S moke S ignals
JANUARY 1, 2016
9
Poage hired as RN for Adult Foster Care lodges
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
Much of the country is just now
recognizing the benefits of adult
foster care and the positive effects
it can have on the lives of elderly
Americans.
According to a study by the Rut-
gers University Center for State
Policy and the American Associ-
ation of Retired Persons, Oregon
has been ahead of that curve for
35 years and is considered in the
health care industry to be a pioneer
in adult foster care.
While the rest of the nation catch-
es up, Native American Tribes like
the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde have been taking care of their
Elders since time immemorial.
Helping to continue that tra-
dition, new Program Manager/
Registered Nurse Debora Poage
joined the Tribe’s Adult Foster Care
team in December after 43 years of
nursing.
Poage, who is an Army veteran,
retired from the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs in December 2014
and quickly decided she wasn’t
finished helping people. Poage
received an honorable discharge
from the Army in 2008, leaving at
the rank of captain.
“I was home retired for several
months and driving my husband
nuts,” Poage says with a laugh.
“I’m used to having one or two jobs
and going all the time, and all of
a sudden I was just in the house.”
Poage, 66, has bachelor’s degrees
is nursing and business admin-
istration from Southern Oregon
University in Ashland. She says
it wasn’t long before she started
searching for something to do that
she discovered the open position
with the Tribe.
“This position was right up my al-
ley,” says Poage. “I have specialized
in geriatrics because that is where
my love is.”
Currently, the Tribe operates
three lodges designed to care for
Elders. The program’s Cougar and
Elk lodges are set up to handle as
many as 10 full-time, live-in pa-
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Debora Poage is the Tribe’s new Adult Foster Care registered nurse manager.
tients and the program is a level 2
state-licensed foster care facility.
Staff members provide residents
with assistance with all their daily
activities, including medications,
injections and other routine care.
Staff also provides Elders with as-
sistance with their personal groom-
ing, bathing and dressing.
Adult Foster Care residents in
Grand Ronde have a comfortable
setting where a premium is placed
on a resident’s privacy and indepen-
dence. Each resident has a private
room with a private bath. They
each have a phone and a television
in their rooms and each lodge has
a whirlpool bath.
Residents receive three meals a
day in the lodge’s dining room and
housekeeping and laundry services
also are provided.
“Deb comes to us with many years
of experience,” says Community
Health/Adult Foster Care Director
Kari Culp. “She has worked exten-
sively with the elderly and disabled
population. She is compassionate
about helping people receive qual-
ity care. She is kind and warm in
demeanor. We are all very excited
to have Debora join our team.”
Culp says Poage will be respon-
sible for all Adult Foster Care
patients’ medical care and that
she will be interacting with each
resident’s medical care providers.
“She will review charts and med-
ications and ensure that all care
is in line with the best interest of
the residents and see that the res-
ident’s wishes in regards to their
care are being met as well,” says
Culp. “She will be in charge of the
staff’s continued education and
training. She will eventually learn
all aspects of the Adult Foster Care
facilities operations over time.”
Culp says Poage is team oriented
and that everyone is pleased to
have her on the staff.
“I think it is really important to
take care of our members through-
out their whole continuum of life,”
says Health Services Executive Di-
rector Kelly Rowe. “For us to have
the lodges here and be able to pro-
vide Adult Foster Care is amazing.
There is an opportunity for people
to still be part of the ongoing daily
life of the Tribal community. It
allows people to be more indepen-
dent, which is really important.
This allows people to maintain that
dignity and that oneness with the
community. When you’re here you
are still part of the Tribal family.”
Rowe says that having people
on staff who truly care about a
patient’s health is a good concept
to foster.
“It’s important that we have the
ability to take care of our Elders,”
says Rowe. “Having an RN there to
be involved in that program is key
because there are things that take a
skill level beyond what a caregiver
provides. Having her here is wonder-
ful because she is bringing that skill
level to make sure that everyone is
receiving the care that they need.”
Poage says she relates to the
Tribe’s long-standing tradition of
taking care of its Elders and that
she believes in the same traditions.
Poage says her initial reaction to
working in Grand Ronde has been
a positive one.
“It’s superior,” says Poage of the
Adult Foster Care program. “It
makes me feel good to come to a
place that is so beautiful. I’m hop-
ing to add to that and to maintain
that good quality that is here.”
Poage says she has spent the few
short weeks she has been here get-
ting to know the patients and their
needs. She says she looks at their
diets and has been going through
every patient chart to ensure ev-
erything is in order.
“It’s all about the individual
here,” says Poage. “There is a lot
of individualized care.”
Poage says the Tribe has taken
the concept of individualized pa-
tient care one step further here.
“We’re connected to the Elders’
Center so patients are free to go over
there and that’s a great outing,” says
Poage, “Families come here and they
are very involved. They don’t forget
about their Elders.”
Poage says that her love of car-
ing for Elders comes from her own
childhood. She spent time with
her great-grandparents, who were
married for more than 50 years,
when she was younger and she re-
members listening to their stories.
“That verbal history is so import-
ant to me,” says Poage. “They were
my inspiration.”
Poage, who was raised in Idaho
as part of a large family, has been
married to her husband Dallas for
35 years. n
ATTENTION CTGR TELEPHONE SERVICE
If you have an emergency and need to dial “911” you must first dial
a “9” (9911). The only calls that do not require that you dial a 9+ are
those made from the CTGR extensions within the CTGR campus and/
or those who use CTGR Tel for their home phone service. n
LIHEAP program available
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps
pay heating bills, is now available for eligible Tribal members in the
six-county service area and Clackamas County.
LIHEAP is a first-come, first-served program and income criteria
applies.
For more information, contact Social Services Department Ad-
ministrative Assistant Tammy Garrison at 503-879-2077 or tammy.
garrison@grandronde.org. n
Name changes in Tribal Court
Tribal Court provides both minor and adult name changes to enrolled
members for a filing fee of only $30. If you have any questions or would
like to request a packet, contact Devin Larsen at 503-879-2303 or devin.
larsen@grandronde.org. n
Ad created by George Valdez