Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 1978)
FEBRUARY 24, 1978 PAGE 9 Core For The Aged Costly, But Essential by Donna Behrend They are few in number, but their care is one of the most important and time consuming endeavors a family can take upon itself. No, we’re not speak ing of babies or children, but the care of the elderly. Selecting the type of care desired for an elderly person can be very difficult. Nursing homes, convalescent centers and homes for the aged are con venient because there is usually round-the-clock care. But, plac ing an elderly person in such homes can often confuse and disorieht an old person. They often become unhappy and with drawn. The other alternative to nursing or guest home care, is to keep the elderly at home. But to find a compatible and reliable person to come into the home can frequently be difficult. This article is concerned only with outside care facilities and re sources. Upon checking with most of the care facilities in the Central Oregon area, Spilyay Tymoo discovered that the cost of daily care of patients only varies a few dollars one way or the other. Cost of the care depends upon the degree of necessary care. It ranges from light care, which is for those who can dress them selves and walk to the dining room, to heavy care, which is for those who are bedridden and cannot provide for themselves. There are three nursing homes and one guest home in the Bend area. At the Bachelor Butte Nurs ing Center, there are 80 beds available. They have no waiting list and the cost for a private room is $27, sem i-private $25 and three-bed ward is $22. Harmony House Nursing Home is another alternative. They have 18 beds but they have a waiting list of 20 persons. Their daily rate is $20, but their administrator was reluctant to give any further costs. Central Oregon Health Care Center is the largest in the area. As of March 15, they will have 99 beds but the adm inistrator re fused to give us rates because he thought the Confederated Tribes was investigating the possibility of a nursing home here on the reservation. Lastly there is the Bend Guest Lodge. Their rate is $350 per month, they have room for 10 guests and presently there is no one on the waiting list. They provide three meals per day and the guests must be well enough to care for themselves, walk to the dining room and be daily active. A foot doctor makes monthly visits to care for their feet. In Prineville, the Pioneer Memorial Nursing Home is com bined with the hospital. The nursing home is divided into two sections. One is Home for the Aged where the private rate is $700 per month and semi-private rate is $550 per month. The other section is for intermediate care and the private rate is $820 per month and semi-private rate is $795 p er month. Interm ediate Sims Holliquilla, a young but disabled resident of Mountain View Nursing Home spends much of his time quietly in his room, which he has personalized with pictures and knick-knacks. CDS Photo care is for those patients who are confined to bed or a wheel chair, and cannot do for them selves. The other care facility in Prineville is Ochoco Nursing Home. They have 63 beds and accept perspns who are retiring or those who are unable to care for themselves. Their daily rates View S“11? ssS,nnges of a c o c c c,ass “ Indian history held once a week at the Mountain othwresidenteH°me' Unable to fully ParticiPate, Wilson was wheeled into the famiy room to be With CDS Photo are $27 for private room, $25 for has his own physician who can semi-private room and $23 for be called in case of emergency. ward care. They also have a Visiting hours are open in all $22.13 daily rate for welfare nursing homes. Immediate fam patients. ily can visit at any hour within In the Redmond-Terrebonne reason. area there are two facilities for They all have many activi the elderly. The Redmond ties planned for residents such Health Care Center has 67 beds as Bingo parties, Sunday after but only 58 patients. Their pri noon church services and vate daily rate is $26.50, semi- monthly birthday parties. They private rate is $25, and three-bed are frequently visited by Girl ward is $23.50. Scouts, Camp Fire Girls and The Golden Age Guest kindergarten students. Ranch in Terrebonne is not a The guest homes are inde nursing home, but a facility pendent of State Rules and Reg where ambulatory persons can ulations and are not licensed. live. Again, they must be able to They have no doctors or nurses come to the dining room to eat who make regular visits and for and to dress themselves. Their this reason, the guest must be monthly rate is $300, however, well. The two in Central Oregon they have no openings at the are operated by families and present time. both have live-in housekeepers. Mountain View Nursing Costs can add up quickly Home, in Madras presently has and many families are concern 32 beds. Their monthly rates are ed about expensfes. According to dependent on the degree of care Public Health Service Director required by each patient. Light Gäret Soules, PHS provides care is $614, medium care is $675 Contract Health Care for the and heavy care is $730. They elderly in such cases as recov have a waiting list of 30 persons. ery following an illness. If an All the nursing homes have elderly person is placed in a Registered Nurses on duty dur nursing home by a clinic doctor, ing day shifts. The fundamental PHS will cover expenses. But, if care is the responsibility of only custodial care is necessary, nurses aides and most aides PHS will not cover the expenses. have an average of nine patients to care for. Most homes have Coming up: Caring for the elderly at home. doctors on call but each patient From The Tribal Drug Program . . . Caffeine is A Drug Caffeine is one of the most widely used stim ulants in the world and it can be found in coffee, tea, cola drinks, choco late bars, and cocoa. One cup of coffee has enough caffeine in it to keep a person hyper Tor approximately four hours: It has been estimated that the annual consumption of caffeine in the United States in the form of coffee alone is about 15 million pounds. Caffeine is a drug which does affect the body — mainly the central nervous system, the heart, and the kidney. Because caffeine is a stimulant, the func tion of the heart and central nervous system is increased. When caffeine is taken into the body it is done usually in the form of a liquid. It first goes to the stomach where it is slowly and incompletely absorped into the bloodstream. Thus, absorp tion is delayed and occurs large ly through the intestines. As a result caffeine is absorbed slow ly, only about 25 percent in one hour. Caffeine is freely and equal ly distributed throughout the total body water. Thus caffeine is found in almost equal concen tration in all parts of the body, including the brain. In the brain, caffeine is a powerful stimulant of nerve tissue. The earliest be havioral effects of caffeine are increases in mental altertness, a more rapid and clearer flow of thought, wakefullness, and rest lessness. Caffeine has a slight stimu lant action on the heart. It makes the heart beat faster thus making the heart pump more blood per minute. Caffeine also affects blood vessels, sometimes making them dilate or contract. In the brain the blood vessels constrict resulting in relief from certain types of migraine head aches. In normal doses caffeine is not harmful, however once any stim ulant is taken in excess, there follows a period of behavi oral and m ental depression. Socially, this can sometimes be seen in certain automobile acci dents that may occur as a result of driving for prolonged periods under caffeine stimulation. If one stops drinking coffee, he may become drowsy and fall asleep while driving. Therefore a person should be careful when any stim ulant drug is used to maintain wakefulness or perfor mance for prolonged periods. How many of you have been around people who cannot start their day without a cup of coffee? More than once, right? In order to keep your caffeine intake you must be in control. I you cannot quit drinking coffee or if you cannot quit drinking soda, keep it at a minimum. A person should not drink more than four cups of coffee per day. It is up to you, it is your body and your health.
