MARCH 10. 1978 PAGE 9
—— Home Care Is Often Best For Elderly-------- —
by Donna Behrend
In conclusion of our two-
p a rt se rie s on the ca re of the
elderly, this a rtic le will deal
with home care of the elderly.
Many families are presently
dealing with the problem of
finding a suitable person to
come into the home. Most famil
ies depend on relatives to cook,
clean, bathe and do other chores
th at cannot be done by the
elderly.
The Central Oregon Council
on Aging provides services to
aid local families in locating a
suitable person. COCOA’S head
quarters are located in Bend but
there a re Inform ation and R e
ferral Centers located in Prine
ville, Redmond and Madras.
Upon talking to John Weber ,
D irector of COCOA, we found
th at COCOA has a N utrition
program , a H om em akers P ro
ject and a Weatherization Pro
ject.
Over 200 persons take ad
vantage of the n utrition P ro
gram. In Bend, this program is
offered daily, but it is offered in
outlying cen ters only two to
three times per week. The meals
are for those who can’t afford or
are unable to p rep are them
selves a hot, nutritious meal at
least once a day.
The Homemakers services
a re provided for those who
cannot Clean, make beds or for
those who have recently been
released from the hospital. The
Homemaker goes into the home
for two to three hours a day, two
to three days a week. Presently,
they service 90 people a week.
The W eatherization P ro
gram serv ices and readies
homes of the e ld e rly , up to the
a m o u n t o f $800, for winter. The
services are.free, providing that
the person meets the financial
qualifications. The Weatheriza
tion project began in August 1977
and 100 hom es have been s e r
viced thus far. They anticipate
servicing 25 homes monthly.
A nother p ro ject is the
D ial-a-Ride serv ice. I t is for
those who need transportation to
the doctor or the nutrition cen
te rs. This serv ice has proved
very successful in the Bend area
and hopefully the Inform ation
Students Tour
(Continued from Page 8)
ships, for Forestry majors. We
presently have 15 students and
are seeking 15-20 freshmen and
transfer students at all levels.
The program is funded by
the State of California by special
appropriation to the State Col
lege and U niversity system ;
prior to this year it was funded
by the H.E.W . Fund for the
Improvement of Post Secondary
E ducation. Because of the un
certain nature of the State fund
ing, we a re also seeking addi
tional long ran g e funding and
funds for program operation and
students financial aid.
The nature of the program
m akes it extrem ely im portant
for Indian people and also for
those governm ental agencies
and private organizations who
are seeking qualified minority
professionals. T herefore we
would appreciate hearing from
all persons in terested in the
program — students, employers,
and potential-funding sources.
Contact:
David Jackson, Director
House 80
Humboldt State University
Arcata, CA 95521
Phone: (707) 826-4994.
and Referral Centers in Madras
and P rin ev ille will soon be
getting vans to provide the same
services to elderly residents in
their areas.
The COCOA project is fund
ed 90 p e rc e n t by F ed eral and
State G overnm ents with the
balance of their financial needs
provided through donations and
volunteer hours.
Those who work in the
centers and provide homemak
ers serv ices a re all CETA em
ployees and a re paid the m in
imum wage. These services are
not lim ited ju st to W elfare
clients, but are also provided to
people over 60 y ears of age, to
those in the low income bracket,
or the disabled. A single person
who has an annual income of
$3,600 or less is considered at or
below poverty level. The same
goes for a couple who has annual
income of $4,800 or less.
The N utrition C enters are
open to persons over 60 and the
paym ent for m eals is on a
voluntary basis only. The Home
makers project is free to those
people a t or below the poverty
level, but to those whó are above
th at level, the cost is 60 cents
per hour. The w eatherization
project is also free, depending
on income. The Dial-A-Ride ser
vices are for Senior Citizens and
the handicapped. Rides a re 25
cents but on a donation basis
only.
The Confederated Tribes are
faced with; the choice of seeking
their own funding and go direct
ly to the Federal Government or
through COCDA for aid. The
problem with going directly to
the Federal Government is that
the amount they can provide is a
m ere drop in the bucket com
pared to what COCOA can offer.
“ The m ost we can get through
the F e d e ra l G overnm ent is
$6,000, which is hardly worth the
effort,” stated Art Tassie, Tribal
Grants Planner. “The route now
is to go to COCOA, as they are
budgeting now. Their monies
will be av ailable in June or
July.”
The H ealth and W elfare
committee feels that the Tribes
can provide the sta ff here and
all that COCOA will have to do is
train personnel and offer tech
nical assistance. However, they
have the right to investigate and
audit w henever they feel it is
necessary.
The T ribes hope to even
tually provide these services
themselves, but at present only
three of the services are being
offered to the elderly on the
reservation. One is the provision
of fire wood. The wood is cut and
delivered, but som etim es it is
not chopped. The other service
is home visitation to senior
citizens who a re unable to get
out. On those visitations emer
gency food applications are
sometimes taken. These appli
cations are not limited to those
with little or no income, or to
T ribal m em bers only, but for
any person in need. They are $35
for a single person and $45 per
couple.
The other service is a mon
thly m eal a t the Community
Center. Five departments chip
in and donate time and money to
this project. However, the last
m eal was around C hristm as
time.
The C onfederated T ribes
also have Community H ealth
R epresentatives who a re r e
sponsible for transporting
clients to and from doctor visits
if no fam ily or relativ e is
available. They are also respon
sible for making out-reach visits
to clients, instructing indivi
duals about medication and its
application, m ake follow-up
home visits, and deliver medi
cations upon recommendation of
physicians when no fam ily
m em ber is able. Above and
beyond these duties, the CHR’s
are req u ired to p re p a re and
m aintain adequate records in
relationship to home visits,
transportation, special clinics,
resource re fe rra ls and other
daily functions they then submit
monthly reports on all services
provided to the G eneral Man
ager, local Service Unit Director
and immediate Supervisor.
The most important require
m ent is th a t a CHR be able to
speak the languages of the Con
federated Tribes. A CHR must
have a high school education or
equivalent, one to six m onths
experience in a health related
field, and a valid Oregon chauf-
feurs-drivers license. A CHR
m ust also be w illing to take
fu rth er training and m ust be
able to com m unicate with In
dian people, IHS medical staff,
and resource agencies.
Care of the elderly in the
home is considerably less ex
pensive than care in a rest home
or elsewhere. The elderly people
seem to be m ore com fortable
and happy when they are able to
stay a t home. They often feel
they will be forgotten in a nurs
ing home and th a t no one will
come to visit with them - sort of
an “ out of sight, out of m ind”
idea.
The above summary of ser
vices presently available to per
sons in need on the reservation
is limited. This would indicate
th at m ore services need be
established.
Those working as CHR’s are
feeling pressure from all sides.
One CHR can’t be in two places
a t one tim e. They a re not re
sponsible for cleaning, cooking,
and other chores that should be
done by others.
The H ealth and W elfare
committee’s duties include not
only finding resources to care
for the elderly, but they also
offer advice and suggestions to
the W elfare d ep artm en t, Ma
ternal child health clerk, CHR’s
and Public Health Service.
The H ealth and W elfare
Com m ittee is responsible for
setting up m ore services but
they a re lim ited because they
can a c t only upon the recom
m endation of the people. The
T ribal Council can act on im
proving services only through
the recommendation of the Heal
th and W elfare Com m ittee. If
you feel there is a service that
can be improved upon or needs
to be launched, contact any
member of the committee.
To conclude, the type of care
you choose is your decision. Rest
home c a re , a t tim es, seem s
im personal and sterile. But,
usually you can rest easy, know
ing th a t your loved one will
receive 24 hour care.
The difficulty in choosing
the right person to come into the
home is frustrating. Most people
suitable for the job are already
working or a re not interested.
But, if you hit it lucky and find
the rig h t person, you and your
older person will be among the
very fortunate.
Turnover Of Indian Counselors Matter Of Concern
*
(Continued from Page 2)
to job security as another factor
in their decisions^ The relative
insecurity of a job th a t is
dependent on the continued
funding of the federal govern
ment was less attractive to the
family men than the higher paid
positions with b e tte r benefits
offered by the Tribes.
S ecurity alone was not
enough to lu re the counselors
away from their work with the
students, which they all found to
be satisfying.
Clem ents, in fact, feels he
could probably have made more
money if he had stayed a t the
school and w orked sum m ers.
But it had always been a dream
of his to come back and work for
the T ribes, to help his people
locally. Working in Madras left
him out of touch with thè Warm
Springs com m unity, he said.
Now he aids in local planning
but also m ain tain s his contact
with students and the school
district through involvement on
the T ribal E ducation Com m it
tee.
Calica understands and ex
plains th is allegiance to the
T ribes. “ Our trib a l m em bers
will naturally'return to the res
ervation to work. The Tribe is
growing in the complexity of its
operation and n a tu ra lly it is
going to draw our people back
into the organization to lend
their expertise.”
Neither Calica nor Clements
has turned his back on the edu
cation of Indian students. Rut
they both feel they have left
some frustrations behind.
As a counselor, Calica felt
frustrated with his “relative in
ability to effect any kind of
long-range improvements.” He
also recognized the uncomfort
able positions in which Indian
Education staff are placed, “get
ting it from both sides of the
r iv e r .” They a re constantly
having to explain and defend
th eir activ ities to justify their
positions with the district , he
said.
At times Clements felt alone
as a T itle IV em ployee whose
program did not alw ays have
the ad m in istra tiv e support it
needed to be successful. Some
staff people didn’t understand
the federal programs and view
ed them as a form of favoritism,
he said. If the program had the
backing of everyone in the
building, the resignation of a
counselor would not spell the
failure of the program, suggest
ed Clements.
Apparently discouraged by
the pattern of hiring and train
ing Indian people only to lose
them to the Confederated Tribes,
the School Board unhappily ac
cepted the la te st resignation.
The T itle IV P a r t A P a re n t
Commitee also accepted the
resignation relu ctan tly . “ We
thought we had a good thing
going,” said Sutterlee. “Small
F ire would have been g re a t if
h e ’d stay ed . . . but he up and
left without letting us know.”
Sutterlee suggested that the
Committee be more involved in
the next screening and selection
process to ensure that they are
better tuned to the “ tru e feel
ings” of the candidates.
District Superintendent Dar
rell Wright, who said he had
been aware of Hawk’s interest in
law enforcement, feels less dis
couraged by the turn of events.
This was a unique year, he said,
and he doesn’t see the counselor
position as any more transitory
than other school positions have
become.
W right is fairly optim istic
about federal Indian programs,
detecting recent progress in the
development of cooperation and
understanding among staff. Of
course “ in the best of all pos
sible worlds” there would be no
need for special programs, said
W right, but given the circu m
stances they are necessary and
valuable, and as an adm ini
strator he supports them.
One solution to the turnover
problem th a t W right can en
vision is the absorption of fed
eral positions by the school dis
tric t budget, thereby offering
more job security; Wright also
hopes that with plenty of time to
locate a counselor and with the
chance to start at the beginning
ra th e r than the m iddle of a
school y e a r, a good, qualified
candidate will be selected.
It is doubtful th a t a trib a l
member with the proper creden
tials will be available for the
counselor job, according to
Wright and Calica. But an Indian
who isn’t local is better than no
Indian counselor a t all, say
those involved, and they a re
willing to take another risk.
As Calica noted, “You can’t
control persdnal aspirations and
the d esire to im prove profes
sionally.” But he recommended
the “ possibility of providing
more incentive for the recruit
ment and retaining of qualified
people.”
Man Pleads Not Guilty
To Murder Charge
In a federal court hearing
March 9, Owen Jam es Wallula-
tum , 18, en tered a plea of not
guilty to the charg e of second-
degree m u rd er in thé recent
gunshot death of George Cle
ments, Jr.-, also 18. The trial was
set for the week of May 1.
Wallulatum is being held in
the custody of the U.S. Marshall
at Portland’s Rocky Butte jail,
with bail set at $25,000. A motion
to reduce bail has been denied.
A rraigned before the U.S.
M agistrate George Ju b a on
March 2, Wallulatum was indict
ed the following day by a federal
grand ju ry for second-degree
murder. Wallulatum’s attorney
in the case is Jeffrey Rogers.
Clements, a senior at Mad
ras High School, died instantly
when shot once with a .22 mag
num rifle at the Clements’ home
in West H ills a t about 1 a.m .
Saturday, February 25. Accord
ing to w itnesses, the shooting
occurred during an argum ent
betw een W allulatum and Cle
ments.
W allulatum w as a rre ste d
later that day and transferred to
P o rtlan d . U nder the M ajor
Crim es Act, m u rd e r cases, on
reservations are handled in the
federal courts.