A8
Health
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Rural nursing homes on edge as state eliminates beds
Blue Mountain
Care Center
sees steady drop
in residents
By Les Zaitz
The Enterprise
The elderly woman had
heard rumors of closure in the
hallways of Presbyterian Com-
munity Care Center.
She learned the rumors
were true when Cathleen Sul-
livan, the administrator of
the nursing home in Ontario,
came to her room to tell her
she would have to find a new
home.
“When do I have to leave?”
the resident asked.
Similar scenes played out
in room after room as Sullivan
delivered the news. And word
of the impending closure rock-
eted through Eastern Oregon’s
nursing home industry. The
challenges of rural health care
had claimed another victim.
Reliance on nursing homes
has declined across Oregon
for decades. People now have
more options than ever for
care that ranges from weeks
to years. Use of assisted liv-
ing, residential care, and foster
homes has mushroomed, ac-
cording to state officials. They
say consumers are less likely
to resort to nursing homes, a
choice dictated by preference
or by finances.
Yet in rural Oregon, nursing
homes remain a key fixture in
health care, providing what no
other residential facility can –
around-the-clock nursing care.
Only hospitals provide more
extensive medical attention.
Rural nursing homes in 2013
Contributed photo
Blue Mountain Care Center in Prairie City.
were considered so important
legislators once labeled them
“essential” assets for rural
communities.
State officials still consider
them so.
“We don’t want a commu-
nity not to have a nursing fa-
cility option,” said Mike Mc-
Cormick, deputy director of
the state’s Aging and People
with Disabilities unit of the
state Department of Human
Services.
Yet nursing home operators
say state policies are to blame
for weakening rural nursing
homes, which by virtue of their
location face higher costs.
“We’re in danger of losing
vital access to vital services in
rural communities,” said Jim
Carlson, president of the Ore-
gon Health Care Association.
In Prairie City, Blue Moun-
tain Care Center has seen a
steady drop in residents, in-
cluding a decline of an average
of 15 residents relying on state
help to 10.
In Baker City, the coun-
ty’s only nursing home closed
last year. The home opened in
1987 with 80 beds; by early
2016, just 15 were occupied.
The resident count has
dropped as well at Mil-
ton-Freewater Health and Re-
habilitation Center. The center
expanded its therapy staff to
increase patient numbers.
“We have struggled to have
a full therapy department, thus
limiting what we can offer for
rehabilitation services for the
community,” said Russell Pat-
terson, executive director.
In La Grande, two nursing
homes merged, and La Grande
Post-Acute Rehab reports
steady client numbers. Yet
stays are shorter.
“It just makes running a
skilled nursing facility more
challenging,” said Steve Ham-
ilton, executive director of the
La Grande facility. It now has
38 residents.
Sullivan says state conduct
in part forced the decision to
close Presbyterian, which has
served Malheur County more
than 60 years. She and others
believe state workers steer
consumers away from nurs-
ing homes or press residents
to move out sooner than they
should.
Sullivan said her census of
patients who rely on state-paid
care has dropped steadily in
recent years. In its current bud-
get year, Presbyterian has lost
$300,000.
Tom Hathaway, adminis-
trator of Pioneer Place, which
has a nursing home as well as
assisted living in nearby Vale,
has seen the same trend. The
drop has been so precipitous
that Hathaway was preparing
his board for a decision to
close its nursing home. That
decision is forestalled now by
the loss of the Ontario home.
But unless something
changes, he said, “we’ll be
lucky to last a year.”
Hathaway has been press-
ing the state to explain why
it is sending fewer clients to
nursing homes.
The health care association
is pressing as well.
“It’s been a pretty aggres-
sive program the state’s been
running,” said Carlson.
In 2013, state officials and
the nursing home industry
agreed that Oregon had too
many nursing home beds still
in use after the shift to less-in-
tensive care took hold. They
agreed to eliminate 1,500 beds
over three years out of a total
of 12,332. The program was
aimed at western Oregon and
particularly urban areas. The
state would reward the indus-
try for hitting targets, and pay
less in daily rates if it didn’t.
The industry got close –
1,210 beds.
“Now we’re in the stick
era,” said McCormick, to get
more beds taken out of service.
Nursing home officials
said, while it made sense to
take empty beds offline in the
Willamette Valley, the state
seems determined to cut nurs-
ing home use in all corners of
the state.
McCormick insisted that’s
not so.
“The consumer preferences
are overwhelmingly obvious,”
he said. “People do not want to
live in a nursing facility for a
long period of time.”
He said state workers help
patients get the right care in the
right place. He said the state
emphasizes
independence,
dignity and choice.
Sullivan said Presbyterian
advocated for residents who
wanted to stay in the nursing
home rather than move to a
lower level of care.
“On occasion, it worked,”
Sullivan said. “Often, it
didn’t.”
She became convinced that
health care wasn’t the only is-
sue.
“The factors were finan-
cial” in the state’s recommen-
dations to patients, she said.
Sullivan and others say
shifting patients away from
nursing homes has more im-
pact than just on the finances
of the business.
Carlson, of the health care
association, said he hears com-
plaints from members who get
patients from nursing homes
about “inappropriate place-
ments.” That means, he said,
that patients are moved into
health care facilities that can’t
treat them.
“They get very frustrated
when they get people whose
care needs are too great,” Carl-
son said.
Hathaway thinks perhaps
one-fourth of those moved out
of nursing homes aren’t people
who can care for themselves.
“Are they getting the nurs-
ing level of care they should
be getting?” Hathaway asks.
“Probably not.”
One nursing home admin-
istrator who spoke on back-
ground for fear of angering
state officials said residents are
moved out of nursing homes
too quickly on occasion. He
hears about “bad outcomes
including deaths” but said no
system in the state tracks the
impact of such moves.
McCormick said “negative
outcomes” happen at all long-
term care facilities but the state
relies on its case managers and
licensing teams to detect issues.
He noted that Oregon recently
ranked No. 2 in the country in
effective nursing home transi-
tions as measured by AARP.
Carlson said his association
is urging legislators to exam-
ine the issue after the current
session. He said the state also
ought to consider differing
compensation for rural nursing
homes just as rural hospitals get
extra pay.
Ruth Gulyas of Leading
Age Oregon said her group too
is pressing the Department of
Human Services to consider
such an option. She said the
response to that recent request
was “they were going to look
into the situation.”
McCormick said his agency
has never considered such an
option.
McCormick said that while
nursing homes are a “critical”
part of the health care system,
the state leaves it to the mar-
ketplace to determine their fi-
nancial viability. He was asked
what the Department of Human
Services is doing to ensure their
survival.
“I don’t think we’re doing
anything,” McCormick said.
“We’re executing the statutes
as written.”
Story written and reported
by Les Zaitz of the Malheur
Enterprise with additional re-
porting by Kathy Aney of the
Pendleton East Oregonian, Su-
san Parrish of the La Grande
Observer and Rylan Boggs of
the Blue Mountain Eagle in
John Day.
Healthy, Happy Smiles program brings dental services to rural kids
Blue Mountain Eagle
A school-based oral health
program aims to reduce the
cavity rate of Eastern Oregon
children who receive their pre-
ventative dental services.
The Healthy, Happy Smiles
program was launched in 2016
in Grant, Harney, Baker and
Malheur counties.
Eastern Oregon Healthy
Living Alliance worked in part-
nership with Advantage Dental
to offer free dental screenings,
fluoride application, sealants,
oral health education and fol-
low up and referrals with kids
identified with urgent dental
care needs.
There were 2,983 participat-
ing students in public schools
in kindergarten through eighth
grades in the four counties who
received services, regardless of
insurance status.
Grant County had the high-
est participation levels of the
four counties.
Out of 271 students, there
were 141 children from Prai-
rie City School, Seneca Ele-
mentary School and Humbolt
Elementary School receiving
dental screenings through the
program.
With parental consent, a
total of 103 of those screened
received fluoride applications,
and 62 received sealant appli-
cations.
Seneca students also partic-
ipated in a learning lab offered
through the program.
EOHLA said Grant County
had the highest success rate be-
cause the largest school (Hum-
bolt) was previously served by
the Oregon Health Authority
dental sealant program and
had the protocol in place for
a strong return rate on parent
32 days and counting down
to August 21, 2017!! Where has this
year gone and how quickly it has
passed. I am sure like all of you that
we will not regret the time and
energy spent to prepare for the
unknown, but will be very happy
when it is behind us. The Chamber is
very pleased with the response and
participation from all of the
communities, local, state and federal
agencies, individuals and
organizations that have been
involved from the beginning, and we
don’t want to forget our loyal
Chamber volunteers and the
Chamber’s office manager and
eclipse organizer, Tammy Bremner.
We anticipate that it will be a
success because of the efforts of
everyone involved. Our collectible
souvenir Eclipse Guide is now
available with thirty packed glossy
pages of information about the event,
our area, and what to expect and
prepare for. It is very professionally
done and will become a keepsake.
You can purchase them at the
Chamber office for one dollar each. If
you are a business owner or
organization, or if you purchase them
in bulk for re-sale, you only pay fifty
cents per copy (with a $25.00
minimum order). This will allow you
the opportunity to recover some of
your expenses as well as the
Chamber.
consent forms.
Program coordinator Alan-
na Chamulak said she experi-
enced some impactful moments
during the program.
While visiting Baker Coun-
ty schools, she encountered
one eighth-grade student who
had never been to the dentist.
Another student who said his
family couldn’t afford a tooth-
brush was excited to hear he’d
receive a free toothbrush.
EOHLA’s
overarching
goal for the program is to re-
duce the cavity rate of chil-
dren in participating counties
by 3 percent by 2019.
Funding for the project is
provided in part by the Ore-
gon Community Foundation
and the Eastern Oregon Coor-
dinated Care Organization.
The program received a
$70,000 grant through the
Oregon Children’s Dental
Health Initiative to provide
the program in the 2017-18
school year.
Chamulak said they plan
to provide incentives for stu-
dents and teachers to return
parent consent forms, and
added they are preparing to
be fully integrated into fall
school registration. She said
this should result in higher
consent form return rates and
in turn result in more students
receiving services.
• Veteran Owned
• Competitive Pricing
• Serving Central & Eastern Oregon
541-620-1405 Burklevi@yahoo.com
05879
Debbie Ausmus
245 South Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845
OPEN WED. & THUR.
9 am - 5 pm
541-575-1113
24 hrs/7 days wk
debbie.ausmus@
countryfinancial.com
Vacancy
Our monthly meeting will be on
Thursday, July 20th, with the
business meeting at our office
at 11:00 a.m. and then adjournment
to the Outpost for our lunch meeting
at noon. Our guest speakers this
month are Don Merritt, who is the
new curator of the Kam Wah Chung
museum and Shelley Hall, the
Superintendent of the John Day
Fossil Beds National Monument. It
should be very informative. Both
meetings are open to the public. SEE
YOU THERE!
Rosemary Manor, a local adult foster care home,
is now accepting applications for a vacancy. We
provide almost any level of care required. Our
home is located in John Day with a beautiful
view of the city and mountains.
Care is provided in a
home-like setting for
maximum comfort.
We welcome you to
make our house
your home.
For more
information call
Alysia Hafer at 541
575-0918 or Bob Phillips at
541 620-0123.
Jerry Franklin
President
05923
05817