gay rights

What Happened to the Welcome Mat? Nursing Homes and Gay Elders

Posted on 08/9/2012 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & FamilyLiving in a nursing home is not easy. When you are gay, it can be so much more complicated. Unless you’re at a progressive long-term care facility, staff (and fellow residents) may act less than warm and fuzzy, the Nursing Home Reform Act notwithstanding. Put simply, you or your visiting partner, if you’re lucky enough to have one, may not feel welcome. State laws that deny LGBT couples the same benefits as married heterosexuals reinforce their frustrating situation. Many older …

The Takeaway: White House Holds First LGBT Conference on Aging

Posted on 05/8/2012 by Elizabeth Brown | Brooklyn, NY | Comments

News RoundupsThe first in a series of White House conferences devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender aging was held in Miami, Florida, yesterday. Many of the issues addressed—retirement security, health care, housing—are concerns shared by older Americans of all sexual stripes. But LGBT seniors also face unique obstacles, including discrimination and a lack of certain legal protections.

The Takeaway: Cancer Death Rates; Clarence Clemons Dies

Posted on 06/20/2011 by Tina Johnson-Marcel | The Takeaway | Comments

News RoundupsCancer deaths down but disparities still exist. … The overall cancer death rate declined between 1990 and 2007, according to the latest statistics by the American Cancer Society. However, the report finds disparities still exist among socioeconomic and racial groups.