paying them what they deserve.
Mary Timp, Quality nursing home care requires quality staff, The Gazette, November 10, 2024
Effective Oct. 1, CMS now requires nursing homes to disclose more detailed ownership information as part of an Affordable Care Act final rule issued Nov. 15, 2023.
CMS nursing home ownership reporting: 5 things to know, Beckers Hospital Review, November 5, 2024
People with dementia largely were admitted to larger nursing homes, facilities that were more likely to be for-profit, nursing homes that were less likely to be hospital based, and facilities with lower star ratings.
People with dementia more apt to be admitted to nursing homes with lower star ratings, McKnights Long-Term Care News, November 5, 2025
“My sister has been here 11 years, but there are some of these people who have been here for 20, 30 years, and you’re just – in a day and a half – going to throw them out of the building?”
Mary, a sister of a resident at Rochelle Rehabilitation & Health Care Center, Rochelle nursing home residents, staff given 2 days to vacate due to sudden closure, Mystateline.com, November 5, 2024
“Phoenix Food Hub is a true community collaboration. . . We are able to broaden our coalition to reach and serve even more people of all ages in our communities.”
Kathryn C. Burns, CEO of Greater Lynn Senior Services, Phoenix Food Hub, Greater Lynn Senior Services
“We have a clear and shared understanding of what it means [about older adults] in a marriage. We don’t have that kind of road map for a cohabiting or living-apart-together lifestyle.”
Susan Brown, a sociologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who studies aging and relationships, For Older Unmarried Couples, Caregiving Obligations Can Be Murky , *New York Times, November 10, 2024
[S]ome 18 months after his second wife died, and without the knowledge of any family members, the 85-year-old [billionaire founder and owner of Life Care Centers of America, Forrest Preston] “inexplicably” married Kim Phuong Nguyen, a 49-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who was the recently passed wife’s former caregiver. She and family members have a history of grifting “that spans several decades” in several states.
Emergency Petition Seeks to Expedite Conservatorship for CEO of Nursing Home Giant Life Care Centers, Skilled Nursing News, November 6, 2024
Mobbing has been shown by Janice Harper and by the research and reports of the Massachusetts Commission on Bullying to harm not only the targets but also to infect the whole community. When that happens in public or subsidized housing, the target and many others lose the peaceful enjoyment of their home and it becomes ruled by mobbing and harassment.
Sticks, Stones, Gossip & Governance Part 1 of 2, Stop Bullying Coalition, November 2, 2024
Under HUD Fair Housing Law, hostile environment harassment infringes on the rights of tenants and the housing provider is responsible for preventing such harassment. Under Massachusetts law, harassment that infringes on the rights of tenants is unlawful and it is the responsibility of the housing provider to prevent it. . . Regardless of the underlying motivations—racial prejudice or the low social status of tenants or competition for power and control—the situation of a person who is a target of mobbing is a constant source of frustration and stress. Is this not “hostile environment harassment?”
Sticks, Stones, Gossip & Governance Part 2 of 2, Stop Bullying Coalition, November 7, 2024
Each veteran and military family represents a link in a chain of honor that stretches back to our founding days, unwavering in their devotion to their loved ones who served in uniform. This month, we honor all of our military and veteran families. They too serve and sacrifice to answer our Nation’s call to duty. We owe them a debt of gratitude we can never fully repay.
A Proclamation on National Veterans and Military Families Month, 2024, The White House, October 31, 2024
It started on Monday when well-known short-seller, Hindenburg Research, targeted [nursing home operator, PACS Group Inc.] in a report alleging that the company has been “systematically scamming taxpayer-funded health-care programs.”
Nursing Home Firm Founders Lose Billions as Hindenburg Takes Aim, Yahoo Finance, November 8, 2024
“Our administration is committed to investing in our veterans, and this new facility represents our promise to provide them with top-tier, compassionate care. Together, we are building a future that reflects the respect and dignity our veterans deserve.”
Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Healey-Driscoll Administration Marks Major Milestone for New Holyoke Veterans Home During ‘Topping Off’ Ceremony, Office of Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, November 7, 2024
Decades ago, old folks’ homes and almshouses were replaced by nursing homes modeled after hospitals. The message portrayed was that old people would become ill, frail, in need of care and a burden to society. How different our western culture is from a vast part of the rest of the world where Elders are honored.
How we refer to aging says a lot about our visions of the future cjonline.com, November 11, 2024
“If the SNF is uncertain as to whether a certain party must be reported, it should disclose said party. As we stated in the November 17, 2023, final rule: ‘In general, this rule should be construed towards disclosure and, if in doubt about whether additional information should be released, SNFs should disclose it.’”
CMS memo regarding the rule governing “Disclosures of Ownership and Additional Disclosable Parties Information”, CMS gives nursing homes months more to complete onerous revalidation process, McKnights Long-Term Care News, November 11, 2024
[Chair of the Highview at Northampton Residents’ Council} Danica Ali asked the Department of Public Health to delay the end date to July.
Some residents want to transition into housing instead of another nursing home and want more time to find a place to live, she told the state at a virtual public hearing Wednesday night.
“There’s not enough time to do so,” she said.
Ali told The Republican she has a Section 8 voucher and is trying to find an accessible apartment.
As Highview of Northampton moves to close, sexual abuse allegations emerge, *Masslive.com, November 7, 2024
The [Highview of Northampton] Administrator said that the conclusion of the Facility’s investigation that they substantiated the allegations of sexual abuse, based on multiple allegations from alert and oriented residents with similar stories occurring over several days.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF DEFICIENCIES Highview of Northampton, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, August 15, 2024
“We had a government of too many layers, too much bureaucracy, leading to an awful result [at the Holyoke Veterans’ Home].” With the new law, and responsiveness from the Healey administration, “I am much more comfortable with where we are right now versus a few years ago. Yet, you just don’t sit back on your laurels. We must be just as vigilant. Bad things can happen.”
State Senator John Velis, a veteran of the US Army Reserve who is currently a major in the Massachusetts Army National Guard, Signs of progress this Veterans Day (*Boston Globe, November 11, 2024)
“Primarily my patients feel left out. All of us experienced this pandemic. But the White House says the public health emergency is behind us. Now they get shuttled between doctors, or told it’s all in their head. And as a result, they feel the world has moved on and left them behind. “
Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a leading long COVID researcher who runs a long COVID clinic at the VA St. Louis Health Care System, ‘We just want to be heard’: Long COVID patients still feel invisible, *Boston Globe, November 9, 2024
November 5, 2024
Some nursing homes, referred to as “opportunistic systems,” systematically overcharge for care, particularly in rehabilitation services, to maximize profits. This overbilling contributes to rising healthcare costs while draining public funds meant for care. It has resulted in overbilling Medicare by an estimated $4.3 billion, while patient outcomes have worsened significantly.
Senior Care Policy Brief: Overbilling and Killing?, Long Term Care Community Coalition, October 31, 2024
“I hope your sugar goes up to 500 and you have a heart attack and die.”
Said to a nursing facility resident who experienced verbal abuse at one-star facility, Left waiting and suffering: Elder Justice “No Harm” Newsletter (Volume 6, Issue 1), Long Term Care Community Coalition
“Assisted living residences in Massachusetts are kind of the Wild West. There are really very little protections for the consumers. While many facilities are well run some homes have poorly defined fees, exorbitant rents, and unceremonious evictions. It’s just that there are no standards.”
John Ford, director of the elder law project at the Northeast Justice Center in Lynn and Chair, DignityMA’s Assisted Living Workgroup, ‘I don’t deserve it’: Seniors sue Revere assisted living home over ‘ancillary fees’, *Boston Globe, October 30, 2024
Seniors in assisted living are “a vulnerable group that could benefit from additional consumer protections.”
Mary Freeley, deputy chief of the attorney general’s office’s health care and fair competition bureau and head of the elder justice unit, ‘I don’t deserve it’: Seniors sue Revere assisted living home over ‘ancillary fees’, *Boston Globe, October 30, 2024
“So many residents rely on public transit on a daily basis, and by enabling free fares at a number of our regional transit systems, we are making transportation more equitable for those who need it the most.”
Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt, Healey-Driscoll Administration Announces Fare Free Regional Transit Across State, Office of Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, October 24, 2024
“I feel like a beggar when I have to ask friends and neighbors for a ride.”
David Hosford, 87 year-old Plymouth resident with mild cognitive impairment who is awaiting a driving evaluation, ‘You can no longer drive, and good luck’: Figuring out how long it’s safe to drive has become the third rail of aging, *Boston Globe, October 30, 2024
“Losing the ability to drive is like breathing. You don’t think about it until you can’t.”
Diana Hosford, wife of David Hosford, ‘You can no longer drive, and good luck’: Figuring out how long it’s safe to drive has become the third rail of aging, *Boston Globe, October 30, 2024
During the reporting period of July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, the Department pursued over 300 criminal and civil enforcement actions involving conduct that targeted or disproportionately affected older adults. Approximately 98% of the cases were criminal in nature and 31% involved international schemes. These cases named over
700 defendants charged with stealing or alleged to have stolen nearly $700 million from over 225,000 victims.
Annual Report to Congress on DOJ Activities to Combat Elder Fraud and Abuse, U. S. Department of Justice, October 2024
Of the approximately 3 million direct care workers, 13% work in residential care facilities such as assisted living communities and continuing care retirement / life plan communities, according to a new analysis by KFF. By comparison, 37% work in home health, 29% work in nursing facilities and 21% provide nonresidential services for older adults and people with disabilities.
13 percent of direct care workers work in residential care settings such as assisted living: analysis , McKnights Senior Living, November 4, 2024
A bumper crop of revisions, including a stronger drug benefit, means the plan you enrolled in for 2024 may not be the best fit next year.
Americans on Medicare will see big, and welcome, changes next year. The program’s prescription drug insurance will be much stronger — and easier to understand — as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
It’s Time to Shop for Medicare, and 2025 Brings Big Changes, New York Times (free access), November 4, 2024 (updated)
October 29, 2024
“Open Caption Tuesdays and Masked Mornings exemplify our commitment to community care and help ensure patrons continue to have choices in how they experience film at Amherst Cinema.”
Amherst Cinema to screen films with subtitles for ‘Open Caption Tuesdays’ (*MassLive.com, October 24, 2024)
“[American families] are essentially ‘sandwiched’ between the needs of two generations, often facing significant financial, emotional and time constraints. They may provide financial support, help with daily tasks, offer emotional support, and coordinate medical care for both their children and their aging parents. But they often experience stress, burnout, financial strain, and difficulty balancing their own needs with the needs of their loved ones.”
Dr. Alison Galvani, professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, Yale experts weigh in on Harris’ Medicare expansion plan, Yale News, October 28, 2024
October 22, 2024
“Protecting older adults in assisted living facilities from financial, or other forms of abuse, is an important goal for Dignity Alliance. Attorney General Campbell deserves high praise for taking action to expand consumer protections to this vulnerable population. And since October is designated as “Residents’ Rights Month,” it’s a great time to launch the development of this vital effort.”
Former Senator Richard Moore, Co-Founder of Dignity Alliance and Member of the Leadership Council of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, Attorney General’s Office Seeks Community Feedback To Inform Drafting Of Assisted Living Residences Regulations (Office of Attorney General Andrea Campbell)
“The Attorney General’s concern for the residents of more than 250 Assisted Living Residences in Massachusetts echoes the concerns of many residents, their loved ones and their advocates. Their advocates in particular know the value and scope of the protections afforded by regulations issued pursuant to the Consumer Protection Act (chapter 93A), which give weight and specificity as to what would be an unfair act or practice. We applaud the Attorney General’s commitment to the growing numbers of consumers who will be protected by the regulations.”
John Ford, Esq., Northeast Justice Center and Dignity Alliance, Attorney General’s Office Seeks Community Feedback To Inform Drafting Of Assisted Living Residences Regulations (Office of Attorney General Andrea Campbell)
“I don’t know how many more years I have on this Earth but I’m going to spend it fighting for women.”
Kathryn Engelhard, 69 year old Pennsylvania voter, Are women over 50 the critical voter group no one is talking about?, The 19th, October 17, 2024
“For two weeks we’ve been unable to shower or wash hands. Maintaining hygiene with hand sanitizers is a constant must. Another example is having to pour a bucket of water into the tank of the toilet in order to flush. And keep in mind that our residents are old and not used to such physical activity.”
James Greene, an 84 year old resident of Brooks-Howell Home in Asheville, North Carolina, Some NC nursing homes still without water, 3 weeks after Hurricane Helene, MSN.com, October 21, 2024
“[The residents] don’t want to eat, they don’t want to sleep, and mostly you see the sadness in their eyes.”
Rosa Maldonado, a staff member at Abbott Terrace Medical Center in Waterbury, CT, Nursing home permanently closing, residents and workers fighting to keep jobs and homes, MSN.com, October 16, 2024
October 15, 2024
Why do nursing home corporations provide suboptimal and neglectful care while earning robust profits? Because they can. Although the “law” is merely the codification of our morals, values, and ethics, it is of little consequence when it is not respected and enforced.
Dave Kingsley, A Discussion of Morals and Values in Institutional Care for the Elderly: How we Justify the Unjustifiable: Part I, Center for Health Information and Policy, July 30, 2024
Care is not just a need, it’s an untapped economic motor – every carer is a worker, and care allows people to make choices — making care functional means unsticking the economy. It means unsticking society. It means freedom.
Ai-jen Poo, president, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Kamala Harris’s big policy proposal is care, The.Ink, October 10, 2024
[T]here is now plenty of evidence that having a plan to keep nursing homes in small towns publicly owned is not only the right thing to do but appears to be winning politics too.
A Sharp Reminder From Wisconsin That All Politics Is Local, Newsweek, April 17, 2024
The program we’ve outlined tightly focuses benefits on the most vulnerable people who currently have little eligibility for care, and few means to pay for services.
A Home Care Benefit for Medicare, Brookings, September 10, 2024
“Had to take a leave of absence from my employer in order to care for my 85-year-old mother.”
63-year-old woman from Mississippi who provided care for her mother, The Affordability of Long-Term Care and Support Services: Findings from a KFF Survey, KFF, November 14, 2023
“Nearly 7 million older adults live in a perilous financial situation, which can be hazardous to not just finances, but health care and access, too. Real policy change and relief for Near Duals is urgently needed so they can receive the necessary long-term care needed to age in their homes, safely and surrounded by community.”
Narda Ipakchi, vice president of policy at The SCAN Foundation, Long-Term Care Out of Reach for 6.5 Million ‘Near Dual’ American Seniors, U. S. News, October 14, 2024
October 8, 2024
People in the “forgotten middle” — those who have too much income or too many assets to qualify for Medicaid but can’t afford to pay out-of-pocket for an extended period — are left to face daunting financial challenges when the need for [long-term] services arises.
Massachusetts can and must advance long-term services, *Boston Business Journal, September 20, 2024
“This bill makes sure that no matter where you choose to age – at home, at an assisted living facility or at a long-term care facility – you can know that you will receive the care that you deserve. That includes having your civil rights protected, no matter who you are or how you identify.
Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Governor Healey Signs Bill Improving Access to High-Quality Care for Older Residents, Office of Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, September 26, 2024
“While [Chapter 197 of the Acts of 2024] improves the quality of long-term care, it also should increase the availability of residential living options such as small nursing or green homes and assisted living.”
Leo Sarkissian, Executive Director, The Arc of Massachusetts, Governor Healey Signs Bill Improving Access to High-Quality Care for Older Residents, Office of Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, September 26, 2024
The audience — made of citizens and taxpayers and people with loved ones in the [nursing] home — would also have liked to hear the presentation. That this was not allowed was typical of the entire process, in which the public was given less information about the sale of the home for 48 Sauk County residents than it was about replacing a damaged squad car.
Nursing home sale shows why transparency matters, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, October 1, 2024
September 17, 2024
The Connecticut Department of Health and Department of Social Services said in a joint statement, “Every nursing home resident deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.” That dignity is called into question by a documented incident where a nurse allegedly told an incontinent patient, “I can smell you in the hallway.”
The nurse removed the resident’s soiled Johnny coat and tossed it so that it “landed on the resident’s face.”
Relocation of Abbott Terrace nursing home residents in Waterbury underway after feds pull funding to force shutdown, Fox61, September 13, 2024
“Just one simple word. Accountability.”
Chaka Fagon, resident of Abbott Terrace, Relocation of Abbott Terrace nursing home residents in Waterbury underway after feds pull funding to force shutdown, Fox61, September 13, 2024
The nation’s population of senior citizens is growing faster than any other age group, they are disproportionately represented in this year’s key swing states, and they vote in higher proportions than anyone else. . . The power of the senior vote is a result of the graying of America, a trend whose implications stretch far beyond one election. The population aged 65 and over grew nearly five times faster than the total population in the 100 years from 1920 to 2020, according to the Census Bureau. This cohort reached 55.8 million in 2020, meaning it made up 16.8% of the nation’s total population. By 2050, it is expected to reach 23%.
Older Voters Are Crucial for 2024—and They’re Up for Grabs, *Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2024
“We knew at that time that the facility would eventually require replacement, so we worked to build an appropriate transition plan that would ensure the continuation of care for residents and also look out for our care team.”
Britt Crewse, president of MaineHealth’s Southern Region, Portland nursing home to shutter its doors, move residents to new facility *MaineBiz, September 13, 2024
“I always open with my age: I’m putting it out there right away in case I don’t make it through the show. That gets them laughing no matter who’s in the audience.”
D’yan Forest, a 90 year old comedian, How a 90-Year-Old Comedian Spends Her Sundays, *New York Times, September 14, 2024
“There’s a shortage of help in all areas and there’s a lot of turnover, from administration on down. We didn’t have a cook for a while and we were served sandwiches a lot.”
A resident of a large senior community in central Maine, Maine’s long-term care facilities struggle amid labor shortage, *Portland Press Herald, September 15, 2024
“If you take government money and you’re taking it to care for people, and you don’t provide the basic care in terms of answering the call bells or changing their bed sheets … isn’t that fraud?”
Michael Burgess, the former director of New York’s Office of the Aging, ‘Living in fear’: Nursing home residents reckon with widespread neglect, Times Union (free access), September 15, 2024
“We seem to be putting the most burden on the people least equipped to deal with it.”
Steve Adams, president of the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts, commenting on the impact of the closure the Nashoba Valley Community Hospital, Closed Steward hospitals leave ambulance services scrambling to cover gaps, *Boston Globe, September 13, 2024
“The Center for Living & Working [offers congratulations] on [the] new name MassAbility. We look forward to continuing our partnership in ensuring those living with disabilities in Massachusetts are provided the same opportunities, supports, and services that have been offered for years. [The] name reflects what our work is all about affording everyone the ability to achieve their goals.”
Meg Coffin, CEO, Center for Living and Work, Office of Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, September 13, 2024
September 10, 2024
At the March visit, a resident [of Pioneer Valley Health and Rehabilitation in South Hadley] told a surveyor they were soiled and hadn’t be cleaned up since the previous day and their call light to summon help was broken. A resident with quadriplegia had been transferred to the hospital several times for care, and the nursing home failed to notify their guardian.
From June 2021 through June 2024, the facility has been fined $338,238 by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, making it the third most fined nursing home in Western Massachusetts after Highview of Northampton and Vantage at Wilbraham.
Tab for state rescue of 3 Mass. nursing homes nears $2M , *MassLive, August 28, 2024
[Paul] Lanzikos says [Dignity Alliance Massachusetts] is not opposed to the infusion of operating or capital funds into [nursing] facilities. “What we want to do is have accountability. That’s where I think the failure is. Unless there are clear criteria and enforcement of those criteria then you’re just throwing the money away.”
Paul Lanzikos, Coordinator, Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, 3 Blupoint nursing homes in Massachusetts taken over by outside company after I-Team reports, WBZ News (video report), August 30, 2024
“Affordable and accessible housing is essential to realizing the goals of Olmstead. The flexibilities we are providing today will further enable local leaders to support the housing needs of people with disabilities”.
HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman, HUD Takes Action to Support Community Living for People with Disabilities, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), August 27, 2024
I try to be as respectful as possible. I try to make beautiful photos of a disabled body. My aim is to capture the part of the body that is not there anymore, an absence that needs to be accepted.
Emilio Morenatti, Associated Press photographer at the Paris Paralympics, AP photographer finds beauty at the Paralympics in capturing what’s not there. AP News, September 7, 2024
A recent review of state licensure definitions conducted by CEAL@UNC found that few states currently define assisted living as providing person-centered care. From its inception, the philosophy of assisted living has been one of personalized services. Expressly noting the intent of person-centered services — such as to promote quality of life — provides a measurable metric to determine whether assisted living is meeting its mission, which may be determined by residents or by those who know them best.
Toward a common definition of assisted living (McKnights Senior Living, September 3, 2024)
“[The renal care] field has really been debating about the role of dialysis in patients who develop kidney disease in old age. It’s lifelong therapy and a major change to your lifestyle. It can lengthen life, but there are trade-offs.”
Dr. Manjula Tamura, a nephrologist and researcher at Stanford University, Dialysis May Prolong Life for Older Patients. But Not by Much., * New York Times, September 1, 2024
[M]uch of our health care system remains obstinately siloed, with mental health relegated to the sidelines of preventive medicine. . . We need a care system and a medical culture that support the health of the whole person.
Dr. Helen Ouyang, an emergency physician and an associate professor at Columbia University, We Know Mental Health Affects Physical Health. Why Don’t We Act Like It?, *New York Times, September 1, 2024
What are you most afraid of with AI in healthcare?
I don’t think that the enthusiasm around developing tools has been met with the same level of enthusiasm around testing, validating and demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of these tools. . .
I worry about a two-tiered system of AI. The AI “haves” are going to be large, well-resourced systems . . . and the AI “have-nots” will be health systems . . . that either don’t have the infrastructure or know-how to deploy the AI technologies.
Dr. Daniel Yang, a top executive overseeing artificial intelligence at Kaiser Permanente, What AI Can Do in Healthcare—and What It Should Never Do(*Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2024)
What should AI never do? Is there a red line?
We view them as augmenting, so I wouldn’t feel comfortable about AI automating clinical decision-making, in diagnosis or treatment.
Dr. Daniel Yang, a top executive overseeing artificial intelligence at Kaiser Permanente, What AI Can Do in Healthcare—and What It Should Never Do(*Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2024)
“They’re just telling us it takes time and money. Well, you’ve wasted a lot of both.”
Jean McClure, chapter president of SEIU 509, a union representing many Department of Mental Health workers at Tewskbury hospital, Water at a Mass. state hospital has been undrinkable for years, *Boston Globe, September 1, 2024
“Old age” must be redefined and retirement ages raised so that living longer doesn’t mean retiring longer on workers’ taxes, particularly for wealthy retirees. After all, longer lives for most people should mean more productive years.”
C. Eugene Steuerle, co-founder the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and Glenn Kramon, lecturer at Stanford Business School, Young Americans Can’t Keep Funding Boomers and Beyond, New York Times (free access), September 1, 2024
“Massachusetts’ most vulnerable residents who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities deserve better than subpar conditions. It’s time to hold nursing homes and other long-term care facilities accountable for providing safe environments and high-quality care for residents.”
AARP Massachusetts State Director Jennifer Benson and State President Sandra Harris, Assisted living oversight, certification strengthened by bill, McKnights Senior Living, September 6, 2024
“Worrying about necessities like food or transportation can distract caregivers, no matter how dedicated they are. A healthier, better-supported workforce is essential for delivering higher-quality and more consistent care.”
Brandi Kurtyka, CEO, MissionCare Collective, Home-Based Care Workers Face A Wellbeing Crisis, According To New Report, Home Health Care News, September 6, 2024
“The [long term care] bill [H 5033] is really going to save lives and improve the lives of so many. It’s really the most significant piece of legislation in the long-term care and assisted living space in over a quarter of a century.”
Representative Thomas Stanley, Co-Chair, Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, In a win for seniors and people with disabilities, Massachusetts curtails estate recovery practices, *Boston Globe, September 7, 2024 (updated)
“This win is for Joe Tringali [former 45-year staff member of Stavros Center for Independent Living], his family, and everyone who fought for decades to end now-past estate recovery practices.”
Senator Jo Comerford (D-Northampton), In a win for seniors and people with disabilities, Massachusetts curtails estate recovery practices, *Boston Globe, September 7, 2024 (updated)
“I work full time to like to set aside money to pay for legs. I don’t have a car payment. I have a leg payment.”
Lindi Marcusen, a Paralympic athlete who is competing in the 100 and long jump and is an above-the-knee amputee, In the Paralympic Fix-It Shop, Plenty of Fractures but No Blood, *New York Times, September 6, 2024 (updated)
“Working with private equity vultures, [Dr. Ralph De la Torre, Steward President and CEO] became obscenely wealthy by loading up hospitals across the country with billions in debt and selling the land underneath these hospitals to real estate executives who charge unsustainably high rent.”
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Steward Health’s sale puts scrutiny on real estate deals, Axios, September 6, 2024
September 3, 2024
“[The long-term care reform bill (H 5033)] will save lives and improve lives of residents and workers in long-term care facilities, provide more options for assisted living, and improve financing options for older people living with disabilities.”
Senator Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, Statement of Senator Patricia Jehlen, State House News, August 29, 2024
Americans 55 and over control nearly 70 percent of U.S. household wealth, compared with about 50 percent in 1989.
Trekking 85 Miles With Grandpa, Scuba Diving With Grandma, New York Times (free access), August 19, 2024)
“When we see patients admitted to the hospital with COVID these days, they’re almost always patients who have other underlying diseases. Some degree of immunocompromised, some degree of heart or lung disease, that makes them more vulnerable.”
Mary Frances Barthel, Chief Quality Safety Officer for Blessing Health System in Quincy, IL, COVID cases rise at Illinois Veterans’ Home; health officials urge public to revisit latest protocols, WGEM, August 28, 2024
[M]uch of our health care system remains obstinately siloed, with mental health relegated to the sidelines of preventive medicine. . . We need a care system and a medical culture that support the health of the whole person.
Dr. Helen Ouyang, an emergency physician and an associate professor at Columbia University, We Know Mental Health Affects Physical Health. Why Don’t We Act Like It?, *New York Times, September 1, 2024
August 27, 2024
“I just want to reiterate that we do share everyone’s commitment to assessments being done by local, community-based organizations who know their members, they know their families, they know their communities, and they know the options in their communities.”
Mike Levine, Assistant Secretary Executive Office of Health and Human Services and MassHealth Director, MassHealth Drops Bid To Consolidate Assessments, *State House News, August 26, 2024
“It reminds me of being on the Mass Pike. You’ve got all the lanes open, but all of a sudden everybody has to go through one lane and if your information is wrong, you’ve got to get out of the line.”
Nancy Garr-Colzie, Board President, Center for Living and Work and who uses a wheelchair, commenting about MassHealth’s proposal of an “Independent Assessment Entity”, MassHealth Drops Bid To Consolidate Assessments, *State House News, August 26, 2024
“As rents rise, homelessness increases, public housing deteriorates, and millions of families struggle to keep roofs over their heads, robust federal investments and actions are badly needed and long overdue.”
Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, NLIHC Statement on President Biden’s Housing Supply Action Plan, National Low Income Housing Coalition, May 16, 2022
Elder care advocates say the accusations of poor care and neglect at MuirWoods are not uncommon at assisted living facilities. They also say these problems are most pronounced at facilities owned and operated by large financial interests such as real estate and private equity firms. Unlike skilled nursing homes, assisted living centers are not considered medical facilities and are not regulated as such. Advocates say that as a result, some owners treat them as cash cows with little meaningful government oversight.
Why was a Petaluma memory care facility hit with a $20 million judgment? Here are 5 key findings(The Press Democrat, August 17, 2024)
“The savvy consumer wants to know what it’s going to cost them and what longevity looks like.”
Jennifer Saxman, a CEO of an assisted living development company, Senior living communities struggle to sell value amid increasing rates(McKnights Senior Living, August 19, 2024)
Exacerbated challenges faced by memory care assisted living communities during the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to the increased use of antipsychotics and antidepressants, raising concerns about the ability of those settings to care for residents with dementia.
Pandemic challenges raise concerns about assisted living’s ability to care for cognitively impaired residents, McKnights Senior Living, August 17, 2024
Five of the top six worries of [surveyed older adults] were related to costs of healthcare and health insurance, followed by financial scams and fraud.
Assisted living affordability, access remain top concerns of older adults, McKnights Senior Living, August 15, 2024
Disability data justice is predicated on accurate, inclusive, and equitable measures of disability. To achieve this form of justice, the processes through which we determine disability measures must also be equitable and inclusive.
A Research Roadmap Toward Improved Measures Of Disability, Health Affairs Forefront, July 9, 2024
As many 100,000 Americans with severe brain injuries are unresponsive, showing few or no signs that they are aware of themselves or their surroundings.
But one in four people with this kind of injury can perform cognitive tasks on command, according to a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Some Patients Who Appear Unconscious Know What’s Going On, *Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2024
“That’s my dad!”
17-year-old Gus Walz, son of Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz, who has a non-verbal learning disorder, exclamation at the National Democratic Convention, Sudden fame for Tim Walz’s son focuses attention on challenges of people with learning disabilities, AP News, August 22, 2024
For the poorest Americans, finding an apartment to rent or a home to buy often means tapping into a vast network of nonprofit groups that use public and charitable funds to rehab or build affordable housing. Over the past year, the skyrocketing cost of property insurance has put that network on shaky ground.
Soaring Insurance Costs Could ‘End’ Affordable Housing, Developers Warn(New York Times (free access), August 25, 2024)
Perhaps the most concerning finding in the report is the emergence of “nursing home deserts” — areas with no skilled nursing facilities to serve aging populations. These underserved regions are becoming common in rural America, where 1 in 5 older Americans live.
The situation is dire: Nearly half of all nursing homes are limiting new admissions, over half have waiting lists, and 1 in 5 have had to close units due to labor shortages.
The sector is clearly at a crossroads. Policymakers, providers and communities must work together to ensure every senior has access to needed skilled care services. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire.
Long-term care is in trouble, McKnights Long-Term Care News, August 25, 2024
Since 2020, at least 774 nursing homes have closed, displacing 28,421 residents. There are also 62,567 fewer nursing home beds than there were in 2020.
AHCA’s Access to Care report provides grim assessment of nursing home trends(McKnights Long-Term Care News, August 22, 2024)
The more high-risk factors you have — like advanced age, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, having a compromised immune system, pregnancy, asthma, and having never been vaccinated or had Covid — the more important it is to get two doses.
What you need to know about the new Covid-19 vaccine(Vox, August 23, 2024)
Last week, a mask ban in Nassau County, New York was signed into law. If I lived just 60 miles east of my New Jersey town, I would be under threat of a fine or jail time every time I left the house.
Kaitlin Costello, associate professor of library and information science at the School of Communication & Information at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey who conducts research and teaches classes on health information, computing and society, and human information behavior, Mask bans disenfranchise millions of Americans with disabilities, STAT, August 20, 2024
Although federal law requires insurers to provide the same access to mental and physical health care, these companies have been caught, time and again, shortchanging customers with mental illness — restricting coverage and delaying or denying treatment.
Finding a therapist who takes your insurance can be nearly impossible. Here’s why(NPR Shots (Weekend Edition Sunday), August 25, 2024)
About 1 in 4 for-profit nursing homes across the country are likely not complying with federal regulations surrounding infection control staff, increasing health and safety risks for residents and workers, according to an estimate by the HHS’ Office of Inspector General. . . Staffing has become a significant challenge for nursing homes. Before the pandemic in 2018, 23% of nursing homes used temporary agency staff, accounting for about 3% of all direct care nursing hours. But in 2022, nearly half of nursing homes used agency workers, making up 11% of all direct care nursing hours.
OIG estimates 1 in 4 for-profit nursing homes not complying with infection control staffing rules(Healthcare Dive, August 26, 2024)
Greece doesn’t have the laws or accessible infrastructure other places have, but its people were so welcoming. Maybe — hopefully — its laws and infrastructure will catch up to its citizens someday.
I navigated my trip in Greece in a wheelchair, with help from a friend(*Boston Globe, August 23, 2024)
“I am honored and humbled to lead The Arc of Massachusetts. Having children with disabilities, I understand the challenges families face firsthand. As CEO, I will work to build stronger partnerships to overcome the workforce crisis, eliminate archaic policies, and make advocacy a natural part of all our lives.”
Maura Sullivan, new Chief Executive Officer, The Arc of Massachusetts, The Arc of Massachusetts Announces Appointment of Maura Sullivan as New Chief Executive Officer, The Arc of Massachusetts, Summer 2024
August 20, 2024
“It’s about time.”
Kristin Hatch, a former Seashore Point employee, Private Equity Doesn’t Care, The Provincetown Independent, July 31, 2024
“While you may rail against ‘socialized medicine,’ until the U.S. moves away from a profit-motivated health-care model to a system that sees health care as a right, these issues will persist. Baby boomers will not be happy as they enter the golden years.”
Donna Cooper, M.D., A Profit-Driven Health-Care System Is the Problem, The Provincetown Independent, August 14, 2024
Eight ways to improve emergency room performance:
- First, insurers, government leaders, and hospital administrators must immediately develop alternatives.
- Second, all aspects of hospital staffing and management decisions must consider their impact on the ED.
- Third, space must be configured to separate the immunocompromised from the contagious.
- Fourth, offer comfort measures.
- Fifth, more staff is needed to monitor safety and cleanliness
- Sixth, doctors should have the discretion to directly admit certain patients.
- Seventh, executive compensation should be tied to improvements in ED care.
- Finally, the all-important U.S. News & World Report’s ranking system does a gross disservice to patients by excluding emergency departments from its analysis.
Lauren Stiller Rikleen, The hellscape of the emergency department, *Boston Globe, August 19, 2024
Not everybody’s teeth get brushed every day. People’s nails aren’t cut like they used to. Beds aren’t being made. Staff has to take shortcuts to get things done because there’s less of them to provide all those — all the care that the residents need.
The system is so broken and so short-handed and so difficult to manage with the different combinations of patients that you’re not able to provide the care for the people that really need it at the moments they really need it.
Bonnie Gaudraeau, Licensed Practical Nurse, U.S. nursing homes grapple with staffing shortages and requirements, PBS News Weekend, August 17, 2024
Closures are happening across the U.S., but a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston found that the rate of nursing home closures in New England is three times the national rate
Amidst nursing home closures, relocating residents close to home is a challenge, Maine Public Radio, August 13, 2024
“When caregivers feel informed and supported, when they receive education and training on the medical and nursing tasks they need to perform, they are better able to carry out their caregiving responsibilities with minimal detriment to themselves and ensure the best medical outcomes for patients. This is true across all caregiving settings.”
Dr. Allison Applebaum, Associate Attending Psychologist and Director of the Caregivers, Clinic at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Transplant Caregiving in the U.S.: A Call for System Change(National Alliance for Caregiving (report), 2023)
With increasing financial pressures, unpaid wages have become a significant issue throughout the long-term care industry this year.
Nursing home owes $420K in unpaid wages: attorney general, McKnights Long-Term Care News, August 13, 2024
Sometimes, you can most appreciate what something is when you are being denied it. . . So, too, it is with dignity. You inherently have it, but others can be quick to chip it away, as if they want to make you feel invisible, unworthy, always “less than.”
Sandy Alissa Novack, MBA, MSW, What Is the Meaning of Dignity?
“It’s looking like [COVID] is probably not a seasonal virus, so it will likely be year round.”
Dr. Otto Yang, associate chief of infectious diseases at UCLA and professor of medicine, COVID is on the rise this summer. Here’s why and what else you should know, NPR Morning Edition, August 15, 2024
The United States has 4% of the world’s population but more than 16% of COVID-19 deaths.
The COVID Tracking Project Part 1, Reveal (podcast), August 3, 2024
At the height of the pandemic, COVID-19 was talked about as “the great equalizer,” an idea touted by celebrities and politicians from Madonna to then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But that was a myth.
The COVID Tracking Project Part 3(Reveal (podcast), August 17, 2024)
“Denying students with disabilities access to their neighborhood schools based on a blanket policy denies such students the opportunity to experience school with their siblings, friends, and neighbors and is discriminatory.”
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Justice Department Secures Agreement with Nebraska School District to End Discriminatory Treatment of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students(U.S. Department of Justice, August 15, 2024)
“Our concern with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services star ranking system is that surveys aren’t being completed on time, or the surveyor pool is limited and that because of the lack of timely surveys, data is lagging significantly. We support surveys and rankings, but we can’t do it with old records. If survey data and star rankings prohibit growth and expansion, the industry and patients will be the ones who are negatively impacted the most.”
PACS President and Chief Operating Officer Josh Jergensen, New report urges CMS to deny new certifications based on quality of owners’ related nursing homes, McKnights Long-Term Care, August 18, 2024
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has the authority and responsibility under the Nursing Home Reform Law to deny federal certification to facilities that have a history of poor care. Although CMS could use its existing statutory authority more effectively to prevent some of the poorest operators in the country from acquiring additional nursing facilities, explicit federal criteria for certification could clarify the relevant factors that CMs must consider in certification decisions. Explicit federal rules and guidance about certification would be especially helpful at this critical time when ownership of facilities is shifting to private equity, real estate investment trusts, and multi-facility operators that are frequently found to provide poorer quality of care to residents. The affiliated entities information now publicly reported by CMS provides ample evidence of problem companies whose facilities have a history of poor care. This information should be persuasive to Congress that CMS needs additional legal authority so that it can consider the records of facilities with owners in common when it makes federal certification decisions.
The Urgent Need for Criteria for Federal Certification of Nursing Facilities, Center for Medicare Advocacy, August 15, 2024
“This is scandalous. Nursing homes are quick to take taxpayer money, but too many are reluctant to pay the taxpayer back when money is owed.”
John Hale, a consultant and advocate for older adults, ‘This is scandalous:’ Iowa auditor asked to examine millions nursing homes owe taxpayers, Des Moines (Iowa) Register, August 19, 2024
August 13, 2024
“You can’t wait for a surveyor to come in once a year in response to a complaint. You want to be in a position to push back in a variety of ways every day or every week. It’s too easy for facilities to assume no harm, no foul,”
Eric Carlson, director of long-term services and supports advocacy, Justice in Aging, Assisted living policy needs a reset to benefit residents, long-term care system, McKnights Senior Living, July 24, 2024
“The current system is not prepared, at all, to ensure quality in Medicaid-funded assisted living,” [adding that the HCBS system is not set up for facility care and providing care for people whose care needs justify nursing home-level care]. “Long-term care facility policy needs a reset, particularly in assisted living,”
Eric Carlson, director of long-term services and supports advocacy, Justice in Aging, Assisted living policy needs a reset to benefit residents, long-term care system, McKnights Senior Living, July 24, 2024
With demographic shifts—particularly the fact that by 2030, one in five Americans will be aged 65 and older—the need for improvements in nursing home standards has never been more urgent. Experts warn that failure to ensure adequate staffing levels may further perpetuate the cycle of neglect and subpar care that many facilities are currently being scrutinized for.
New Mexico Nursing Homes Face Unacceptable Conditions, The Pinnacle Gazette, July 3, 2024
At the national legislative level, a recent proposal unveiled by the Biden Administration aimed at establishing minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes has seen pushback from some senators and industry representatives. These new regulations would require facilities to maintain a communication-satisfactory level of staffing, including providing at least 3.48 nursing hours per patient per day. Supporters of the measure argue it’s critical for ensuring quality care as the demands on nursing facilities grow, hence there’s considerable pressure to protect, rather than overturn, such regulations.
New Mexico Nursing Homes Face Unacceptable Conditions, The Pinnacle Gazette, July 3, 2024
“We know that the nature of [home care] work frequently exposes those workers to various risks and challenges. So, ensuring their safety and their well-being is of paramount importance. This in-home safety Grant Program offers funding for a comprehensive array of safety enhancements.”
Connecticut Department of Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton-Reeves, Connecticut to spend $6 million to boost safety of home health care workers, Rhode Island Currant, August 5, 2024
“Even though there’s some significant investments in the bond bill, particularly for affordable housing and public housing, it doesn’t meet the urgency of the moment. We were disappointed that policies to actually protect working class people in our state were not included in the bond bill.”
Carolyn Chou, Homes for All Massachusetts, Guv Signs Housing Law, But Advocates Say It “Left So Much On The Table”, *State House News, August 6, 2024
‘I feel profoundly dehumanized and discriminated against.”
Preston Ruzicka, 18, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair, commenting on the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s refusal to fund his accessible housing request, Sask. teen fighting for funding to receive 24/7 care near his post-secondary school, CBC, July 29, 2024
“I’m kind of excited to be able to have some place to live and go to school.”
Preston Ruzicka, 18, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair, after the Saskatchewan Health Authority reversed their position on funding accessible housing, Sask. will now fund teen’s 24/7 supports near his post-secondary school, CBC, August 5, 2024
“Our skilled nursing facility and post-acute care institutional settings do not work as we all would like them to. A quarter of people in America who get care in a post-acute facility will have an adverse event, for example. Some studies put it even higher than that. We don’t want to send people to a place where 25% of the time something wrong is happening. We’re looking for a better way, and rehab at home is a possible way, but needs to be tested.”
Dr. David Levine, clinical director for research and development at Mass General Brigham’s Healthcare at Home, Mass General Brigham Lands $4.6M To Study Rehab Care At Home, Home Health Care News, August 6, 2024
The observable, cross-sectional study of 54 hospital workers and 54 nursing home workers (from many facility departments, not just the nursing corps) show that the nursing homes had higher scores and wider anxiety (74% vs. 42%), depression (41% vs. 15%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (56% vs. 26%) than their hospital counterparts.
Nursing home workers, this time the research is on your side, McKnights Long Term Care News, August 8, 2024
Violent altercations between residents in long-term care facilities are alarmingly common. Across the country, residents in nursing homes or assisted living centers have been killed by other residents who weaponized a bedrail, shoved pillow stuffing into a person’s mouth, or removed an oxygen mask.
A recent study in JAMA Network Open of 14 New York assisted living homes found that, within one month, 15% of residents experienced verbal, physical, or sexual resident-on-resident aggression. Another study found nearly 8% of assisted living residents engaged in physical aggression or abuse toward residents or staff members within one month.
Violent dementia patients leave nursing home staff and residents ‘scared to death’, NPR Shots, August 8, 2024
“The issue that we see quite often is that assisted living retains people they should not. They don’t have the staffing or the competency or the structure to provide safe care. Conversely, when facilities have enough rooms filled with paying customers, they are more likely to evict residents who require too much attention. They will kick them out if they’re too cumbersome,”
Violent dementia patients leave nursing home staff and residents ‘scared to death’, NPR Shots, August 8, 2024
“There needs to be much more of an effort to single out verbal and physical aggression that occurs in long-term care and begin to create a model of violence-free zones in the same way we have violence-free zones in the schools.”
Karl Pillemer, gerontologist at Cornell University and lead author of the JAMA study, Violent dementia patients leave nursing home staff and residents ‘scared to death’, NPR Shots, August 8, 2024
“When people move into a facility of any kind, they need to retain all their rights. There’s a lot of great places that are making sure their residents are getting to vote, but there’s just as many that aren’t.”
Carrie Leljedal, a family caregiver-turned-advocate, Resident advocates aim to protect voting rights in nursing homes ahead of contentious election, McKnights Long Term Care, August 8, 2024
“Nursing homes must ensure residents are able to exercise their right to vote. We continue to encourage states, localities, and nursing home owners and administrators to collaborate to ensure residents’ right to vote is not impeded.”
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reissued guidance originally sent in October 2020, Resident advocates aim to protect voting rights in nursing homes ahead of contentious election, McKnights Long Term Care, August 8, 2024
“Today, we honor our heritage and commit to building upon it. With this transformative legislation [The HERO Act], we pledge to provide the best veterans’ services in the country, ensuring every veteran receives the respect and support they deserve.”
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Governor Maura Healey Signs Historic HERO Act, Ushering in New Era for Veterans in Massachusetts (Office of Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, August 8, 2024)
“We want to make sure that the people who are living [in nursing homes] are treated with respect, and that services are good quality, but we’d like to see many of them living outside a nursing home and back in the community.”
Paul Lanzikos, Coordinator, Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, Nursing Home Reform Languishes on Beacon Hill, *The Provincetown Independent, August 7, 2024
[N]early all lower-income renter households lack the income needed to cover their essential expenses after paying rent. An adequate and holistic safety net that addresses these overlapping and compounding challenges is crucial to ensure households can meet their basic needs.
Renters Struggle with Competing Costs of Food, Energy, and Housing, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, August 8, 2024
“Long-term care communities do not operate in a vacuum. The challenge in battling vaccine reluctance (misinformation, hesitancy, and fatigue) is not unique to the long-term care community but is systemic among the US population at large. There is not one thing that will fix this challenge—it really takes a multi-pronged approach. Increasing uptake requires a collective endeavor by public health officials, other health care providers, and the general public.”
American Health Care Association Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Gifford, COVID on the rise in nursing homes along with vaccine reluctance and mistrust, McKnights Long-Term Care News, August 11, 2024
“We have more reconfigured families than ever before, and these families may increasingly rely on someone who’s not a biological child. In general, those relationships tend to be less close. Children are less likely to provide assistance to a stepparent.”
Deborah Carr, a Boston University sociologist, When Elder Care Is All in the Stepfamily, New York Times (free access), August 3, 2024
August 6, 2024
In one instance, a resident told inspectors that she was left to sit in urine for more than six hours when a nurse assistant refused to change her. She said the situation happened often and left her feeling “hopeless, sad, angry, helpless and start(ing) to have suicidal thoughts.”
Blueberry Hill nursing home cited for abuse, *Salem News, July 31, 2024
Multiple budget lines in ]Seashore Point’s] Medicaid cost report did not pass the “smell test,” said [Christopher] Cherney [an expert in nursing home administration]. One of the most confounding was $266,440 that the facility reported in advertising expenses for 2021. He called that number for a 41-bed nursing home with a 91-percent occupancy rate and without any apparent nearby competitors “unprecedented.”
“I’m trying to understand this advertising fee, and it doesn’t square with my experience,” said Cherney. “It’s a potential place to hide profit.” If the number reported was accurate, then the nursing home would have spent over $22,000 per month on advertising in 2021.
Reviewers Suspect Fraud in Nursing Home Filings, The Provincetown Independent, July 31, 2024
Since taking over the nursing home at Seashore Point in 2019, the current owners have used a complex network of companies to pay themselves hidden profits — possibly totaling over $1 million — while cutting nursing staff hours dramatically, according to expert analysis of the company’s federal and state filings.
Reviewers Suspect Fraud in Nursing Home Filings, The Provincetown Independent, July 31, 2024
An open container of pudding in a storage area was surrounded by several small black flies and a container of teriyaki sauce without a lid was covered with a “black wispy growth.”
Blueberry Hill nursing home cited for abuse, *Salem News, July 31, 2024
Everyone deserves to age with dignity and financial security. But on July 10, the House Appropriations Committee advanced several bills that cut FY25 funding for many key programs that support the health, financial security, and independence of older adults.
House Committee Slashes Aging Services Investments for FY25, National Council on Aging, July 22, 2024
“This virus is still very, very new to humans, and the virus wants to live, and the way that it lives is by evading immunity.”
Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious disease at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, ‘The virus wants to live.’ California’s big COVID spike isn’t expected to ease anytime soon, Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2024
[Elizabeth] Francis’s advice to living a long life at age 115 is the same as it was last year at 114: “Speak your mind and don’t hold your tongue.”
Oldest person in the U.S. turns 115 today: ‘She’s surprised us all’, Washington Post (free access), July 25, 2024
That’s the way it is now. The past is dissolving. The future is uncertain. We don’t know how much time we have left together. Right now, right this instant, is the best it will ever be.
Adeline Goss, a neuro-hospitalist and associate chief of neurology at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA, whose mother is undergoing intravenous infusion of lecanemab to minimize the progression of dementia, I’m not sure what to think of the new Alzheimer’s drugs (*Boston Globe, August 4, 2024 (Updated))
Our country is founded on the vision set out in the Declaration of Independence — that all of us are created equal and are endowed with the same rights. America has become stronger when our country has expanded its promise to marginalized Americans, including, yes, Americans with disabilities. Making progress requires us to embrace each other’s intrinsic humanity. Our American mission is to bring out the best in each other — when we have, our country has flourished.
Maggie Hassan, U.S. Senator from New Hampshire, Trump’s disability comments are cruel to families like mine, *Boston Globe, August 5, 2024
“When new information revealed the possibility of dangerous understaffing and poor quality of care, my office and the Department of Public Health promptly filed an emergency petition and secured a temporary receiver. Receivership will help stabilize the situation by taking control of finances and supporting daily operations, while protecting the welfare of residents and staff.”
Statement from the Office of Attorney General Andrea Campbell regarding nursing homes owned by BluPoint Healthcare, Local nursing homes facing fines, receivership, The Reminder, July 30, 2024
July 30, 2024
“The whole continuum of care is under stress. There’s a workforce crisis, there’s a question about pay, there’s a question about accountability.’’
State Senator Patricia Jehlen, Chair, Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, Reforms, Reforms promising greater oversight and regulation of nursing and long-term care facilities pass Senate, *Boston Globe, July 27, 2024
“It was horrific because you just knew it wasn’t right, and it was right before your eyes and you couldn’t do anything about it.”
Family member of a resident at Seashore Pointe, an AdviniaCare facility in Provincetown, MA, who had a drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection, (MRSA),Patients Suffer at Outer Cape’s Only Nursing Home, The Provincetown Independent, July 25, 2024
“My disability defines me just as much and just as little as being a woman, parent, or educator.”
Rebekah Taussig, who has incomplete paralysis from childhood cancer, Up First, NPR, July 29, 2024
“People with disabilities often have developed ways to help themselves that you may not recognize. Always ASK.”
Kathy Hyde who was born with a dislocated right hip and club foot and uses crutches and wheelchairs to get around, Up First, NPR, July 29, 2024
“Most people will become disabled sometime before they die. Disabled people are just like you. We have hopes and dreams, wants, and desires. We love and need to be loved.”
Marty Slighte, who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Up First, NPR, July 29, 2024
Seniors living in substandard nursing homes without adequate staffing can’t wait until next year for action.
The Editorial Board, After reports of dismal conditions, nursing homes need more staff — and more oversight, Boston Globe, July 28, 2024
“This is not over. It’s regrettable that Ralph de la Torre and Steward’s greed and mismanagement are resulting in the closures of Carney and Nashoba Valley hospitals. These hospitals have long served their communities – their closures are about more than the loss of beds, doctors, and nurses.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey, Governor Healey Demands Steward Finalize Deals for Remaining Five Hospitals, Office of Governor Maura Healey, July 26, 2024
“The message here is that hospices are on notice that there will be significant reform like we have not seen since the benefit was implemented 40 years ago.”
Katie Wehri, director of home care and hospice regulatory affairs, National Association for Home Care & Hospice, The Hospice CARE Act‘s Potential Unintended Consequences, Hospice News, July 26, 2024
“This was a handout to insurance companies. Insurers were getting payments from the states even as many folks either didn’t know about their coverage, or as they already had other coverage they were using.”
Benjamin Ukert, an assistant professor at Texas A&M University, Medicaid, Medicaid Was a Boon to Insurers During the Pandemic. Now, Not So Much.,*Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2024
“We are pushing working people into homelessness because they just can’t afford the rent. The general public doesn’t see these folks as homeless — they’re not as visible as the people who occupy public spaces, who have substance abuse issues or mental health problems. But it’s a catastrophe, and it’s happening just under our eyes.”
Margot Kushel, director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at the University of California at San Francisco, They have jobs, but no homes. Inside America’s unseen homelessness crisis., Washington Post (free access), July 28, 2024
“High rents are the singular factor driving homelessness, so that’s what we need to address,” said “It’s pretty cost-efficient to give people a subsidy if they’re having trouble affording rent. If you don’t do that, that person becomes homeless and that’s much more expensive and inhumane to solve for, because now they’re also going through all of this extra trauma.”
Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of San Francisco’s Coalition on Homelessness, They have jobs, but no homes. Inside America’s unseen homelessness crisis., Washington Post (free access), July 28, 2024
“Extensive training requirements may lead to high student debt among some healthcare workers, while nonprofessional health workers may be at risk for medical debt due to low wages and poor benefits.”
Kathryn E. W. Himmelstein, MD, MSEd, and Alexander C. Tsai, MD, both affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Educational, medical debt high among nursing home, home health workers: study, McKnights Senior Living, July 29, 2024
July 23, 2024
“It’s shameful that the nursing home industry would rather line its own pockets than follow these standards, provide better care, and save lives.”
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Nursing home staffing mandate would save thousands of lives, researchers say (*USA Today, July 20, 2024)
“We need to hold accountable those [nursing home] investors who control the funding. They buy these up and then sell them quickly. We need to make sure they are held accountable for their finances and ensuring the financial stability of the long-term health care institutions.
State Senator Jacob Oliveira, State providing nursing care at troubled South Hadley facility, MassLive.com, July 19, 2024
“I commend the Attorney General’s office for taking decisive action to protect some of our community’s most vulnerable. Moving forward, our primary focus must be on ensuring the safety, well-being, and dignity of both the residents and the hardworking staff who care for them.”
State Senator Jacob Oliveira, State Imposes Receiver On Three Long-Term Care Centers,*State House News, July 22, 2024
“When older adults and others with mobility-related disabilities enter nursing facilities, they generally have to give up a lot – their lives in the community, their sense of independence. That tradeoff is significant, but to not actually get the care you are entitled to, to be treated in a way that robs you of your dignity, then that tradeoff becomes unconscionable. It’s the state’s role to keep nursing facilities from treating people this way.”
Regan Bailey, Litigation Director, Justice in Aging, Nursing Facility Residents with Disabilities Sue Over State of Maryland’s Failure to Provide Oversight and Investigate Complaints, Justice in Aging, May 16, 2024
“If they’re going to come out and diagnose people with things they don’t have, they shouldn’t get any more money.”
Gloria Lee, retired Boston area accountant insured by United Healthcare, who was diagnosed as having diabetic cataracts, a condition she does not have, Insurers Pocketed $50 Billion From Medicare for Diseases No Doctor Treated, *Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2024 (updated)
“While we applaud President Biden’s dedication to resident safety and dignity, the final CMS rule falls significantly short of what numerous studies have indicated is necessary for basic clinical care. While it may offer relief to residents in facilities with very low staffing, it jeopardizes residents in those with higher staffing levels, since those operators are now incentivized to decrease their staffing to the new federal standard.”
Report from the Long Term Care Community Coalition, Patient advocates say new nursing home staffing standards don’t go far enough (Association of Healthcare Journalists, July 19. 2024)
“I am in collections with Western CT Health Network (Nuvance) … for the unpaid claims by my employer [Athena Health Care Systems] of $234,285 for treatment of my deceased spouse,” one worker wrote in January 2023. “He passed away on 3/5/21. I have received numerous letters from this law office that have been brought to my employers’ attention at the corporate level.
An employee of Athena Health Care Systems, Athena nursing home workers say medical bills still going unpaid (CT Mirror, July 21, 2024)
In one inspection report from March, surveyors said that a resident fell in a cluttered janitor’s closet a month previously. Staff members were “unaware” that the resident, who had dementia and was a high fall risk, had wandered into the secure area and that the janitor’s closet had been left open.
State’s largest nursing home prepares to close following patient safety violations, Montana Free Press, July 18, 2024
Federal Medicaid officials found many states didn’t do [eligibility redeterminations] properly after the pandemic—and sometimes before. For example, over 400,000 eligible people lost coverage because states assessed household, not individual, eligibility.
Federal Oversight of State Eligibility Redeterminations Should Reflect Lessons Learned after COVID-19, U.S. General Accountability Office, July 18, 2024
Results showed that Black patients were 17% less likely to have palliative care encounters and 9% less likely to have DNR status compared to non-Hispanic white patients across all hospitals.
Study finds racial disparities in end-of-life hospital care (McKnights Long Term Care News, July 14, 2024)
“While it is typically available in hospital and cancer center settings, unfortunately, palliative care is not consistently and widely available in every nursing home in the United States. It really depends on where you live. Non-hospice palliative care in nursing homes is hard to come by.”
Regenstrief Institute Research Scientist Kathleen Unroe, M.D., MHA, an associate professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine—Indianapolis, Palliative care is underutilized in nursing homes, says study, Medical Xpress, July 16, 2024
“I could never look on my life as a failure — it’s far beyond anything I ever thought I would attain.”
Bob Newhart, ‘I’ve lived in an incredible time’: Comic Bob Newhart dies at 94, NPR, July 18, 2024
The plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit have mobility-related disabilities that require full-time nursing care to eat, drink water, use the bathroom, maintain personal hygiene, socialize and take care of themselves. The lawsuit claims that those residents — many of whom cannot work and rely on public assistance and fixed incomes — are often left in soiled clothes or bedding with their calls for help going unanswered for hours at a time.
Some of the plaintiffs developed bed sores and others are at risk of developing lesions from being left immobile in those conditions for too long.
Maryland failed to inspect nursing homes for years, lawsuit alleges, *Washington Post, May 17, 2024
“They’re trying to look for supplies, and I’m standing there and I’m like, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t have any of that gauze for you, or those ace wraps. We don’t have them and the residents, I mean, they get affected. Small things are major things when it comes to health.”
Hailey Minichiello, a nurse at Blackstone Valley Health and Rehabilitation in Whitinsville, MA, Nurses at Blackstone Valley Health & Rehabilitation say they’re not getting paid and conditions are deteriorating, Spectrum News 1, July 19, 2024
“Many folks in Massachusetts face cost barriers in access to the medications they are prescribed, especially for many of our most vulnerable residents who live with chronic disease. This bill aims to reduce the out-of-pocket cost of certain lifesaving drugs and ban certain business practices that are commonly used by PBMs to increase their own profits at the expense of patients.”
House Speaker Ron Mariano, House Joining Senate In Prescription Drug Push, *State House News, July 22, 2024
“We know that nearly all [COVID] transmission happens indoors, in places with poor ventilation and/or poor filtration. One hypothesis is that these building factors and human behavior are driving the summertime increases in cases.”
Joseph Allen, associate professor, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Healthy Buildings Program, COVID Rates Are Rising Again. Why Does It Spread So Well in the Summer?, Scientific American, July 16, 2024
Long COVID can affect people across the lifespan from children to older adults and across race and ethnicity and baseline health status. Importantly, more than 90% of people with long COVID had mild COVID-19 infections.
Long COVID puzzle pieces are falling into place – the picture is unsettling, The Conversation, July 18, 2024
July 16, 2024
“I can’t wait to get out of here.”
Leonard Wright, 52 year old man who has been a resident at Highview of Northampton for two and a half years, ‘A dog pound would be better.’ Inside one of the most-fined nursing homes in Mass., *Mass Live, July 14, 2024
Government inspections [of Highview of Northampton nursing home] over the last three years flagged 76 deficiencies, failures to meet federal standards. Since June 1, 2021, surveyors found 15 instances of failing to keep residents free from abuse, neglect or exploitation. Officials cited other issues including failing to give patients appropriate treatments, failing to meet kitchen sanitation standards, and having a medication error rate of more than 5%.
Highview is one of the most fined facilities in Massachusetts by the federal government in the past three years. It has not met state standards for registered nurse hours and has well above the national average of health citations. It ranks in the bottom 2% of facilities based on performance data kept by the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services. It has a one-star rating (out of five) from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
‘A dog pound would be better.’ Inside one of the most-fined nursing homes in Mass., *Mass Live, July 14, 2024
The facility is “notorious.” “Unfortunately, Highview has a long-established reputation of poor-quality care. They should have been shut down a long time ago.”
Paul Lanzikos, former state secretary of elder affairs and coordinator and co-founder of Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, ‘A dog pound would be better.’ Inside one of the most-fined nursing homes in Mass., *Mass Live, July 14, 2024
“Our veterans, who served our nation bravely and give back to our communities daily, deserve nothing less than a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.”
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Healey-Driscoll Administration Announces $6.7 Million in Federal Funds to Combat Veteran Homelessness, Office of Governor Maura Healey and Ly. Governor Kim Driscoll, July 11, 2024
“Need assistance. Not enough staff. Laying in urine all day,” reads a complaint filed in late 2021 with the city health department. “Tired of being overlooked, hasn’t had a decent bath since she’s been there,” another complaint, from December 2023, reads.
“When she calls for help they do not come so she calls the local health department,” reads an adult protective services intake form the city health department filed.
Inside understaffing problem at Mass. nursing homes, *Mass Live, July 14, 2024
“I worked all night last night and there are many nurses who are running on ‘empty. We’re not able to provide adequate wound care, we have no supplies. We’re having residents go into smaller briefs than appropriate.”
Hailey Minichiello, staff member at Blackstone Valley Health & Rehabilitation in Northbridge, MA, Nurses at Northbridge rehab hospital picket over no pay, lack of resources (*Worcester Telegram & Gazette, July 12, 2024)
“It’s shameful that they provide us with these conditions when all we try to do is uphold the patients’ dignity. It’s absolutely disappointing.”
Apryl Doire, nursing assistant at Blackstone Valley Health & Rehabilitation in Northbridge, MA, Nurses at Northbridge rehab hospital picket over no pay, lack of resources (*Worcester Telegram & Gazette, July 12, 2024)
“I’m very upset for my residents. I miss my residents. I treated them like my own family members so it’s a very difficult thing for me to quit. I was on the same floor since I was a CNA (certified nurse aide) — that should tell them (Bluepoint) something. I’ve lost trust and I’ve lost respect for them.”
Nichole Rondeau who recently resigned as a nurse at Blackstone Valley Health & Rehabilitation in Northbridge, MA, Nurses at Northbridge rehab hospital picket over no pay, lack of resources (*Worcester Telegram & Gazette, July 12, 2024)