Tag Archives for Congressman Gabe Amo

Looking back at 2024, sharing some favorites

Published in RINewsToday on January 7, 2025

Like many national news organizations, RINewsToday, The Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket Call (now combined into one newspaper called the Blackstone Valley Call & Times), offers its readers an ‘age beat’ editorial commentary, covering a myriad of aging issues, Congress (including Social Security and Medicare) retirement, the long-term care continuum, consumer issues, spirituality, pop culture, health care and even economics. Throughout these years

I’ve covered these issues as they relate to older Rhode Islanders, also covering Smith Hill, when there are state policy debates on issues that will impact older Rhode Islanders.

As a Rhode Island ‘age beat’ journalist for over 45 years, I have penned over 1,000 stories covering issues of interest to our readers. These authored and coauthored pieces have appeared in national, state and trade publications.

For many of these editorial commentaries, I have consistently drawn on the invaluable research produced by the Washington, DC-based AARP. Their insightful reports, polls, and studies have provided a wealth of information that has deepened public understanding of the challenges and opportunities of aging. I’ve also drawn on the expertise of professionals in the Rhode Island aging network for their perspective and comments on these topics, giving the editorial a good, local slant, where possible.

In 2024, my commentaries have appeared weekly in daily news outlets, also in other media outlets including RINewsToday – that’s about 52 articles a year – over quite a few years now! I’ve written for digital news publications, Senior Digest, a monthly publication for those over age 50, the Narragansett Times, Kent County Daily, Cranston Herald, Warwick Beacon and the Johnston Sun who have picked up stories, and of course, my own blog.

As we celebrate the New Year and look forward to 2025, looking back, I have selected my top five favorite commentaries published in 2024. Specifically:

“Stoic Tips for the Class of 2024,” May 27, 2024.

Generally, thousands of commencement speeches occur annually at university and colleges in the U.S. The common themes of these speakers (traditionally 10 minutes in length, up to 2,500 words) that typically emerge in their speeches in 2024 were: resilience and overcoming challenges; embracing change and innovation; social responsibility and making a difference; the power of community and collaboration; and personal growth and lifelong learning; mental health and well-being and finally embracing diversity and inclusion.

Over the years, never being invited to give a commencement speech, I have traditionally penned my own. So, in 2024, advice was giving to graduating seniors, pulling from stoicism, a school of Hellenistic philosophy that thrived in Ancient Greece and Rome. Advice came from: Epictetus, a former slave in Hierapolis (modern-day Turkey) around 50 CE; Seneca the Younger, who lived in the 1st century CE; Stoic Philosopher Marcus Aurelius, a Roman Emperor who ruled from 161 to 180 CE; and Stoic Greek philosopher, Heraclitus.

Graduating seniors were advised to remember the teachings of Stoic philosophy that would offer them a timeless roadmap for living a life of purpose, meaning, and fulfillment.

“Congressman Magaziner Takes Baton on Bring Back House Aging Committee,” March 4, 2024

Over 30 years ago, the US House Democratic leadership’s belt-tightening efforts to save $1.5 million resulted in the termination of the House Permanent Select Committee on Aging. This commentary announced Cong. Seth Magaziner (RI-2) legislative attempt to bring back the House Select Committee on Aging (HSCoA) when he picked up the baton from former Cong. David Cicilline who sought to bring it back during the 114th-117th Congresses.

The Commentary announced that Cong. Seth Magaziner’s introduction of H. Res. 1029, on Feb. 23, 2024, (cosponsored by Cong. Gabe Amo (RI-1) and 27 House Democratic lawmakers) to reestablish the HSCoA. It was referred to the House Committee on Rules for mark-up, (which never occurred) and the legislative resolution died at the conclusion of the 118th Congress.

According to the commentary, every day 12,000 Americans turn 60. By 2030, nearly 75 million people in the U.S. — or 20% of the country — will be age 65 or older. With the graying of our nation, the need for support and services provided under programs like Social Security, SSI, Medicare, Medicaid and the Older Americans Act increases.

Magaziner’s 213-word resolution would have authorized the HSCoA to study the use of all practicable means and methods of encouraging the development of public and private programs and policies which will assist seniors in taking a full part in national life and which will encourage the utilization of the knowledge, skills, special aptitudes, and abilities of seniors to contribute to a better quality of life for all Americans.

Finally, the House Resolution would also allow the HSCoA to develop policies that would encourage the coordination of both governmental and private programs designed to deal with problems of aging and to review any recommendations made by the President or by the White House Conference on aging in relation to programs or policies affecting seniors.

Hopefully, we will see Magaziner continue his attempt to bring back the HSCoA by reintroducing a new resolution during this new Congress. With his

“If You Want a Friend in Washington, Get a Furry Friend,” Aug. 5, 2024.

With an increasing number of adults reporting a decrease in the number of close friends, the old adage, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog,” might also be applicable outside the Beltway, even in the Ocean State. This companionship can also boost your physical and mental health. Your furry friends’ capacity for unconditional love enables them to share our lives’ highs and lows.

This commentary stressed the powerful bond of owning a pet and how the relationship offers mental and emotion support to their owners.

According to the findings of an American Psychiatric Association (APA) Healthy Minds Monthly poll released jointly with the American Veterinary Medical Association, among the many mental health benefits of pets, nearly two-thirds of pet owners say that their animals offer companionship (65%), are a true friend (65%) and provide unconditional love and support (64%), the survey finds. Eighty-four percent of pet owners say that their pets have a mostly positive impact on their mental health, similar to the findings of last year’s polling on the same topic. The poll was of 2,200 adults, done by Morning Consult.

Furthermore, the survey’s findings indicated 62 percent of the survey’s respondents say that pets provide a calming presence and also help reduce their stress and anxiety. Thirty-five percent note that their pet encourages them to be more physically active, too. The findings note that owning a pet adds structure to a respondent’s schedule and can even increase social connections with others (19%).

Yes, in Washington or outside the Beltway, if you want a friend, get a dog (or even a cat, bird or hamster). Pets can become a protective buffer against physical and mental disorders and life stressors.

“Someone’s Trash is a Military Family’s Treasure: Ours,” June 3, 2024.

This commentary, in the Blackstone Valley Call & Times, highlighted my efforts to retrieve a military footlocker that belonged to my father, after being notified that a Detroit couple, Michael Shannon and his girlfriend Cetaura Bell, found it cast away on a sidewalk for anyone to claim. The trunk had sat in a vacant garage for over 60 years (with the owner having no relations with the owner Lt. Frank M. Weiss). The couple went out of their way to try and finally successfully track me down thru an internet search.

My story was picked up by RINewsToday, and then in several local papers. The Detroit Free Press, a Gannet publication also did a story, in both their digital and print editions, and then other Gannet papers, including the Providence Journal, the Cincinnati paper and the Indy Star. Perhaps the biggest connection, though, was made with Stars & Stripes – the US military’s independent news source with a circulation of over 1 million readers.

“Shortage of direct care professionals a local and national concern,” April 22, 2024

Over 23 years ago, commentaries in the Pawtucket Times that I wrote reported on the crisis of a direct care staffing shortage and inadequate reimbursement being paid to nursing facilities to care for Rhode Island’s frail seniors. As we enter 2025, NOTHING has changed and these staffing and reimbursement issues still continue to exit.

The commentary took a look at a U.S. Special Committee on Aging hearing, chaired by Chairman Bob Casey, (D-PA), showcasing S. 4120, legislation that he introduced with U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). The Long-Term Care Workforce Support Act, introduced during the 118thCongress,would ensure that direct care professionals have a sustainable, lifelong career by providing substantial new funding to support these workers in every part of the long-term care industry, from nursing homes to home care, to assisted living facilities.

The Senate Aging Committee hearing revealed a number of statistical findings showing the need for Congress to address the nation’s severe ongoing direct care professional workforce shortage. It was noted that a recently released survey revealed 92% of nursing facility respondents and nearly 70% of assisted living facilities reported significant or severe workforce shortages.

The April 16th hearing entitled, “The Long-Term Care Workforce: Addressing Shortages and Improving the Profession,” examined the challenges currently facing long-term care workers who are often underpaid and overworked, leading to widespread worker shortages that threaten the availability of care for those who need it.

“It’s a crisis that stems largely from a lack of support for and investment in our care giving workforce,” warned Casey in his opening statement. “Between 50 to over 90 percent of long-term care settings and providers report significant staffing shortages, affecting their ability to provide services, accept new clients, or even to remain open,” he said, with witnesses providing personal testimony about this policy issue.

John E. Gage, MBA, NHA, President & CEO, of the Rhode Island Health Care Association (RIHCA), Maureen Maigret, policy advisory of the Senior Agenda of RI (SACRI), offered their views of the nation’s severe ongoing direct care professional workforce shortage citing Rhode Island specific examples.

In conclusion…

I extend my heartfelt thanks to the thousands of individuals I have interviewed over these 45 years. Their comments reflecting insights and observations about aging, health care, and medical issues, have profoundly enriched these commentaries.

To review all my 53 commentaries that appeared in 2024 (including the above cited), go to http://www.herbweiss.blog.

Rhode Island’s 5-year plan to support persons with Alzheimer’s, related disorders

Published in RINewsToday on February 19, 2024

Last week, state and federal leaders, and the Alzheimer’s Association of Rhode Island, gathered at the East Providence-based PACE Rhode Island to announce the release of  the latest Rhode Island Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) 2024-2029 State Plan. This 25-page strategic plan, details 36 recommendations to improve the quality of life and accessibility of care for Rhode Islanders with ADRD by the end of this decade.

The 5-year plan provides Rhode Island a “Rhode map” to channel its resources to provide care for a growing number of persons with ADRD. In 2020, an estimated 24,000 adults in Rhode Island ages 65 and older were living with ADRD (being cared for by over 36,000 unpaid caregivers). This makes Rhode Island the state with the third highest percentage of Alzheimer’s disease in New England. And this number is expected to increase by nearly 13% over the next few years, with state officials calling it a growing public health crisis.

The State Plan was developed by the RI Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders and statewide partners consisting of researchers, advocates, clinicians, and caregivers. This public process resulted in identifying dozens of strategies to empower all individuals impacted by dementia to achieve their best quality of life.  (Editor’s note: Weiss serves on the Rhode Island ADRD Advisory Council).

To ensure that the State Plan was community-led and inclusive, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) hosted an in-person strategic planning session at PACE-Rhode Island in July of 2023 with nearly 50 attendees representing community-based organizations, people with lived experience, health system partners, academia, and social service agencies.

The released State Plan also calls for the creation of accessible neighborhoods with walkable sidewalks, greater access to healthy food options, and safer public spaces for people living with dementia.  It highlights the importance of convening a workgroup focused on elevating and addressing issues of health equity in dementia care.  It even recommends working closely with Rhode Island cities and towns that have a high prevalence of ADRD to develop action plans that promote age and dementia friendly resources and information that identify local supports for people with dementia and their caregivers.  

From the Plan: Goals for the next 26 years in staffing call for adding 15 more gerontologists and 2,069 aides by 2050 – or on average: .58 gerontologists and 80 aides per year. (Editor’s Note)

The announcement and launch

Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos and RIDOH, joined by Gov. Dan McKee, Sen. Jack Reed, Office of Healthy Aging Director Maria Cimini, and the Alzheimer’s Association of RI, along with Kate Michaud of Congressmen Gabe Amo’s Office, gathered on Feb. 15 at PACE Rhode Island, to launch the release of Rhode Island’s road map to coordinate resources to combat the growing incidence of ADRD cropping up throughout Rhode Island communities.

“This State Plan brings together every part of our government to support Rhode Islanders whose lives are affected by ADRD,” said Lt Gov. Sabina Matos, kicking off the 30-minute press conference. “Under this plan, we’re connecting federal, state, and local government resources to build strong communities where people with dementia can thrive. I’m grateful to be able to serve alongside the community leaders and experts on our state’s Advisory Council on ADRD in coordinating these efforts and carrying on the work started by Gov. McKee,” she said.

“The Plan is our state’s promise that you will never face these things alone – because Team Rhode Island is behind you,” pledged Matos.

“Rhode Islanders and their loved ones affected by Alzheimer’s or related disorders are at the heart of this new state plan,” said Gov. McKee, who as Lt. Governor finalized and distributed the previous five-year ADRD STATE Plan in 2019. 

“Giving them the necessary resources and information to enhance their health and well-being is critical,” said the Governor, stressing that a cure is possible. “We all can play a role, and one of the most important roles people can get involved in is through clinical trials,” he says.

Gov. McKee recognized the efforts of Matos, the ADRD Advisory Council, and the researchers, advocates, and caregivers across our state for crafting, he said, “a very comprehensive plan that promotes inclusion and support.”

Under McKee’s previous five-year plan and its update, the state has accomplished the main goals of dedicating a full-time employee (funded with federal dollars) to coordinate ADRD strategy and promoting ADRD research opportunities in Rhode Island, and including brain health in the state’s other chronic disease management activities. 

Sen. Jack Reed, who serves on the largest and most powerful committee in the Senate responsible for crafting bills that fund the federal government and its operations, left Capitol Hill to travel back to the Ocean State for the press conference, to assure the attendees that he will continue pushing Congress to invest in finding a cure for ADRD. 

Last year, Reed noted that Congress increased the NIH budget to $47.5 billion, and set aside $3.7 billion specifically for Alzheimer’s disease reach. “I’m working hard to raise that total by at least $100 million this year,” he said.

Reed stressed that it is “critical for state officials to continue to focus on effective ways to improve the quality of life for those impacted by dementia and deliver caregiver support.”  But, when it comes to brain health studies, Rhode Island-based researchers are on the “leading edge of the fight against Alzheimer’s.” 

Sandra Powell, Deputy Director at the Rhode Island Department of Health called launching of the State Plan a “big deal” stressing this work is so critical.

According to Powell, the State Plan takes a comprehensive approach focusing on lifestyle modifications, supporting healthcare professional engagement to increase early detection and diagnosis, building a workforce to deliver person-centered dementia care, and using data to drive decision-making and to tackle health disparities. 

Since receiving funding in 2020 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “we’ve done a lot to connect with partners and advocates to leverage resources for persons with dementia,” says Powell.

“Although most Rhode Islanders and Americans likely know somebody who is living with Alzheimer’s, if people think it’s not their concern, consider these facts. 1 in 3 senior citizens will die as a result of Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. Alzheimer’s disease costs the government more than $350 billion per year for care and more, and by 2050, this disease is expected to cost the government alone 1 trillion dollars,” said Donna McGowan, Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Association of RI. “So, think again if you believe it’s none of your business. This killer is all of our business!” she says.

“With the great progress and improvement, the plan has seen, our focus remains on creating the infrastructure and accountability necessary to build ADRD-capable programs and services,” says McGowan. With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approving drugs, like Leqembi, that are proven to effectively slow down the progression of the devastating disease for those living with early onset Alzheimer’s, she calls on Medicare to cover most of the costs. “At the moment, the $26,000 cost copayment for the drug makes access largely prohibitive,” she notes.

“It is high time that the discrimination against those living with Alzheimer’s stops,” says McGowan, stressing the Medicare covers most of the costs for drugs and treatment of major disease, specifically cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, heart disease and COVID.

According to Joseph Wendelken, RIDOH’s public information officer, funding from the CDC, for a five-year implementation grant, $500,000 for each year of the grant cycle from Sept. 30, 2023, to Sept. 29, 2028, has been secured to support the development and implementation of the State Plan. And state funds allocated to key partners such as the Office of Healthy Aging, will help to advance the work of the plan,” he says.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, attending the Munich Security Conference, and Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, at the Capitol expecting a vote, couldn’t attend the press conference. The federal delegation sent its support for the newly released Alzheimer’s State Plan.

A Final Note…some ideas left in the “parking lot”, but can be included in other plans

“The new 5-year State Alzheimer’s Disease and related Disorders Plan builds nicely on the prior Plan from 2019,” observes Maureen Maigret, Policy Advisor for the Senior Agenda Coalition, who also serves on the state’s ADRD Advisory Council. “The five-year plan continues to be based on a strong public health approach emphasizing education about brain health, information on available resources, early detection, training of the healthcare workforce across care settings on the care and service needs of persons dealing with dementia, caregiver supports and includes a strong focus on equity,” she says.

According to Maigret, a former Director of the former state’s Department of Elderly Affairs, it includes some new areas of focus for community involvement and attention to ‘age-friendly’ issues. “The next step — developing the Action Steps needed for Plan implementation is critical as it requires collaboration among many parties,” she says.

“The fact that we have a federal grant and dedicated staff should ensure the Plan will be a working document and guide development of needed actions moving forward. There are also a number of concrete ideas and suggestions contained in a “parking lot” that merit consideration,” says Maigret.

As to the phrase “contained in a parking lot,” Maigret noted that ideas were generated by participants in the Strategic Discussion that took place in July 2023. Some of the input that was provided did not fit into the existing plan objectives and strategies and was placed in a “parking lot,” she says.

“Many of the “parking lot” suggestions could be addressed in other State Plans such as the Rhode Island State Plan on Aging or the Rhode Island State Plan on Caregiving. As the current strategies are achieved, these ideas may be considered for inclusion in the plan, with input from stakeholders,” says Maigret.

The 2024-2029 ADRD State Plan is available for all Rhode Islanders to read online by going to https://health.ri.gov/publications/stateplans/2024-2029Alzheimers-disease-and-related-disorders.pdf, or read or downloaded, below.

This is the second in-depth policy report developed and released by Lt. Gov. Matos’s policy councils, following the 2023 release of Meeting the Housing Needs of Rhode Island’s Older Adults and Individuals with Chronic Disabilities and Illnesses from the Long Term Care Coordinating Council.

If you or someone you know needs supported related to ADRD, call 1 800-272-3900. The Alzheimer’s Association website (www.alz.org) offers a wide range of dementia and aging related resources that connect individuals  facing dementia with local programs and services.

Herb Weiss, LRI-12, serves on the state’s ADRD Advisory Council and is a Pawtucket-based writer who has covered aging, health care and medical issues for over 43 years. To purchase his books, Taking Charge: Collected Stories on Aging Boldly and a sequel, compiling weekly published articles, go to herbweiss.com.