Check out the NDWS Special Collection just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. It includes five open access articles on survey questionnaire development, sample frame development, data collection, and more.

Are there songs that give you time travel? It turns out that that power—of music to recall vivid memories—can be harnessed to ease dementia symptoms. 🎧 On this month's Humans in Public Health, Professor Ellen McCreedy: https://humans-in-public-health.captivate.fm/episode/the-power-to-transport

This is one article from Special Collection on the NIA-funded National Dementia Workforce Study (@ndws.bsky.social) just published (open access!) in @agsjournal.bsky.social agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1... cc @joannespetz.bsky.social @um-ihpi.bsky.social @ucsf-ihps.bsky.social

New paper in @jamainternalmed.com! In it, we use data to examine a commonly held belief about what moving into a nursing home or assisted living facility (also known as a long-term care facility; or LTCF) does to your social life. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

New in @jamainternalmed.com led by Fangli Geng: Changes in SNF coding practices & expenditures under the Patient Driven Payment Model SNFs are coding more (but still less than hospitals), and expenditures have increased for more medically complex patients jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

A little known - but hugely consequential - part of the government’s changes to science funding: open.substack.com/pub/sciencea...

New paper led by Kate Jun (RAND) on the importance of immigrant staff in mitigating nursing home staffing shortages during the pandemic. journals.sagepub.com/eprint/GC9G2...

More than 800,000 immigrants and naturalized citizens comprise 28% of direct care employees at home care agencies, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term care companies. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Except the Medicaid cuts will also force nursing homes to close, so these people and their families will be left with no help.

Our founding dean, Terrie Fox Wetle, will receive the Rosenberger Medal of Honor during Commencement and Reunion Weekend. This is the highest honor Brown faculty can bestow, having only been conferred 36 times in the last 100+ years. www.brown.edu/news/2025-05...

Awarded just 36 times, the Susan Colver Rosenberger Medal is the highest honor Brown's faculty can bestow. At the University's 257th Commencement it will be awarded to Professor Terrie Fox Wetle, founding dean of Brown's School of Public Health. #Brown2025 #BrownSPH2025 www.brown.edu/news/2025-05...

Recent job reports show that healthcare has been adding jobs to the economy. Home health has seen robust growth over the last year or so, with some slowing in recent months. 1/4

The continued assault on NINR is particularly dumb. NINR is one of the smallest NIH institutes but it's a critical funder of nursing school faculty. Schools need faculty to train nurses. Faculty shortages have long been a key rate-limiting factor affecting nurse supply But who needs nurses? 🤔😑😡

Congratulations to the 68 new members of Brown's Epsilon Iota Chapter of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health! The students inducted yesterday were recognized for their outstanding performance and devotion to public health. education.sph.brown.edu/students/lif...

We know it was neither about protecting nor defending women. I'm sad that #NIH has terminated the #WHI.

“Older Black Americans are twice as likely as white patients to develop [dementia]. Just as it is not illegal to research breast cancer in women, Mezuk said, it should not be illegal to research dementia in Black and lower-income white Americans.” www.michigandaily.com/news/researc...

I've received additional confirmation, as well as an email I can share publicly. See the directive NIH grants management staff received from Michelle Bulls, director of extramural policy at NIH:

Nice response to grant terminations: “The NIH called my health equity research ‘antithetical to scientific inquiry’ “ www.statnews.com/2025/04/15/n... via @statnews.com

“It’s a very strong network, and it would be easy to wreck, but it took years to build.”

Harvard FTW: "The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government."

"There's a real likelihood of unnecessary institutionalization, because of what states would have to do," says Jorwic. Disabled & elderly people who could have stayed home with some assistance might need to enter a nursing home, simply because that's the only way they can get care. #Medicaid

Low-income workers who are covered by Medicaid are generally in jobs that don't provide health benefits. Without Medicaid, they'd be uninsured.

There are many innovative ways to use new NDWS survey data and linked data sources to understand the diverse dementia care workforce. And, you can receive a pilot grant to do so. Apply by April 28 for up to $100,000 in direct costs for projects using Wave 1 data. www.ndws.org/pilot-grants

A federal judge in Texas blocked a Biden administration rule to boost staffing at nursing homes. KFF Health News walked through the decision from the judge and what it could mean for nursing home staffing. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

My #hhs colleagues deserve better.

A hundred years ago, the average life expectancy was <50. Today, it is ~80. What made the difference? Public Health. Public health, however, is not some magic entity happening in a vacuum - it requires people. Without those people, there can be no Public Health. That serves no one. Wake up.

Shameful way to treat public servants. I'm so sorry to see this. It is a tragedy for our country.

Vaccines for Children grants. All terminated. Every single one of the 64 US jurisdictions managing our immunization programs. See Philadelphia's Dept Pub Health cuts below. The VFC terminations run from pages 25-31 in this listing: taggs.hhs.gov/Content/Data... HANDS OFF VACCINES FOR CHILDREN!

There is still time to submit a proposal for NDWS Cycle 2 pilot grants. Apply by April 28 for direct costs up to $100,000 for projects using Wave 1 NDWS surveys to address critical gaps in dementia workforce research. See Cycle 1 winners and learn more at www.ndws.org/pilot-grants.

Another great paper led by Dr. Lauren Hunt came out this week about #hospice & #dementia, this time regarding "Continued Use of Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Memantine", published in JAMA IM @jama.com. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40126467/ 1/

NOPE. "Tools and technology" are NOT the equivalent of having bedside registered nurses in nursing homes. Not even close. Thank you @wyden.senate.gov for pushing on this issue.

I’m really appreciating the incredibly comprehensive weekly federal policy update emails from @amergeriatrics.bsky.social The fact that they are also offering no cost 6 month extensions on AGS membership to AGS members who are federal workers is even better

We are excited to announce we are now accepting proposals for Cycle 2 pilot grants! Direct costs of up to $100,000 are available for 6 to 8 projects that propose innovative uses of Wave 1 NDWS survey data of the dementia care workforce. Apply by April 28. Learn more: www.ndws.org/pilot-grants

It bears repeating.

To put the $880 billion in Medicaid cuts Republicans are considering in perspective, consider these CBO estimates: A Medicaid work requirement saves $109 billion. Eliminating enhanced federal matching payments for the ACA Medicaid expansion, which covers 20 million people, saves $604 billion.

In Rhode Island - NIH FUNDING: $256M JOBS SUPPORTED: 2212 ECONOMIC ACTIVITY SUPPORTED: $502M www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...

We are excited to announce the recipients of our inaugural pilot grants. The six studies will utilize Wave 1 NDWS survey data to contribute valuable insights to address critical gaps in current dementia workforce research. See the winning projects: www.ndws.org/pilot-grants/pilot-grant-awardees