Aging/Older Adults

The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care has shared a podcast episode and fact sheet identifying abuse and neglect toward older adults in nursing home settings. Dr. Laura Mosqueda, a professor of Family Medicine and Geriatrics at the University of Southern California, defines neglect as the failure to provide necessary goods and services to a resident to avoid physical harm, pain, mental anguish, or emotional distress. This can include a lack of staff, supplies, services, or training that fail to meet residents' needs.

NCIL is now accepting workshop proposals for the 2022 Annual Conference: Forging Justice, which will be held July 25-28, 2022. This will be a hybrid event, with the option for participants to join in-person and virtually. The NCIL Conference is designed to provide peer support, organizing, advocacy, and learning opportunities for the network to plan for the future of Independent Living. Workshop applications are due on Monday, March 7, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Many states are directing focus toward achieving racial health equity as a key priority within their Medicaid programs and managed care contracts. This blog post discusses the importance of equitable access to high-quality and comprehensive primary care and the structural and interpersonal racism that creates barriers within health systems. The post explores how states can advance more equitable primary care by building on the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) framework.

In this blog post, Nancy Archibald, MHA, MBA, Associate Director of Integrated Care at CHCS, describes the state of Indiana's plan to launch Medicaid managed long-term services and supports in 2024. The state is receiving grant funding through Advancing Medicare & Medicaid Integration, an Arnold Ventures initiative developed in partnership with CHCS that assists states in filling resource gaps in designing and launching integrated care programs.

FEMA is seeking qualified individuals with expertise on the needs of people with disabilities and older adults for emergency preparedness, response, and recovery to serve on the agency’s National Advisory Council. Selected council members will guide future recommendations on topics including equity, climate, readiness and workforce. Applications are due on Thursday, March 31, 2022.

ACL is collecting material from local nutrition programs, including photographs, quotes, newspaper clippings, and other materials that highlight Senior Nutrition Programs. In the request, ACL asks for high-quality JPG/PNGs of all types of nutrition activities, from grab-and-go events to nutrition education classes. A release form must be signed by every person shown. Please include the program name, location, a brief description of what is being shared, and the year it was published/produced. Submissions must be received by email by March 18, 2022.

As part of the Senior Nutrition Program 50th Anniversary celebration, ACL is soliciting nominations for nutrition “Champion awards.” These awards will recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Senior Nutrition Program at the state, area, and local levels. The deadline to submit nominations is March 2, 2022.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has launched the Community Connected Health Initiative, with the intention of integrating innovation, technology, and human connection to support communities in achieving better health. OSTP released a Request for Information (RFI) on Strengthening Community Health Through Technology. This RFI is open to all stakeholders and will likely remain open until March 31, 2022.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has added a new section to its COVID-19-related technical assistance to clarify when COVID-19 may be considered a disability and how this can impact employers, employees, and job applicants. The new section provides examples of when COVID-19 or disabilities arising from conditions that were caused or worsened by COVID-19, may meet the definition of disability under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. It also addresses nondiscrimination protections provided to employees and job applicants under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.

Starting on Wednesday, January 26, CMS began posting new information on the Care Compare website to help consumers better understand staffing levels and concerns at nursing home facilities that can influence the quality of care being provided to residents. Information on staff turnover and weekend staff will be posted for each facility.