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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 1995)
' • WW > •• ' • T ' • < ,1 • • • . - .'• ' « *w -A ’ • » _ •» < r v « • / r ’J j « ! a • ’LA »# w * * • • . • . * , .• • . • ’ » ? .J t» >’CZJ' t i-.?" •.•.“ * • • ■ - - J ' * 'jS ’ • .'• ’ • / *. •>* y .■?> * * * »• . * M V» • • * ‘ , »- ■ ''. • * . • • , ’ • ’ - ♦ " ’& P age A4 l i ni » <? State Saves $400 Million * « - ■ • < » « . *' ■. » « ■• l " ‘ *9 ♦ ' • Since gaining a federal O K to use Medicaid dollars for home-and community-based care outside o f nurses, Oregon has saved $400 m il lion on services that are preferred by seniors and people with disabilities. This commentary also explains where Oregonians can learn more. By Jim Wilson I f $1 m illion would provide home-delivered meals to 1,100 se nior citizens for a year, or a year’ s foster care for 250 abused children, then think what $400 m illion would do That is the amount the state has saved since 1981 by helping M edic- aid-eligible seniors and people with disabilities receive care in their own homes or in options such as adult foster care and assisted living fa c ili ties. This is one o f the reasons Ore gon is considered an innovative state. Consider: Oregon was the first state to win federal approval to provide care to people where they retain greater in dependence while costing the tax payers less Because home- and com munity-based care costs a third to halfofnursing facilities’ , the savings now amount to about a m illion d ol lars a week Even today, with most states having followed Oregon's lead, we still have about a fourth o f the na tion's community-based facilities with only I percent o f its population. Oregon was just chosen to help with a U S. Administration on Aging project to help other states improve the quality and reduce the cost o f publicly financed care for seniors and people with disabilities. That these care options save money is good. That people who are elderly or disabled prefer them is even better. Recently, I talked w ith E.H. "B in g ” Bingenheimer, who lives at R ackleff Elouse, an assisted living facility in Clackamas County. Bom near Lebanon in 1893, a year that AlexanderGraham Bell and Thomas Edison were in the news, Bing says he treasures his independence. “ I want to live my own life, “ He told me “ Ify o u were born out in the open, you want to live out in the open.” A t R ackleff House, he enjoys the privacy o f his own apartment, which includes a kitchenette, as well as access to regular meals in the dining room, many activities, and attractively landscaped courtyard and nursing care i f he needs it. Residents furnish their private apartments with their own furniture and hang person al mementos on their walls. Bing and others have told us they prefer to live their last years outside o f an institution. Oregon’s commitment to promoting people’s independence, dignity and quality o f life has made this the only state in which fewer Medicaid-eligible se niors are living in nursing facilities today than 10 years ago. Oregonians like Bing who ben efit from home- and community- based care are often older than peo ple expect: Seven Oregonians who Jester Named Superintendent Of MacLaren School Robert S. Jester, who has spent his career as a juvenile corrections counselor and manager in Oregon, is the new su p e rin te n d e n t o f MacLaren School. His annual sala ry is $69,180. Jester, 44, had been acting su perintendent at the school for male juvenile offenders since November 1992. Announcing the appointment, Rick H ill, juvenile corrections man ager o f the Children’s Services D i vision, noted Jester has accepted increasingly responsible positions over the past 23 years. “ Bob has managed the camp system as well as the parole unit and has a broad perspective on Oregon’s juvenile justice system,” H ill said. His long association with MacLaren and other Oregon juvenile institu tions has given him broad under standing o f issues." Jester began his juvenile cor rections career in 1972 at MacLaren as a practicum student from Oregon State University. Jester sees more pressure on juvenile institutions now. “ This is a time o f challenge and change, a time o f intense focus on juvenile justice in Oregon,” Jester said. “ The public w ill be looking closely at how we operate our insti tutions for juvenile offenders and the results we achieve.” Principal issues that face Ore gon’ s juvenile justice system are: Senate B ill I , which separatesjuve- nilejustice from the C hildren’s Ser vices Division and names it the O r egon Youth Authority, and Ballot Measure 11, which treats 15 -to -17- year-old youths as adults for certain offenses that carry mandatory sen tences. MacLaren could see its current population o f about 320 young men increased by 100 during the 1995- 97 biennium as the result o f Ballot Measure 11. The juvenile justice system is predicted to absorb an additional 450 juvenile offenders during the two-year period begin ning in July. are 100 or older live in their own homes or apartments, receiving in- home services such as help with c lean ing, shopping and bathing Another 49 Oregonians ages 100 and up live in adult foster homes or assisted liv ing facilities. But this isn’t just a story about benefits for people who are eligible for Medicaid. The opposite is true By encouraging home- and com- m unity-based care, Oregon has broadened options for people who pay their own expenses from savings or from insurance. That people want to retain their independence and dig nity is reflected in the fact that 80 percent o f residents o f assisted living facilities, such as where Bing lives, and 70 percent o f adult foster-care residents are private-pay. However, even though Oregon has long been a leader in promoting living and care options for seniors and people with disabilities, Orego nians still may have trouble sorting out the alternatives and then making choices. The state Senior and Disabled Services Division may be able to help. We have a toll-free number for families to call to learn where they can receive information locally: I (800) 282-8096 I f the choice is a community-based facility, then we can also help with decisions includ ing offering our free consumer book let, “ A Guide to Adult Foster Care.” Jim Wilson is administrator o f the Senior and Disabled Services Division in the Oregon Department o f Human Resources. PDC r I 21. IPOS »Tm P ork ■COUPON! I I Inflation Buster Dry Cleaning Special I M.00OFF I On Any Dry Cleaning Order I Of $12.00 or More I Good On Incoming Dry Cleaning Orders Only I Not Valid With Any Other Special Prices or Coupons I I JEANIE'S CLEANERS Ik E xpires 6-30-95 1 Insurance C om pany. 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