The battles to reform the institutionally biased long term care system must continue if we are to protect people from being needlessly warehoused in nursing homes and other institutions. 104 people were recently arrested in DC occupying the offices of the Congressional leadership of both parties. Their crime was advocating for the passage of MiCASSA and Money Follows the Person, two pieces of legislation that when passed, will move us a long way down the road to ending the institutional bias.

Through hard work by a local DC lawyer a good deal was negotiated. Even so the fines and legal fees totaled over $6,000.

We need your financial assistance!

Under the bill, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would establish a five year pilot program to provide veterans with up to $10,000 to widen doorways, install wheelchair ramps, or make other adaptations to the homes of family members where they are temporarily living.

"Many of our young veterans are in their late teens or early 20’s, and when hurt in combat, they often return to live with their parents. This change is a commonsense approach to the reality that these young men and women face," said Sen. Larry Craig, Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Study enables imaging inside living neurons

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 1, 2005 - A new, easily manufactured microfluidic chamber will allow scientists to examine axons in living nerve cells and may lead to a better understanding of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and may be used to screen drugs to overcome spinal cord injuries, according to researchers in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine.