Proposition B, the Quality Home Care Act, designed to ensure quality home care services for Missouri’s growing senior population and those with disabilities, passed with 75 percent of the vote.

Washington voters have approved a ballot measure that would require long-term care workers to complete more training, pass a certification exam and undergo background checks.

"Interviewers [for this study] gathered data on 11 aspects pertaining to quality of life: physical comfort, privacy, dignity, autonomy, ability to enjoy food, spiritual well-being, security, individuality, functional competence, relationships, and ability to engage in meaningful activities. The Green House residents reported better quality of life than Cedars residents on seven measures, and on four measures compared with Trinity residents. Green House residents did not report lower quality-of-life scores than either the Cedars or Trinity residents on any of the 11 measures."

"Nursing homes that empower their frontline workers to make decisions regarding patient care achieve better performance from certified nurse aides (CNAs), improved resident care, and other positive effects, say the authors of a Commonwealth Fund–supported study."

"To better inform consumers, the authors recommend an alternative approach to identifying the best and worst homes that relies on multiple dimensions of quality measured over time...The Quality Monitor examines three dimensions of quality: nurse staffing levels, deficiencies cited in the three most recent state inspection surveys, and quality indicators established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services."

When Vietnamese-Americans care for family members with Alzheimer's, they face cultural challenges in addition to the other burdens of caregiving.

New York Times' reporter, John Leland, reports on studies that are finding insults, including "sweetly belittling forms of address," can have negative health consequences on elderly people.

Anne Basting, director of the Center on Age & Community at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, started this blog to share her thoughts about our obsession with memory and its loss.

Historian Jesse Ballenger, from Penn State University, started this new blog, devoted to exploring different ways of thinking about dementia.

This August 2008 New York Times article focuses on respite care options, featuring Milwaukee's St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care.