RI Office of Healthy Aging would return to state department status

A group of people standing in front of a bookcase.

From left, Newport senior Penny Fitch, Rep. Deborah Ruggiero (D-Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown), Rep. Lauren H. Carson (D-Dist. 75, Newport) and Robert Robillard, president of the Rhode Island Senior Center Directors Association and director of Coventry’s Department of Human Services. Rep. Lauren H. Carson and Rep. Deborah Ruggiero were joined by senior center directors, seniors…

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New efforts on Smith Hill to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates – Herb Weiss

A nurse wearing a blue scrub top and stethoscope.

By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues On March 8th, a press conference on Smith Hill put the legislative spotlight on introduced rate setting legislation intended to fix Rhode Island’s long-time problem of paying insufficient reimbursement rates to human-service agencies delivering social, human and clinical services to Medicaid recipients.  Over 80 human service providers,…

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Bill would (re)create a RI Department of Healthy Aging – Herb Weiss

A woman helping an older woman on a computer.

By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues (This article has been updated) There are new efforts on Smith Hill to transform the state’s Office of Healthy Aging (OHA) into a department making it far more visible and effective as an advocate for the state’s growing senior population.  H. 7616, introduced by Rep. Lauren H. Carson (D-District 75, Newport), would expand the office in the Department of Human Services…

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RI State Budget must address long term care staffing crisis – Herb Weiss

A nurse is talking to an elderly woman in a chair.

by Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues As Rhode Island and states throughout the country loosen COVID-19 mask restrictions with the number of new coronavirus cases dropping by more than 75% since the highs in mid-January, and hospital admissions and death rates declining, AARP Rhode Island warns that now is the time to take…

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“Living Apart Together” couples need to discuss caregiving, health issues with family, each other – Herb Weiss

An older couple sitting on a couch.

By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues With divorce rates soaring since the 1990s, and aging baby boomers 50 and older having doubled in number, this trend, along with longer life expectancy and those becoming widowed, has resulted in many older adults forming new partnerships later in life. Researchers call this new phenomenon, “Living…

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Calls for Rhode Island to become more “Age Friendly” – Herb Weiss

A group of people with their hands raised in the air.

By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues On Aug. 3, 2020, The Decade of Healthy Aging 2020-2030 proposal was endorsed by the 73rd World Health Assembly. It was presented to the U.N. General Assembly Dec. 14, 2020, (Resolution 75/131), leading to the proclamation of a U.N. Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030). The four-page Resolution expressed concern…

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