Watertown Walk to Raise Awareness About Nursing Home Care
Updated: Sep 24
Update: September 24, 2026 at 1:10PM
Due to the storm this weekend, organizers have cancelled this event. Here is the information provided:
"Unfortunately, due to the severe weather expected this weekend, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the Walk for Nursing Home Care Reform in Watertown, MA, scheduled for Sunday, September 27 at noon. The safety of our walkers and everyone traveling to and from the event comes first, and with the forecast looking the way it does, we feel this is the right decisio.. We’re incredibly disappointed, but while the Walk is cancelled, the cause is not. We will continue our fight for better care, stronger oversight and greater accountability for nursing home residents. Thank you so much to everyone who planned to come out and support us and to everyone who helped make this event possible. Please stay safe this weekend."
Advocates for nursing home reform will gather in Watertown on Sunday, Sept. 27, for a walk aimed at raising awareness about staffing, oversight and accountability in long-term care facilities.
The Massachusetts R.O.A.R. Walk for Nursing Home Reform will begin at noon at the Watertown Veterans Memorial along the Charles River. Organizers said the approximately 2.7-mile route will remain in Watertown, though participants do not have to complete the entire walk.
R.O.A.R. stands for Respect, Oversight, Advocacy and Reform. The Massachusetts event is part of a broader national effort focused on long-term care reform.
Massachusetts organizers Julie Piantedosi, a health care attorney and nursing home advocate, and Zoe Raymond, a Watertown High School senior, discussed the effort during an interview with WCA-TV.
Piantedosi said understaffing is among the most significant issues facing nursing homes and called for stronger oversight and enforcement. Raymond said she became involved after researching nursing home abuse and neglect and following her own family's experience with nursing home care.
Organizers emphasized that the event is primarily an awareness walk rather than a fundraiser. Participants can register in advance or simply attend the event.
