Aging and disability services
FILE - In this April 17, 2020, file photo, a patient is loaded into an ambulance by emergency medical workers outside Cobble Hill Health Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Deaths among Medicare patients in nursing homes soared by more than 30% last year, with two devastating surges eight months apart, a government watchdog reported Tuesday in the most complete assessment yet of the ravages of COVID-19 among its most vulnerable victims. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Watchdog: Nursing home deaths up 32% in 2020 amid pandemic

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Jun. 22, 2021 12:02 AM EDT

Most Idaho nursing home workers unvaccinated for COVID-19

Jun. 21, 2021 04:58 PM EDT
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Less than half of nursing home workers in Idaho have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services...

Angela Ermold, right, and her sister, Denise Gracely, hold a photo of their mother, Marian Rauenzahn, Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Fleetwood, Pa. Pandemic restrictions are falling away almost everywhere — except inside many of America’s nursing homes. “They have protected them to death,” said Gracely. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
'Protected them to death': Elder-care COVID rules under fire

By Michael Rubinkam Jun. 19, 2021 10:26 AM EDT

Violinist Antonio Hernandez plays for the relatives of COVID-19 victim Miryam Rodriguez, while they are gathered for prayer by the hearse that carries her remains to Serafin Cemetery, before cremation in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, June 18, 2021. Due to regulations to contain the new coronavirus, relatives cannot enter the cemetery. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
The Latest: Protests decry Brazil policies as toll tops 500K

By The Associated Press Jun. 19, 2021 05:46 AM EDT

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson waves at the media as he leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament, in London, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
UK to require COVID-19 shots for nursing home workers

By Danica Kirka Jun. 16, 2021 07:18 AM EDT

Registered nurse Sarvnaz Michel stands for a photo Friday, June 11, 2021, in Lake Forest, Calif. Death is part of the job for Michel, an intensive care nurse at Providence St. Jude Hospital in the Orange County city of Fullerton. But usually patients have family and friends with them for comfort. The coronavirus stopped that, forcing Michel to care for their emotional as well as physical needs. "Just seeing people dying by themselves, it was hard. It was very, very hard," she said. "Now COVID is better, but I see all the doctors and nurses, they are still suffering from all the stuff that happened." (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
4 California lives changed by coronavirus pandemic

By Adam Beam, Janie Har, Amy Taxin And Julie Watson Jun. 14, 2021 04:07 PM EDT

Connecticut legislature addresses nursing home deficiencies

By Susan Haigh Jun. 12, 2021 08:21 AM EDT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Some big changes are expected at Connecticut nursing homes in the coming months. From mandatory two-month supplies...

Michigan health chief: Nursing home death toll is accurate

By David Eggert Jun. 03, 2021 01:11 PM EDT
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's top health official said Thursday that nursing homes are accurately reporting the number of coronavirus-related deaths, amid...

State investing up to $100M in mental health services

By Kathy Mccormack And Holly Ramer Jun. 03, 2021 10:24 AM EDT
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The state of New Hampshire is investing up to $100 million in mental health services following a recent state Supreme Court ruling to help...

FILE - Jack Campise talks with his mother, Beverly Kearns, through her apartment window at the Kimberly Hall North nursing home, Thursday, May 14, 2020 in Windsor, Conn. A focus on the elderly at the start of the nation's vaccination campaign helped protect nursing homes that were ravaged at the height of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, but they are far from in the clear. New outbreaks, often traced to infected staff members, are still occurring in long-term care centers across the country, causing continued havoc for visitation policies.(AP Photo/Chris Ehrmann)
Despite vaccines, nursing homes struggle with outbreaks

By Susan Haigh Jun. 01, 2021 01:53 PM EDT

Nursing home staffing measure signed into law

May. 28, 2021 11:34 AM EDT
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A bill that gives Rhode Island's nursing homes the highest staff-to-patient ratio in the nation has been signed into law by Gov. Daniel...

Governor signs bill to build new veteran care facility

May. 25, 2021 04:42 PM EDT
BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday signed a $400 million spending bill to finance construction of a new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home to replace the facility...

NH House panel splits on banning vaccine questions, mandates

By Holly Ramer May. 25, 2021 01:46 PM EDT
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire House committee split evenly along party lines Tuesday on a proposal to prohibit most businesses from asking customers or...

State health agency releases some COVID data after lawsuit

May. 21, 2021 03:37 PM EDT
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan health department has settled a lawsuit by releasing information about people in long-term care sites who died of COVID-19,...

Union delays strike at 200 group homes, seeks funding deal

May. 20, 2021 12:21 PM EDT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The union representing more than 2,000 workers at 200 group homes across Connecticut announced Thursday it will delay a strike planned...

Lawmakers propose changes to Lamont's plans for COVID funds

By Susan Haigh May. 17, 2021 03:42 PM EDT
Connecticut legislators recommended changes on Monday to Gov. Ned Lamont's spending proposal for more than $2.8 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funding,...

This cover image released by Crown shows "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic" by Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo disclosed Monday that he was paid a $3.1 million advance to write his COVID-19 leadership book last year and under his publishing contract will make another $2 million on the memoir over the next two years. (Crown via AP)
Cuomo set to earn $5M from book on COVID-19 crisis

By Marina Villeneuve May. 17, 2021 03:10 PM EDT

Connecticut nursing home workers postpone planned strikes

By Susan Haigh May. 13, 2021 06:12 PM EDT
Unionized nursing home workers agreed to postpone strikes planned for Friday at 26 facilities across Connecticut after Gov. Ned Lamont's administration reached...

Infections persist as vaccinations lag at some nursing homes

By Marina Villeneuve May. 11, 2021 12:58 PM EDT
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Despite a massive vaccination campaign, New York nursing homes are still reporting hundreds of infections a week as some residents and...

In this April 7, 2021 photo, a senior receives the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at the Aaron E. Henry Community Health Service Center, in Clarksdale, Miss. Medicare will require nursing homes to report COVID-19 vaccination rates for residents and staff, the government said Tuesday, in what officials hope will become an incentive to keep giving shots even as the worst ravages of the pandemic ease in facilities across the land.(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Medicare requires nursing homes to report COVID vaccinations

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar May. 11, 2021 11:15 AM EDT