Homecare for All will be Question 1 on the statewide ballot this coming November. This measure will make it easier for those elderly people not ill enough to require nursing home care, but too infirm to live alone without help, to stay in their own homes and age with dignity.
As of now, many people are forced into nursing homes because there is not adequate access to home help or because it is too expensive to hire professional care.
Homecare for All will change this equation by providing training for more caregivers and by increasing wages for those who provide these services in order to attract people to this very necessary work. Furthermore, it will help provide training to family members who wish to care for their aging parents in their own homes.
Placing a loved one in a nursing home is traumatic for the patient and for the family. I know because I experienced this dilemma. I felt guilty even though there seemed to be no other option, and I worried about the care Mama was receiving.
For the patient, it is even worse. A person accustomed to living independently is suddenly uprooted from his familiar surroundings and forced to live on a schedule that is not his own, In many cases, the nursing home takes nearly his entire income, leaving him not even enough for the necessities. Christmas presents for the grandchildren become a memory, and these occasions become depressing instead of joyful as they should be. And boredom becomes a major problem.
There isn’t a lot to hold your attention other than maybe the television. I urge everyone to study this issue and vote to support the measure.
Remember that everyone ages. You will likely need Homecare for All benefits yourself one day.
Carolyn Silvius
Portland
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