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The INDEPENDENT, Novem ber 7, 2001
Pilot project will allow clients to choose own home-care services
A new state program is put
ting seniors and people with
disabilities in charge of choos
ing the in-home services that
allow them to live independent
ly.
“The idea is sim ple,” said
Chris Pascual, who is manag
ing the effort for the Oregon
D epartm ent of Hum an Ser
vices. “We think people who re
ceive Medicaid are just as ca
pable managing resources to
meet their care needs - such
as cooking, cleaning, shopping
and personal care - as those
who pay privately.”
Pascual is implementing In
dependent Choices, a federally
approved project that began in
three Oregon counties on No-
Regional law-enforcement effort on domestic violence
O ctober is D om estic Vio
lence Awareness month and
forty-eig ht law enforcem ent
agencies in the Portland metro
area worked together October
24 to arrest people with out
standing family violence w ar
rants ranging from harassment
to murder. A gencies served
warrants in their respective ju
risdictions throughout the day.
Am ong the participating
agencies in this area were the
Columbia County Sheriff’s O f
fice, Banks Police Department,
Columbia Comm unity C orrec
tions, Oregon State Police and
Scappoose Police Department.
W orking as a team in Co
lumbia County, the Sheriff’s Of
fice, OSP and Scappoose PD
made 24 attempts to appre
hend people wanted on war
rants, and made seven arrests.
Five of the arrests were of peo
ple who had outstanding war
rants pertaining to Domestic Vi
olence-related charges such as
harassm ent or assault. Two
people were arrested during
the project for incidents that oc
curred while the team was at
work. One person was arrested
for violating a restraining order
and another person was arrest
ed for felony assault during a
dom estic disturbance; team
members responded to that in
cident while attempting to serve
warrants.
According to the 1999 Ore
gon Governor’s Report on Do-
mestic Violence, one out of
every eight women in Oregon
was physically/sexually a s
saulted by her intimate partner.
Domestic Violence can be fatal
and, on average, at least three
women are murdered by their
husbands or boyfriends every
day in the United States of
Am erica. Law enforcem ent
agencies want victims to real
ize that help is available by call
ing them. In Columbia County,
law enforcement works in a col
laborative partnership with the
Domestic Violence Council, the
W omen’s Resource Center and
various counseling organiza
tions with the goal of stopping
violence in the home.
vember 1, with support from the
Robert Wood Johnson Founda
tion. The five-year program will
serve 300 people in Clacka
mas, Coos and Curry counties
starting in November and in
Jackson and Josephine coun
ties starting in February.
The goal is to put Medicaid
consumers in charge of their
own care. Consumers in the
new project will decide what in-
home services they need,
whom to hire and how much to
pay. They will receive the mon
ey, arrange and pay for servic
es themselves and manage all
payroll and bookkeeping. En
rollees will receive training in
payroll management, budget
ing and recruitment.
Under the current system,
Medicaid clients must use a
state-approved provider who
delivers a fixed set of services
and is paid by the government.
Some 18,268 Oregonians now
participate in this program ,
started in 1981 and one of the
first of its kind in the country.
“O ur decision 20 years ago
to use Medicaid money to pay
for in-home services has al
lowed thousands of Oregoni
ans to live independently and
saved m illions in long-term
care costs,” said Lydia Liss-
man, DHS assistant director for
seniors and people with disabil
ities. “But we can do more.”
Although five other states
are taking part in this dem on
stration project, which required
a federal waiver, only one other
is allowing clients to fully act as
the employer. The others are
offering the kinds of client-em
ployed provider services Ore
gon pioneered 20 years ago.
County Parks panel
sets meeting
The Columbia County Parks
Advisory Commission will meet
Thursday, N ovem ber 29, at
4:00 p.m. in Room 308 of the
Columbia County Courthouse.
The meeting is open to the
public.
Save on energy this winter while staying warm and comfortable
Oregonians face a challenge
this winter to save energy and
money. Utility rates increaéed
for most residents on October
Following are some tips from
the Oregon Office of Energy to
help make this w inter more
comfortable.
Heating
Set your heating thermostat
to 55 degrees at night and 68
degrees during the daytim e
when you are home.
Install a program m able ther
mostat to autom atically m ain
tain temperatures.
Insulate your attic, floors and
walls.
Replace your w indows with
energy-efficient windows.
Plug an unused chim ney flue
with a flue "pillow."
Water Heating
Turn down your w ater heater
to 125 to 130 degrees.
Wrap your water heater with
a water heater blanket if it is in
an unheated space. An insula
tion blanket costs only about
$10 and quickly pays for itself.
Follow manufacturer's instruc
tions.
Replace your w ater heater
with a solar w ater heating sys
tem.
Install water-saving shower-
heads. New models deliver a
full spray using less than two-
and-a-half gallons a minute.
They cost between $5 to $15
and are easy to install.
Install faucet aerators.
Fix leaky fixtures. Thirty
drips a minute of hot water
wastes 50 gallons of water a
month.
Take a shower instead of a
bath. The average bath uses
twice as much hot water as a
five-minute shower.
Set a timer when you show
er to remind you when five min
utes is up. Showers make up
about 2/3 of your water heating
costs.
Don’t allow hot water to run
down the drain. Turn off the
faucets immediately after use.
Insulate hot water pipes.
Waterbeds - Pull the covers
up to insulate the top; insulate
the bottom and sides with poly
styrene foam insulation and
lower the waterbed thermostat,
if adjustable.
Drain and clean hot tubs if not
in use. Use an insulated cover.
Use the cold water setting
on clothes washers.
Wash only full loads in clothes
washers and dishwashers.
Lighting
Turn off lights whenever pos
sible. Use task lighting, rather
than lighting the whole room.
Replace indoor standard in
candescent light bulbs with
compact fluorescent bulbs. The
new compact fluorescent bulbs
use approximately 70 percent
less energy than standard light
bulbs. While more expensive
initially, they last much longer.
Replace outdoor lighting
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Home of the Paul Bunyan Burger
Across from High School
OPEN 7 AM - 8 PM
Orders To Go
503-429-6523
DELIVERY AVAILABLE
with motion-sensor floodlights
or compact fluorescents.
Refrigeration
Don't keep your refrigerator
or freezer too cold. Recom
mended temperatures are 37 to
40 degrees F. for the refrigera
tor and 0 degrees F. for the
freezer. Check the tem pera
ture.
Replace your 10-year-old or
older refrigerator with an ener
gy-efficient model.
Disconnect a second, sel
dom-used refrigerator.
Cooking
Cook several meals at the
same time to save energy.
Use a microwave or toaster
oven when possible for small
quantities of food.
W hen heating water for tea
or other drinks, heat only as
much as you need.
For more information, call
the Oregon Office of Energy,
toll free at 1-800-221-8035, or
check the web site at <www.en
ergy.state.or.us>
Time may be a great healer, but it’s a
lousy beautician.
VERNONIA INN
Enjoy a quiet weekend with us.
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HOT TUBS
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